The 30-minute insurance audit

Insurance is sold, not bought. The industry runs on auto-renewals, bundled add-ons and the silent assumption that you will never read your policy documents. A single half-hour every year is enough to claw back almost everything that has crept in.

The trick is mechanical: list everything you pay, then collapse what overlaps. Most households discover that 30–50% of their annual insurance bill is for coverage they already have from somewhere else.

Step 1 — List every monthly debit to an insurer. Pull the last 12 months of bank and credit-card statements. Every recurring payment to an insurance company goes on the list — including the small ones bundled inside your phone plan, your credit card, your gym membership and your home internet. The hidden ones cost the most because nobody notices them.

Step 2 — Map coverage to source. For each policy, write down (a) what it actually covers and (b) every other source you already have for that coverage. Travel insurance is almost always doubled (credit card + standalone). Income-loss insurance is often tripled (employer + union + private). Home contents may overlap with a partner's policy. Tech-replacement plans almost always overlap with credit-card purchase protection.

Step 3 — Keep the broadest, cancel the rest in writing. For each duplicate, identify which policy has the highest payout cap, the shortest waiting period, and the fewest exclusions. Keep that one, cancel the others in writing. Use the provider-switch template in Resources — most policies have a one-month cancellation window, so start today.

Step 4 — Right-size the survivors. For the policies you keep, check the excess (deductible). Raising the excess from 1,500 to 3,000 SEK typically drops the premium by 10–15% — and a once-a-decade claim is what you actually need insurance for.

Common mistakes: • Cancelling the wrong duplicate (the cheap one usually has the worst terms). • Forgetting that bank/credit-card add-ons are insurance too. • Letting auto-renewal silently re-add a cancelled product the next year. • Buying "peace of mind" extras that pay out less than their annual cost.

What success looks like: A one-page spreadsheet listing every active policy with annual cost, coverage, and primary source. Total annual spend cut by at least 20% with no real reduction in protection.

Checklist: • Spreadsheet of every active policy with annual cost • Coverage type mapped to all sources • Cancellation emails sent for duplicates • Excess reviewed on every surviving policy • Calendar reminder to repeat in 12 months