Top 3 Insurance Coverage to Secure Your Future

In this economic downturn of the past two years, we have seen the crisis in health insurance come to the forefront. California and Massachusetts have attempted to cover the uninsured on their own. They have found me difficult and expensive. But we need to examine what we need as coverage for ourselves and go beyond just health insurance, to other types of protection we should have. This is not the time to save pennies by cutting our insurance coverage’s.

First, one needs health care insurance of some sort that protects you and your family against catastrophic problems like a motor vehicle accident, cancers, stoke or a heart attack. It must be adequate to protect you from a devastating loss financially and provide you top notch care. Bankruptcy from health care costs is a real possibility. It accounts for over half of all bankruptcy causes in 2001. You should obtain a premium health care insurer so you can call your own shots. If you are well insured and don’t live near a great medical facility, you can elect to go to the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic or many other health care centers to have you care. That is an advantage some don’t have and may be very important when illness strikes. It yields peace of mind.

Life insurance also comes to mind as the second important insurance one should carry. Adequate amounts of coverage should be had for the primary and secondary breadwinners. If married with young children both spouses should have significant coverage. The non bread winner can die also and this can be a very difficult loss to replace. Money will help. If one dies, money is available to provide stability for the remaining years. All possible expenses should be included when exploring the amount one should have. Home mortgage, cars, education expenses should be calculated with normal daily living costs then included. Most of us understand the reasons why we need life insurance.

Finally, one form not considered in depth is disability insurance. Income for most people is their largest financial asset. It must be protected. This type of insurance is probably the least understood and yet most important. It covers your income if unable to work due to any cause. There is a short and long term type. The short term covers one for a few months to a year. You receive a specified amount of money per month. You pay a set fee monthly which is usually low. After a short period, it kicks in to give you income when you cannot work. Long term disability provides for the longer term up to age 65 or sometimes longer. There are many factors to consider. How long do I wait until covered (elimination period), is there a cost of living rider, how much am I paid? How do you define disability for me and my job? Can it be terminated? Is this from my employer or a self insurance? Can I get a supplement for more coverage? There are many more and this is one area you should spend time with your agent to cover matters in great detail. You don’t want a surprise when you can’t work again. If you glean anything from this, look into your disability thoroughly and understand what you have. Don’t count on Social Security Disability to do much for you. It is difficult to get, and pays little.

Disability insurance is most likely the most important thing you can do to protect your financial future. Most people think that death is more likely but it is not. Illness is the most common cause. Disability occurs to one in seven workers who are then disabled for five years or more. Disability and not death results in most home losses to mortgage default. In times like these, where money maybe tight, eliminating insurances like these is foolhardy, shortsighted and may end up very costly.