Protection insurance is not a fixed arrangement. The needs it addresses change throughout life, and a policy designed for one set of circumstances may be inadequate — or simply wrong — for another. The most efficient approach to protection planning is not a continuous review but a structured response to the specific events that change your financial obligations, your dependants, and your tax position.
For internationally mobile, high-net-worth individuals, these events are often compounded by complexity: a property purchase may be in a different jurisdiction, a divorce may involve assets in multiple countries, a new business venture may require complex key person structures. This guide addresses each major life event with the specific protection actions it requires.
Marriage or Civil Partnership
Marriage creates a legal and financial link between two individuals — and with it, a mutual dependency on income and protection.
Actions required at marriage:
Update beneficiary nominations. If you have a life insurance policy, the nomination of beneficiaries should be updated to reflect your spouse or civil partner. Policies held in trust should have the trust letter of wishes updated accordingly. Do not assume that marriage automatically updates a nomination — it does not, and if you die with a pre-marriage nomination in place, the payout may not reach your spouse in the expected timeframe.
Increase life cover to reflect new joint obligations. If you were previously insured for your own income replacement needs only, marriage creates a new dependency on your income. Your spouse's financial dependency should now be factored into the sum assured calculation — particularly if one partner is reducing their work or career trajectory to support the relationship.
Consider income protection for both partners. If both partners are working and the household depends on both incomes, both should have income protection. If one partner's income is significantly lower, the focus may be on the higher earner — but the financial contribution of both should be assessed.
Update your will. In England and Wales, marriage revokes a pre-existing will. If you had a will before marrying and have not updated it, you may die intestate with respect to your estate — meaning assets are distributed under the intestacy rules rather than your wishes. This directly affects the protection and legacy planning picture.
Review joint vs separate policies. Joint life insurance (paying on first death) is sometimes appropriate for couples where the primary concern is providing for survivors. However, separate policies provide more flexibility — each partner is insured independently, and a claim on one does not terminate the other's cover.
Birth of a Child
The birth of a child is the single most significant trigger for a protection review in most people's lives. A child creates a financial dependency that lasts for 18 to 25 years, and during that period, the financial consequences of losing a parent's income are severe.
Actions required on birth of a child:
Substantially increase life cover. The sum assured should now reflect the cost of raising a child to financial independence — covering education costs, childcare, income replacement for the primary carer, and the second parent's dependency on the primary earner's income. Rules of thumb (income multiples of 10-15 times) should be re-examined with specific reference to education and childcare costs, which are significant and predictable expenses that multiples may understate.
Add or increase critical illness cover. The birth of a child is one of the most compelling reasons to add critical illness cover if not already in place. A diagnosis that prevents one parent from working while the other manages childcare and the family home can be financially catastrophic without a lump sum payment from a CI policy.
Ensure both parents are covered. Even if one parent is not working for a period following the birth, their contribution to childcare and household management has significant financial value. Replacing that contribution with paid childcare would be expensive. Both parents should be protected.
Consider a junior whole-of-life or bare trust policy. As discussed in the legacy planning guide, establishing a life policy on the child's life locks in insurability at minimal cost. The child benefits from guaranteed cover at standard terms regardless of what happens to their health in childhood.
Review income protection deferred periods. If either parent is now self-employed, parental leave may mean reduced income during a period of incapacity coinciding with child-rearing. Review whether existing income protection coverage is adequate for the new household financial structure.
Update will and nominations. Add the child to the will and to beneficiary nominations as appropriate. For a trust-held policy, the letter of wishes should be updated to reflect the child's existence and any wishes about the distribution of trust assets.
Divorce or Relationship Breakdown
Divorce is the most complex life event from a protection planning perspective because it requires dismantling a combined financial structure as well as creating new, separate protection arrangements.
Actions required on divorce:
Remove the former spouse from beneficiary nominations immediately. A nomination on a life policy does not automatically change on divorce. If you die without updating the nomination, the payout may go to a former partner rather than your children or a new partner. This is one of the most commonly overlooked elements of financial separation.
Review joint policies. Any joint life policy held with the former spouse must be addressed. Options include surrender, conversion to a single life policy, or assignment — each has financial and tax implications that require professional advice.
Reassess the sum assured in light of child maintenance obligations. If you have children from the marriage, your death may extinguish regular maintenance payments that were supporting them. The sum assured on your life insurance should be sufficient to replace those maintenance obligations over the remaining period of the children's dependency — in addition to any other life insurance purpose.
Consider whether you need income protection against inability to pay maintenance. If a court-ordered maintenance obligation continues regardless of your income, an illness or injury that prevents you working may make you unable to pay. Income protection ensures that court-ordered financial obligations can be met during incapacity.
Review trust structures. Any trust that names the former spouse as a trustee or potential beneficiary should be reviewed by a solicitor. Removing a former spouse as trustee and amending letters of wishes is straightforward but must be done proactively.
Property Purchase or Mortgage
A new property purchase — particularly one financed by a mortgage — creates a large, fixed liability that protection insurance should cover.
Actions required on property purchase:
Arrange mortgage protection life insurance. At a minimum, level or decreasing term life insurance with a sum assured equal to the mortgage balance should be in place from the date the mortgage begins. The risk of dying with an outstanding mortgage and leaving dependants to manage the debt is not hypothetical — it happens, and the consequences for a surviving partner are severe.
