Get a Free, Independent Review of Your Life Insurance Policy
A licensed agent will analyze what you have — coverage, premiums, beneficiary, cash value, projections — and walk you through whether it still fits. No pressure to change anything.
Most people buy a life insurance policy and never look at it again. Years pass. Lives change. Mortgages refinance, kids grow up, businesses are sold, dividends shift, premiums quietly increase, and the policy that fit perfectly at age 35 may not fit at age 50. The only way to know is to actually look.
A policy review is an independent analysis of what you currently have. A licensed agent examines your policy line by line — coverage, premiums, beneficiary, cash value, riders, projections — then explains what they found in plain language. You will know whether your policy is still doing its job, whether you are paying too much, whether you are underinsured, and what your options are. Most importantly, you will know what is actually inside the policy you have been paying for.
The review is free. The call takes 20 to 30 minutes. There is no obligation to change anything. Many reviews simply confirm the policy is fine. When they do not, the agent explains what they found and what your options are — and you decide what to do from there.
What a Policy Review Actually Is
A policy review is exactly what it sounds like: a structured analysis of your existing life insurance policy by someone who is not the agent who sold it to you. The point of getting it from someone else is that an independent reviewer has no incentive to defend the original sale. They can tell you the policy is fine when it is, and tell you when it is not.
Reviews work on any type of life insurance:
- Term life policies — verifying coverage amount, expiration date, conversion deadline, beneficiary, and rate competitiveness
- Whole life policies — analyzing guaranteed cash value, dividend performance, paid-up addition activity, outstanding loans, and projected performance
- Universal life policies — assessing premium adequacy, cost of insurance trajectory, and lapse risk
- Indexed universal life (IUL) policies — reviewing cap rates, participation rates, crediting history, and cost of insurance projections
- Variable universal life policies — examining sub-account performance, fees, and policy chassis health
- Group policies from an employer — verifying coverage adequacy and portability options
What makes a review "independent"
The reviewer should have access to multiple carriers — not just one. They should have no financial relationship with the carrier that issued your policy. They should be paid the same whether you keep your policy, modify it, or do nothing. And they should be willing to tell you when the policy is fine and no changes are needed, even though that means no commission for them. That is what makes a review trustworthy.
What a Thorough Review Examines
A serious policy review goes well beyond looking at the declarations page. Here is what an agent should actually examine:
- Coverage amount vs. current needDoes the death benefit match your current obligations — mortgage, debts, dependents, business interests, estate plan? People often buy coverage at one life stage and forget to adjust as their situation changes.
- Beneficiary designationsWho is currently named as primary and contingent beneficiary? Are those designations still aligned with your wishes? Major life events should always trigger beneficiary updates.
- Premium competitivenessFor term policies, is your current premium still competitive with today's market rates? If you have improved health, lost weight, or quit smoking since the policy was issued, you may qualify for significantly lower rates.
- Riders and policy featuresWhat riders are attached — waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, child rider, return of premium? Are they providing value? Are there riders you should add given your current situation?
- Cash value performance (for permanent policies)Is the cash value growing as originally illustrated? Is the dividend scale on whole life policies still strong? Are dividend reinvestment options optimized?
- In-force illustrationFor permanent policies, the carrier can produce an in-force illustration — a current projection of how the policy will perform from today forward. This is the single most important document for a permanent policy review.
- Outstanding loans against cash valueMany policyholders forget about old policy loans that are still accruing interest and quietly eroding the death benefit. The review identifies any open loans and what to do about them.
- Conversion privileges (for term policies)If you have term insurance with a convertibility rider, the right to convert to permanent coverage without a new medical exam often expires before the term ends. Many people miss the conversion deadline and lose this valuable option.
- Carrier financial strengthInsurance carriers are rated by AM Best, Moody's, and S&P. If your carrier has been downgraded since you bought the policy, it is worth knowing — particularly for permanent policies where you are counting on the carrier to be around for decades.
