Locking in future insurability is key to your clients’ long-term financial protection

Posted on 8 Jul, 25 by BrightRock

It may be obvious, but your clients’ needs change over time. That’s why it’s imperative to get life cover that precisely matches their needs today but also can change with them over the course of their policy’s duration, as those needs change. But can they change their cover when their needs change without undergoing medical underwriting again?

Most insurers don’t allow clients to buy additional cover without medical underwriting

Many life insurance products prevent clients from buying more cover when their needs change without undergoing medical tests. This is important for most clients as their health deteriorates as they age. They might not be able to get additional cover because they’re no longer insurable, or the new cover they buy could also include exclusions and loadings. As a financial adviser, it’s imperative that you check that your client’s current cover allows them to quickly and effortlessly make changes to their cover when their needs change, like adding children to their policies, increasing cover when they get a promotion and have a larger salary to protect, or if they buy a bigger home and need to increase their debt cover.

Points to consider when advising your client on future life insurance cover options in the market

• When can they make changes: If the client’s cover allows them to make changes, can they get more cover without onerous requirements? It’s essential to understand when clients can buy more cover – does a life event, like a marriage, need to happen before using it, or can they buy more cover at any time?
• What supporting evidence do they need: Do they need to give the insurer proof of any or all these things, or tell them of changes in their circumstances, for example, if their occupation has changed and if they’ve started smoking?
• Do they need to pay an extra premium: Another vital factor to consider when assessing your clients’ future insurability is whether this feature is built into the policy or if they need to pay an extra premium to add a future insurability component.

Securing future insurability with a needs-matched approach

To offer your clients long-term flexibility and relevance, it’s vital to consider a risk solution that also locks in their future insurability. BrightRock’s extra cover buy-up facility allows qualifying clients to change their cover when their needs change without unnecessary barriers or having to do blood tests. This enables them to benefit from the medical underwriting they underwent when they got their cover and helps guarantee their future insurability.

As affordability is also a significant factor when clients are younger, features that enable them to access more life insurance cover in the future will allow them to close the insurance gaps when they can afford it. For instance, a client might be underinsured when they first take out their policy because they can’t afford the full level of cover they need at that time –having a needs-matched policy that allows them to change their cover when their needs and affordability change will allow this client to increase their cover to the level they need.

Best of all, they can do this with a simple email to their financial adviser, without having to do any medical tests as they would with some insurance providers.

This article is attributed to Executive Director at BrightRock, Sean Hanlon. It was originally published online on Money Marketing on 19 June 2025. You can read the original article here. https://www.moneymarketing.co.za/life-insurance-cover-needs-can-change/