Good reasons to look at switching
Your circumstances when you bought the policy shaped its price. If you smoked then and have since quit for the period the insurers ask about, you may now count as a non-smoker. If you have lost a lot of weight, or a condition that loaded your price has settled, a new application could look different.
Policies also change over time. Critical illness definitions, in particular, have broadened on many newer plans, and you may want features that did not exist when you first bought cover.
Reviewable premiums are another trigger. If your insurer keeps raising the price at each review, a guaranteed premium on a new policy might give you more certainty. Look at how the rises have run so far before you decide.
- You have stopped smoking or vaping
- A health condition has improved or cleared up
- Your policy has reviewable premiums that keep rising
- You want newer features or broader definitions
Reasons to keep what you have
You are older now than when you first applied, and age is one of the biggest factors in price. If your health has not improved, a new policy can easily cost more for the same cover. Any condition you have developed since could also bring an exclusion or a higher premium.
Older policies sometimes have generous features that insurers no longer offer, and a guaranteed premium you could not get today. Compare the whole policy, not only the monthly figure.
Check the end date as well. Your old policy may finish when the mortgage does, and a new one could run longer than you need or be set to a date that suits your current plans better. Matching the term to your real need matters as much as the price.
The safe order to switch in
Apply for the new policy first and let the insurer finish underwriting. Read the offer and check for exclusions or changed terms. Set up a new trust if you had one, because trusts are attached to a specific policy and do not transfer.
Only once the new policy has started and the first premium has gone out should you cancel the old one. Many policies have no cash value, so cancelling simply stops the cover and the payments.
If the old policy has a cash value, as some whole of life plans do, get a figure in writing before you cancel. Keep copies of every form, and avoid any gap between the two policies, even of a few days.
How Hi Tomorrow checks if a switch is worth it
Send us the details of your current policy and we will compare it, feature by feature, with what the insurers on our panel would offer you now. If staying put is the better choice, we will tell you. If switching wins, we handle the application and the new trust, and we tell you when it is safe to cancel the old cover.