- Lapse risk (for universal and indexed universal life)UL and IUL policies can lapse if premiums or crediting do not keep up with rising internal costs. The review projects whether the current funding level is enough to keep the policy in force for life.
The Review Process Step by Step
A policy review is straightforward. Here is exactly what happens from the first call to the final recommendations:
Initial call (5 minutes)
You call the number above. A licensed agent answers, learns the basics — what type of policy, what carrier, roughly when it was issued — and confirms what information will be helpful for the full review.
Gather your documents
Ideally you would have the policy declarations page, your most recent annual statement, and any in-force illustration. If you do not have these, the agent can help request them from the carrier — sometimes during the same call.
The review call (20 to 30 minutes)
The agent walks through your policy with you, line by line. Coverage amount, premiums, beneficiary, riders, cash value if applicable, projections. They explain what each piece means and how it is performing. You can ask questions throughout.
Findings and options
At the end of the review, the agent summarizes what they found. If the policy is fine, they say so. If they identify issues, they explain each one and the options for addressing it — keeping the policy as-is, modifying it, supplementing it with additional coverage, or potentially replacing it via a 1035 exchange.
You decide what to do
There is no pressure to act. Many people review their policy, learn what they have, and decide to keep it as-is. Others decide to make changes. Either way, you make the decision with a clearer picture than you started with.
Ready to start your free review?
The call takes 5 minutes to get started and 20-30 minutes for the full review. No commitment, no pressure, no obligation.
Call (877) 684-6070What You'll Walk Away Knowing
After a thorough policy review, you should be able to answer each of these questions about your own policy:
- What type of policy do I have? Term, whole life, universal life, IUL, or variable. Many people are not sure.
- How much coverage do I have? The current death benefit, including any paid-up additions or dividend accumulations.
- When does it expire (if applicable)? For term policies, the exact expiration date and any conversion deadlines.
- What am I paying for it? The current premium and whether it is still locked in or scheduled to increase.
- Who's the beneficiary? Primary and contingent. Are they current?
- How much cash value do I have (if applicable)? Both guaranteed and current, plus any outstanding loans.
- Is my coverage amount still adequate? Compared to your current debts, dependents, and obligations.
- Is my premium competitive? Especially relevant for term policies if your health has changed.
- What riders do I have? What they cover, what they cost, what they are worth.
- What are my options going forward? Keep it, modify it, supplement it, or potentially replace it.
Most policyholders can answer maybe two or three of those questions before the review. After the review, they can answer all of them. That clarity alone is worth the 20 minutes, even if no changes are needed.
Life Events That Should Trigger a Review
Some moments in life make a policy review especially valuable. If any of these have happened recently, your coverage may no longer match your situation:
Marriage or divorce
Beneficiary designations override your will. A divorce that does not update the beneficiary can leave the death benefit to an ex-spouse. A marriage may add a new dependent who should be covered.
Birth or adoption of a child
A new dependent means a new long-term financial obligation. Coverage purchased before the child existed may not be enough to support them through college.
Home purchase or mortgage refinance
A new mortgage creates a major financial obligation that your beneficiaries would inherit. Coverage often needs to be sized up to the new mortgage balance.
Significant income change
A promotion, business sale, or career change can shift both how much coverage you need and what type. Higher income often means higher dependents and higher obligations.
Approaching retirement
The reasons you needed life insurance during working years may give way to different reasons in retirement (estate planning, legacy, final expenses). Coverage strategy often needs to shift.
Health changes
If your health has improved — weight loss, smoking cessation, controlled blood pressure — you may qualify for significantly lower rates. If your health has declined, you may want to lock in conversion options before they expire.
Starting or selling a business
Business ownership creates needs for key-person coverage, buy-sell funding, and sometimes succession-related coverage. Selling a business may eliminate some of these needs while creating others.
