Insurance...Do You have What you Need?

Life Insurance

Probably the most under-purchased form of insurance is life insurance. This type of insurance protects your family from the potential loss of income from your death. Not fun to think about. But it’s a reality.

Your family depends on you for your current and future income to make it. You may only be getting a small amount from your company....get as much as you can afford.

The big questions in the life insurance world typically revolve around the differences between term and whole life insurance. If you end up choosing term life insurance, then the questions shift to “how much life insurance do I need?” Don’t worry, you mainly need to get insurance on the earners in the family. You can usually do without life insurance on your child. Beyond that there are plenty more questions to ask before you buy insurance on your life.

Once you’ve got all your questions answered, it’s time to start the process of actually getting life insurance. Better to start early because this can take a while. There are applications to fill out. Exams to take. And the waiting around for the underwriter to do his or her job. But with all this waiting, it’s not hard to find an affordbale term life insurance policy. The quickest way to get started with this process is to request a quote for life insurance to see what’s available to you.

Health Insurance

Health insurance comes in many forms, but it’s generally going to cover your medical expenses for any health related issues (i.e. you have a heart attack) you experience. There are two main types of health insurance: group and individual. Group health insurance is typically what you get when you work for a company. The risks and costs are spread out amongst the group and so it’s typically a better insurance for you. Better because it’s usually cheaper and it covers more.

Individual health insurance is something you’d have to get for you and your family if you don’t have an employer, or you work part time. Since this type of insurance isn’t purchased by a group, you have to bear the costs and risks to yourself. For this reason, individual health insurance is usually expensive and doesn’t cover as much. All is not lost though. There are plenty of ways to save money on health insurance, including using a health savings account, and shopping around for health insurance quotes.

Recently, health insurance reform has come to the US. There are lots of changes going on that are going to affect the way this insurance is provided and purchased in the future. Be on the lookout for how these changes will affect you and your finances.

Homeowners Insurance

When you buy a home, condo, town home, or even a mobile home, it’s likely a good idea, and maybe a requirement by your lender, to purchase some homeowners insurance. This type of insurance can cost annually as much as a mortgage payment. You can obtain a home insurance quote online like you can for car insurance.

What you get in return for your annual or monthly payment is a bit of peace of mind that if something were to happen to your home, like a fire, windstorm, theft, etc, that you would be repaid for the damage. Now you can see why a lender is interested in making sure you have this insurance. They don’t want to be stuck with the bill if something happens and you aren’t protected by the
homeowners insurance.

Car Insurance

Auto or car insurance is probably the most well known and owned of all the insurance types. This, is likely becauase it's required in most states. In most states, for instance, you need to have car insurance before you can register your vehicle or have it inspected.

Most states will require a minimum level of coverage for your car to protect others in case you have an accident. But did you know that there are up to 7 types of car insurance you could use to help protect you, your asset, and others? Deciding which types you need is a thing you need to research and determine for yourself. In that sense, car insurance is probably the most used, but least understood form of insurance.

Although car insurance is usually a required expense if you drive. It doesn’t have to be expensive. And you certainly shouldn’t pay premium prices when you don’t have to.

Disability Insurance

This type of insurance helps to cover your loss of income from some type of disability which causes you to lose your job or prevents you from earning an income. You’re far more likely to be injured than killed, so it’s probably smart to have some of this insurance.

Like life insurance, most employers have a basic policy on their employees. But that might not be enough for you, and/or you might not have a job with a company. The self-employed should really look into this type of coverage. There’s lots to know about disability insurance. Mainly, it’s important to understand the distinction between short term and long-term disability insurance.