Do You Have Enough Insurance to Protect Your Family and Finances?

Home insurance, health insurance, car insurance—if you’re like the rest of us you have plenty of insurance bills to pay every month. And when the costs begin to add up, it’s easy to get frustrated and wonder if buying insurance is really worth it.

This is especially true if you don’t feel confident that you’re paying enough to protect your family and finance, while not overpaying for coverage that you don’t need.  Here are some helpful tips to set your mind at ease and let you know if you have the right amount of coverage…

Buying insurance for your home

Home insurance protects your family and finances on three fronts: structural damage, theft or damage of contents, and liability.

When buying insurance for your home the best protection comes through replacement cost coverage for the actual home. Replacement cost coverage will pay to fully rebuild your home if it is destroyed. Your home insurance premium will be higher, but it is well worth it to know that the total actual cost of your home is protected.

Most of the contents of your home will be protected under your home insurance policy. However, if you have very expensive items in your home such as watches and other jewelry, pricy works of art and collectibles, or antiques then you need to purchase a special rider to protect them.

Liability home insurance protects you when a person is injured on your property. Make sure that the liability coverage on your home insurance policy equals your total assets. If not, then you could lose whatever amount is not covered if you get sued.

Buying insurance for your health

Health insurance doesn’t just protect you and your family by providing coverage for hefty medical expenses such as serious injury and illness. Health insurance also makes it possible for millions of people to get the routine medical care that is essential to good health. When buying insurance for your health, there are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help you narrow your choices.

Are you and any covered dependents very healthy with no existing medical conditions requiring special treatments? If so, then you may be able to get by with a basic HMO, or health maintenance organization, insurance plan. Just remember that although these plans are among the most affordable, you’ll be limited as to which healthcare providers will accept your insurance.

Do you or a covered dependent require the attention of a medical specialist? Or, do you have a family doctor that you’d like to continue to visit? If either of these is true for your situation, then consider a more flexible, and a bit more expensive, PPO plan. PPO, or preferred provider health insurance plans allow you to pick which physicians you visit. Also, you won’t have to go through your primary every time you need to visit a medical specialist.

Buying insurance for your car

When it comes to buying insurance for your car, your state may have set minimums for coverages. You could simply buy the minimum coverage required by your state, but you’d probably be doing yourself a great disservice. It’s better to calculate what it will really take to cover your assets and use that as your guide.

For instance, you could save a few bucks per month dropping full comprehensive coverage on a paid for car. But if you don’t have the money in the bank to fully repair or replace that vehicle if it gets damaged, then you need to keep full coverage.

As for liability coverage (coverage that pays for damage done to the other driver’s body or property), being cheap now could mean serious trouble up ahead. The whole point of insurance is to protect you from financial ruin. When buying insurance for your auto, get enough liability coverage to protect all of your assets that aren’t otherwise protected.

There are tons of ways that you can learn to save money on car, medical, and home insurance. One is to shop around and compare rates and coverage from several different insurance companies before settling on a policy.

And when you can’t stand the idea of sending off another check, just remember that insurance is what can rebuild your home after a fire or pay for costly medical treatment for your spouse or child. That’s what makes every penny worth it.