Term policy expiration approaching
If your term policy expires within the next 5 years, it is time to think about conversion, renewal, or replacement. Many policies have conversion deadlines that expire before the term itself.
Common Findings From Policy Reviews
Over the years, certain patterns show up repeatedly in policy reviews. Here are the most common ones:
Underinsured by a significant margin
Someone bought $250,000 of coverage 20 years ago and never adjusted it. They now have a $400,000 mortgage, two kids in school, and a business with $300,000 in debt. They are underinsured by half a million dollars and did not realize it.
Paying significantly more than current market rates
A 45-year-old non-smoker bought their term policy at 28 in average health. Their health is now excellent. They are paying $85/month for $500,000 — current market rate for their profile is closer to $35/month. Refinancing the policy saves them $600/year.
Term expiring with no conversion plan
A 20-year term policy is approaching expiration. The convertibility deadline has already passed. The insured's health has declined since the policy was issued, so a new policy would either be expensive or denied. A review caught months earlier could have triggered a partial conversion before the deadline.
Outdated beneficiary designations
The original beneficiary was a now-deceased parent. No contingent beneficiary is listed. If the insured were to die, the death benefit would go to the estate, get tied up in probate, and be subject to estate creditors.
Whole life dividend scale has declined dramatically
The original illustration assumed a 7.5% dividend scale. The current scale is 4.5%. Projected cash value 20 years out is roughly half of the original projection. The policy is not broken, but it is significantly underperforming the original expectation.
Universal life policy is on track to lapse
The original UL policy was minimum-funded based on optimistic crediting assumptions. Crediting has been lower than projected. Cost of insurance is rising with age. The current trajectory shows the cash value going to zero in 12 years and the policy lapsing well before the insured's life expectancy.
Outstanding policy loan eroding the death benefit
Twenty years ago, the policyholder took a $30,000 loan against cash value to fund a small business. They never paid it back. The loan plus accrued interest is now $58,000, reducing the death benefit by the same amount and accruing more interest annually.
IUL caps have been lowered substantially
The original IUL policy had a 12% cap when it was issued. The cap is now 6%. The original illustration assumed the original cap would persist, which it did not. Projected cash value going forward is materially below the original projection.
Carrier financial strength has been downgraded
The policy was bought from an A+ rated carrier 15 years ago. The carrier has since been downgraded to B+. Depending on the size of the policy and the type, this may warrant moving to a stronger carrier via a 1035 exchange.
Some of these findings result in keeping the policy as-is. Some result in minor adjustments. Some result in significant changes. The point of the review is to find out which category your policy falls into.
"They didn't try to sell me anything."
"I'd been paying for a whole life policy for 22 years and never understood it. The review took 25 minutes. Everything was explained in plain English. Turns out the policy was actually doing well — just needed to switch the dividend option to paid-up additions."
"Got a free review and found out I was massively underinsured for my mortgage. Added a 20-year term layer on top of my existing coverage. The whole process — review, recommendation, decision — took two phone calls."
"My original agent retired and I didn't know who to call. Found these guys. They reviewed everything, found that my UL policy was on track to lapse in 8 years, and helped me restructure it. Genuinely no-pressure conversation."
"Was thinking about cancelling my whole life policy because a financial advisor told me to. Got a second opinion here. The agent showed me why keeping it was actually the better move. Saved me from a five-figure mistake."
"Health improved a lot since I bought my term policy at 32. The review showed I could refinance into a new policy at less than half my current premium. Wish I'd called sooner."
"Inherited a whole life policy from my dad with no idea what to do. They walked me through the options — keep it, surrender it, 1035 it. Helped me think it through without pushing me one direction."
Policy Review Frequently Asked Questions
Ready for Your Free Policy Review?
A licensed agent is standing by — seven days a week. The call is free, the review is independent, and you'll never be pressured to make any changes you don't want to make.
(877) 684-6070 Get My Free Review