Reviewing Your Insurance When Money Is Tight - Without Making a Decision You Can’t Undo

When money is tight, reviewing insurance is sensible but some decisions are harder to reverse than others. This guide explains how to review your cover thoughtfully and avoid unintended long-term consequences. 

Rising living costs mean many members are taking a closer look at their finances and insurance is often one of the first things under review.

That makes sense. Insurance premiums are a visible, regular expense, and when money is tight, they can feel like one of the few areas where action is possible.

But insurance decisions, particularly health insurance aren’t always easy to reverse. Reviewing your cover is sensible; rushing to cancel it without understanding the implications can sometimes create bigger problems later on.

Insurance decisions are different from other expenses

Cutting back on subscriptions, utilities, or discretionary spending usually have short-term consequences and where if you later change your mind, can be reversed. Insurance is different.

Some types of insurance like hospital cover, protect you against high-cost, low-frequency events - things you hope never happen, but that can have serious financial consequences if they do.

If you cancel your Health insurance and later change your mind and reapply, you may find that:

• It often becomes harder or more expensive to replace as you age.
• Your new policy may involve new exclusions or stand-down periods if you reapply.
• Can be unavailable for conditions that you developed since you took your original policy or after the cover was cancelled.
• In the worst case, you may find that you are unable to get any cover.

That’s why insurance reviews need a slightly different lens than everyday budgeting decisions.

Reviewing cover doesn’t have to be all or nothing

Many people assume they have only two choices: keep everything as it is or cancel completely.

In reality, there may be ways to adjust your cover while retaining core protection, such as:

• Increasing your excess
• Removing optional add-ons
• Reviewing whether your policy still fits your current life stage
• Checking whether member-based arrangements offer better value

These options aren’t always obvious from policy documents alone and they’re not always explained clearly by insurers.

Why advice matters at this point

This is where speaking with a Monument Financial Adviser can be particularly valuable and this advice is provided at no cost.

A Monument Financial Adviser can help you:

• Understand what your insurance does and does not cover, in plain language
• See how health insurance fits alongside your broader financial picture
• Weigh up the long-term implications of cancelling versus adjusting cover
• Make a decision that reflects both affordability and protection

This isn’t about being told what to do, it’s about having the information and perspective needed to make a choice you won’t regret later.

A final word

Reviewing insurance during financially tight times is responsible. Doing it without understanding the long-term consequences can be costly.

Health insurance decisions are often time sensitive. The cover you give up today may not be available again on the same terms or at the same cost in the future.

Taking time to understand your options, and getting the right advice, can help ensure any changes you make are deliberate, informed, and right for you not just a reaction to short-term pressure.

Written by: Alan Sharpe

Alan is a key member of the HealthCarePlus leadership team. With over 30 years experience in marketing and customer service roles he is a passionate advocate for the union movement and HealthCarePlus’s mission to create real, lasting value for their members