We take insurance policies out our partners to mitigate the financial effect on our lives if they die or become ill. If I am the life assured, that makes my partner the policy owner. My partner receives the sum money my life is assured for if I die, and vice versa.

“If they own my life insurance policy, does ownership change when we separate?”

Your separation may or not affect the ownership of the life insurance policy. If a couple separate and there are kids involved then often the insurance stays in place and the ownership remains as it was for the benefit of the kids. Essentially, if my ex-partner dies, I am still affected financially.

It can get a bit sticky when the separation is not amicable. You don’t control your life insurance policy, so if you and your partner separate they can choose whether or not they want to shift the ownership.

“How do I get ownership of the life insurance policy when it’s owned by my ex! I now want it as my health has changed since I took the policy out originally and I could now be uninsurable.”

The short answer is you can’t. You don't own or control the policy the policy owner controls it.  As above, they can shift ownership to you if they agree to that.

The solution? Always get professional advice before taking out a life insurance policy and make sure you understand the ins and outs of the policy ownership.

Graham is a Registered Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial. No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. A Disclosure Statement is available free of charge upon request