What You’ll Learn

Health Insurance: Employer Plans, Marketplace, and Medicare

If you and a spouse both have employer-sponsored health insurance, compare both options side by side — weighing monthly premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pocket maximums, HSA matching, and network doctors. If you purchase coverage independently through the Health Insurance Marketplace, resist letting it auto-renew without shopping alternatives, and be aware that changes in income or family size can affect your subsidy eligibility. On Medicare, review your drug coverage annually since Part D and Medicare Advantage plans change their formularies each year, and enroll in Part D within 63 days of losing creditable employer drug coverage to avoid lifetime penalties.

Life Insurance: Has Your Need Changed?

Review whether your life insurance needs have shifted due to new financial obligations — such as the need to fund children’s education, pay off a new mortgage, or support other dependents. If you hold permanent life insurance and haven’t reviewed it recently, request an in-force illustration to assess current performance, dividend utilization, and cash value accumulation. For term policies, check the years remaining and your conversion options, and if you hold annually renewable term, compare whether newer policies may be more cost-effective given current underwriting rates.

Disability Insurance: Coverage Adequacy and Income Sources

A change in employer coverage should prompt an immediate review of how a disability would impact your finances. If your employer provides disability insurance, assess whether it adequately replaces your income — if there’s a gap, supplemental individual coverage may be needed. Understand how Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) interacts with your employer plan, including any offset provisions. Review waiting periods, definitions of disability, and coverage amounts, and consider portable private disability insurance if there is any chance of a future job change.

Long-Term Care Insurance: Benefits, Premium Increases, and Policy Features

Review your LTC policy to confirm it still meets your needs — checking the services covered (home care, assisted living, nursing home), the benefit amount (fixed or inflation-adjusted), benefit period, and specific features like elimination periods, inflation riders, and waiver of premium provisions. If you have received a notice of a premium increase, carefully evaluate the new options provided, including adjustments to benefit amounts, COLA provisions, and elimination periods, and factor in the insurer’s history of rate increases before deciding how to respond.

Beneficiary Designations and Policy Ownership

Regardless of policy type, ensure that primary and contingent beneficiaries are properly designated and reflect your current wishes. If your situation has changed — through marriage, divorce, birth, or death of a loved one — outdated designations can have serious consequences. Consider whether an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) is appropriate for your estate planning situation, and verify that policy ownership aligns with your overall tax and wealth transfer strategy.

Insurance Company Review and Bundling Opportunities

As part of any comprehensive policy review, check whether your insurance carriers have experienced changes in their financial strength ratings. Explore whether bundling policies with a single insurer could yield meaningful premium discounts. If you haven’t reassessed your insurer relationships in several years, the current marketplace may offer better terms — particularly for health, disability, and LTC coverage where product offerings and pricing have evolved significantly.