The policy-anniversary routine article laid out the logic – this is the tick-box version: twelve points, once a year, roughly 20 minutes. Put it in your calendar 45–60 days before your policy's anniversary: leave time after the review for the decision too, since notice of termination for the anniversary typically needs to reach the insurer 30 days before the renewal date.
- 12 points in four blocks: a life-situation stocktake, matching your cover, admin, and a market check.
- Timing is key: reviewed before the anniversary, any changes can take effect right on the renewal date.
- On request, I run this round together with you: the annual review is part of the service, at no extra charge.
Block 1: a life-situation stocktake (1–3)
□ 1. Has your work situation changed in the past year (a new job, starting a business, retiring)? · □ 2. Has your housing or property situation changed (moving, renting, letting a property, buying)? · □ 3. Has your family or your travel routine changed (a new family member, a child moving out, a new vehicle, more travel)?
Block 2: matching your cover (4–7)
□ 4. Does your set of modules still match your answers above – does anything need adding or dropping? · □ 5. Are the limits still adequate – factoring in the rising level of legal costs too? · □ 6. Does your deductible setting still fit how you use the cover? · □ 7. Was there a legal protection claim, or a near-dispute, this year – and has its lesson been factored in?
Block 3: admin (8–10)
□ 8. Has every change of details been reported (address, contact details, insured persons)? · □ 9. Are the contact details for reporting a legal protection claim up to date and easy to find? · □ 10. Do the people involved – family members or colleagues – know what to do if a dispute comes up?
Block 4: a market check (11–12)
□ 11. Have you asked for an annual market overview – where does your policy stand on value for premium? · □ 12. If the market has genuinely moved: has an item-by-item comparison been done, with the switching rules factored in? Points 11–12: if you let me know before the renewal date, I review them, but the checklist works fine on your own as well – and once all 12 boxes are ticked, the maintenance round is complete for that year. During the year, only one thing remains: report material changes (address, insured persons, activity) within the deadline set out in the policy terms, and flag any suspected dispute early.
Good to know: what happens if a year goes by with nothing ticked off?
An honest question: what's actually at stake if the annual round gets skipped once or twice? In the short term, typically nothing dramatic – and that's exactly the danger. The gap between your cover and your life opens up silently: an unreported change here, an outgrown limit there, a new exposure somewhere else. Skipping the first year probably has no consequences; but after the third or fourth, the policy is protecting an old life situation – and that typically comes to light during a legal protection claim, at the worst possible moment. The maths is simple: 20 minutes of maintenance a year, against a coverage surprise arriving at a bad moment. That's why the checklist exists – and why – if you ask – we review it at the anniversary: so the system still works even in a year that was too busy for you. And if it's already been two or three years since the last round: that's not something to be embarrassed about, it's an excellent reason for a review – from there, your calendar starts again with a clean slate.
And a practical trick for keeping the checklist alive: save each completed version with the year on it – putting this year's round next to last year's boxes and notes, your own exposure history takes shape within two years. That's not just interesting: for your next big decision – switching, extending cover, a business policy – it's the best starting document you could have.
A question tailored to your own situation? Book a free 20-minute consultation →
