Insurance often gets a bad rap, but the truth is that it is necessary for protecting your family and your major assets. However, the policies can often seem complex and let’s face it talking about insurance is generally not high on anyone’s list of things to do.
Add to this the fact that your insurance needs will change over time. When you are single or renting an apartment, you only think about having car insurance or renters’ insurance. But now that you have a family, you will want to cover everything from medical expenses from your children to your home and ever life – after all, you want to make sure your kids are taken care of in case you or your husband are no longer around. (Don't forget the Will! Visit Prime Lawers today for more info!)
With that in mind, here are some tips on how to choose the right insurance policies for your family. While reading this article won’t make you an insurance agent, it will arm you will some of the knowledge you will need to make sure your family is protected.
Disability Insurance
While many people don’t think about these policies, the reality is that more than 30 million people experience a disabling injury each year. As such not having a disability policy in place means they are risking securing any future revenue in case they can’t work. Sure, you could rely on Social Security, but who knows how long that will last.
With disability insurance you can cover up to 60 percent of your earnings and this money can be used to make sure you have enough coming in to cover your expenses while you or your husband are out of work. For those who are self-employed, and that’s probably most of us these days, you can get an individual policy.
While this might cost a bit more than a group policy from a large employer, it is well worth the expense. In fact, long-term disability coverage is even more important for contractors and the self-employed as it will make sure you have something to turn to in times of trouble.
Collision Insurance
While most people focus on liability coverage when it comes to getting car insurance, having a good collision policy should not be overlooked. These policies will make sure you can get money back if your car is totaled.
If not, then you might find yourself without a car and with no money coming back from your insurance company. This is not a good position to be in as it probably means that your family will have to cut back on other expenses to cover the cost of a new car.
So, don’t end up with a car totaled and no gap insurance, as this could end up being a big blow to your family’s bank account.
Life Insurance
When talking about life insurance, the conversation is all about protecting your family’s finances – especially when the coverage is for the main breadwinner. Without this protection, you might risk protecting your family’s financial future.
Granted, this is probably not something you gave much thought to when you were in your twenty’s, but now that you have kids, it makes sense to ensure that their future is secured in case you or your husband has shuffled off this mortal coil.
When put in these terms you can see why life insurance is not that expensive. On top of that, you can investigate options such as term life, whole life, or universal life. These types of life insurance policies have been set up to allow consumers to fit the policy to their need and their financial situation.
Homeowners’ Insurance
You might not think that this policy will protect your family, but if something were to happen to your home, then you would want to make sure you have an insurance policy that will ensure you can keep a roof over your head.
Granted most banks will require homeowners’ insurance when you purchase your home but even for those who are lucky enough not to need a mortgage they want to make sure their home is always fully covered. When looking at coverage for your home, you will want to make sure that it not only covers your home but also your possessions.
Beyond that, you will want to choose an insurance company with a good reputation for paying out claims. Even if the policy costs more, it will be well worth it as you can always increase the deductible to lower the overall expense.
When it comes to homeowners’ insurance, you will probably never need to make a claim but if you do you want to make sure your insurance company will pay out without too much hassle.
