Spring cleaning season has arrived and is an opportune time for one to reflect and spring clean their finances.
The new season presents a good time to take stock and review one’s financial commitments as well as insurance covers, to ensure that they are prepared to handle any unexpected turns for the remainder of the year.
Without a doubt, the current upward interest rate cycle, fuel increases as well as the increased cost of living is placing massive financial strain on households, which might have led to consumers considering insurance policy commitments.
Lee Bromfield, Chief Executive of FNB Insurance says, “The one key lesson that the past 2 years has taught us is the importance of having adequate insurance cover.
“We encourage consumers to take the time to review their insurance policies while generally reviewing their finances and ensuring that their families and assets are adequately covered for the unexpected.
“If you have loved ones who count on you for financial support, your priority for the remainder of the year should be to ensure that you keep or upgrade your insurance cover to protect yourself, your family and assets should the unfortunate happen.”
FNB Life recommends consumers consider the following points in the process of spring cleaning their finances:
- Review your budget: You’ll be surprised how much you can save by being diligent in monitoring and tracking your expenses. Make this a weekly exercise to assess what you spend your money on, and which items are necessary.
- Consolidate your life insurance: Consumers who hold several policies with multiple providers inevitably pay more due to administrative costs. Consider covering your family under one policy to pay one premium. For instance, with FNB Life, you can cover up to 21 family members under one policy.
- Choose debit order to avoid skipping repayments: It’s much easier to see what has or hasn’t been paid when all your payments come off one bank account. This helps you to stay on top of every obligation and minimises the risk of mistakenly skipping a payment.
- Revisit your policy: If you had an increased premium on your policy as a result of health conditions or dangerous habits, you could approach your insurer to reconsider the premium if your health has improved significantly or when you no longer take part in the dangerous hobby i.e., drinking and or smoking
“While cancelling an insurance policy may seem like the easiest option to relieve immediate financial pressure, you need to ensure that you avoid losing all your premiums for short-term financial relief. We encourage all consumers to stay the course and to remain committed to their policy obligations, to avoid compromising their cover.
As an integrated financial services provider that has a holistic view of our customers’ financial portfolios, we recommend that our customers rather reach out to the bank for some guidance on how they can make the necessary arrangements to manage their obligations rather than cancelling their existing policies,” concludes Bromfield.