Consider critical illness alongside life cover. A cancer diagnosis or a heart attack does not automatically trigger the life policy — you must survive, often for years of treatment and recovery, while the mortgage obligation continues. A critical illness policy pays a lump sum on diagnosis that can be applied to the mortgage, removing the largest financial pressure during the period of illness.
Check the policy before completion, not after. Underwriting takes time. Start the protection application as soon as the property purchase is agreed, not when it completes. Having the policy in force from the day the mortgage begins avoids the gap between completion and policy issue.
Review existing life cover for adequacy. If you already have life insurance, add the new mortgage obligation to the coverage analysis. An existing policy arranged before the property purchase may have a sum assured that no longer reflects the new financial position.
Promotion or Substantial Income Increase
A significant increase in income changes the protection picture in specific ways.
Actions required on income increase:
Review income protection benefit level. Income protection is typically set at 50–70% of your income at the time the policy is arranged. If your income has grown significantly since then, the benefit will replace a smaller proportion of your new income. Some policies allow increases at specified intervals without new underwriting — check and exercise this option.
Increase life cover to reflect higher income. A higher income means a higher income multiple is required to replace your earnings for dependants. A sum assured set years ago on a lower income may now be insufficient.
Review whether the normal expenditure out of income IHT exemption is now available. If your income now materially exceeds your expenditure — after tax, living costs, and savings — you may qualify to fund life insurance premiums from regular income as a tax-exempt gift. This is a valuable IHT planning tool for higher earners. An adviser can confirm whether the conditions are met.
New Business Venture or Equity Stake
Starting or acquiring a business, or taking a significant equity stake, creates business protection requirements that personal cover does not address.
Actions required on new business:
Arrange key person cover. If the business depends on your skills, client relationships, or IP for its value and income generation, your death or critical illness would materially harm the business. Key person insurance provides the business with a lump sum to manage the loss — covering cost of replacement, lost profit, or loan repayment obligations.
Consider shareholder or partnership protection. If you have co-owners, shareholder protection ensures that in the event of your death, the surviving shareholders have funds to buy your share from your estate — rather than your estate holding shares in a business in which it has no ongoing interest.
Review the interaction with personal protection. Business owners typically have no employer sick pay, no employer pension contributions, and business income that ceases if they cannot work. Personal income protection, on own-occupation terms, is essential.
Death of a Loved One: Review Your Own Position
The death of a parent, spouse, or close family member is a difficult time — and also, from a practical standpoint, a signal to review your own financial and protection position.
Actions after a bereavement:
Update your own nominations. If the deceased was named as a beneficiary or trustee on any of your policies, update the nomination. A nomination pointing to a deceased individual is not automatically redirected.
Review the inheritance and its IHT implications. If you have inherited assets, your own estate may now be larger — and your own IHT exposure higher. Review whether your existing life insurance in trust is sufficient to cover the revised IHT estimate.
Consult a solicitor about the estate and its administration. Practical experience of managing someone else's estate is the most effective motivation to ensure your own estate is well-structured.
How Global Investments Can Help
Global Investments provides ongoing protection advice to internationally mobile and high-net-worth clients throughout the full lifecycle of their financial planning journey. Our advisers do not rely on clients remembering to initiate a review — we maintain a calendar of trigger events and reach out proactively when a change in circumstances is likely to require action.
For clients going through a major life event — whether a business exit, a marriage, a new international posting, or a significant property acquisition — we provide structured, integrated advice that covers the protection, estate planning, and tax dimensions simultaneously.
Contact Global Investments to arrange a protection review at any stage of life.
Rules on IHT, trust registration, income protection, and life insurance vary by jurisdiction and may change. This guide reflects the position as understood in 2026 and is for information purposes only. You should obtain advice specific to your circumstances from a qualified protection and financial planning adviser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have after a life event to update my protection policies?
There is no legal deadline, but delay increases the risk that you are inadequately protected during the interval. Some events — particularly birth of a child or purchase of a property — create immediate financial obligations that should be covered from day one. Medical underwriting takes time, so starting the review process at the earliest opportunity avoids gaps in cover.
Can I increase my existing life insurance sum assured without new underwriting?
Some policies include guaranteed insurability options — the right to increase the sum assured at specified life events (marriage, birth of a child, mortgage) without new medical underwriting. Check whether your existing policy includes this provision. Where it does, exercising it promptly after a qualifying event is valuable — particularly if your health has changed since the policy was taken out.
What happens to a joint life policy on divorce?
A joint life policy covers two lives under a single contract and pays on the first death. On divorce, the joint policy cannot simply be split — it must either be surrendered (both parties receive a proportionate share of any cash value), or one party may take over the policy as sole life assured (which requires the insurer's agreement and may require new underwriting). If the joint policy has a favourable sum assured and premium, taking advice on how to preserve it is worthwhile.
Does the birth of a second or third child change my protection needs?
Yes. Each additional child extends the period of financial dependency — a second child born several years after the first means the youngest will be dependent for longer. The sum assured should be recalculated for each additional child, taking into account the new dependency timeline, any additional childcare or education costs, and whether the primary carer's income protection needs have changed.
If my income increases substantially, do I need to tell my insurer?
For life insurance, income changes do not generally require notification — the death benefit is a fixed sum agreed at outset. For income protection, the insurer needs to know if you want to increase the benefit level, as the benefit is calibrated to a percentage of income. If your income has grown and you have not increased your IP benefit, you are underinsured. Check your policy's escalation options.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute financial or insurance advice. Policy terms, premium rates, and insurer eligibility criteria change — always verify current terms with a qualified independent adviser before taking out any policy.