So you have finally crossed life insurance off your to-do-list and now have a policy in place – nice one! However, you may be asking yourself – what next? Don’t be tempted to just chuck it in your drawer to read later.

Often the purpose of a life insurance policy is to protect your loved ones financially if you pass away.  And when it finally comes the time to be using it, your loved ones will be going through a really tough time. So, it’s important that they know what you’re covered for and where they can find it.

To help you figure out what to do next, we’ve pulled together some things you can think about doing now that you have life insurance.

1. Tell someone about it 

Maybe not the world, but at least one person! As you know Life insurance is different from other types of insurance (say car insurance), where the person making the claim and getting the payout is not yourself. So if no one knows that you have life insurance, or don’t know who you’re insured with, they may not know that they can claim for it.

Make sure you tell someone you can trust, like your partner, beneficiary, or even a lawyer. That way, if something happens to you, they know that there is a safety net in place.

2. Keep it in a safe (but not secret) place

No need to go all ‘secret squirrel’ on the documents, but now that your trusted someone knows that you have a life insurance policy, make sure they can get all the details easily when they need to. When the time comes for them to make a claim, it’s likely that they’ll be going through an emotionally difficult time. Keep your life insurance details along with other important documents like your will in a secure and accessible place. That way, your loved ones don’t need to figure out which drawer they are in.

3. Add it into your will

Unless you have named a beneficiary or somebody else owned your policy, the payout from your life insurance will form a part of your estate. If this is the case, then it’s worth listing the policy in the assets named in your will.

If you have named a beneficiary or somebody else owned your policy, then your life insurance payout will go to them. It’s quick and easy to assign a beneficiary, and you can also decide the portion of money that they will receive.

4. Don’t forget about it (it can happen)

It might sound silly but don’t forget about us and your policy!  It’s a great idea to check in on your life insurance from time to time.  As you navigate through life changes – your needs also change. You might be going through some major milestones like paying off your mortgage or having a new child, and you may want to adjust your cover level accordingly. We know that life insurance is probably not on the top of your mind when going through these things, but it’s important to make sure that you are not under, or over, insured.