Insurance is one of those topics that people do not want to discuss. No one really wants to think about when they will die, getting sued, or becoming disabled. No one wants to talk or think about dying, getting sued, or becoming disabled. But, there are types of insurance you need to consider to protect yourself.
But, the people who are hurt the most are our family members when we do not have the proper insurance plans and coverages. Unfortunately, there are many types of insurance that you need to consider owning. Below are some of the most critical ones.
Three Types of Insurance You Need
Term Life Insurance
I’m a huge fan of term life insurance over whole life insurance. This, in and of itself, is enough for an entire book, let alone a paragraph. Permanent insurance, such as whole life insurance policies, is good for people who have a permanent need for insurance. The problem is that hardly anyone has a permanent need for insurance.
As we grow older, our children grow up and graduate from college. As we age, we pay off our mortgage and other debts, greatly reducing the need for insurance. If we retire, our spouses are typically are covered by our retirement investments throughout their lives. Though term life insurance rates vary between providers, a large amount of insurance for a low-cost premium right when we need the most coverage in our younger years.
I recently received a quote for term life insurance through Haven Life. Unlike most online insurance companies, Haven Life lets you apply right online, and you receive a decision on your coverage right after you click “Get my decision.”
Your insurance coverage starts immediately, and most qualified applicants do not even have to take a medical exam. MassMutual, a leading insurance company, owns Haven Life and issues its Haven Term policy. So, you know that your life insurance policy will be there if you need it (heaven forbid). MassMutual backs the company, and its policies are now available in all 50 states! Be sure to check out my complete review of Haven Life.
Disability Insurance
One out of three Americans will become disabled at some time in their working lives. You should have enough money set aside in a fully-funded emergency fund of three to six months of living expenses. But, what happens to you if you are injured and cannot work for longer than six months? Your emergency fund would be tapped out.
Your emergency fund would be tapped out. You need long term disability insurance that picks up after you exhaust your emergency fund. Short-term disability insurance can be quite pricey, but your costs in insurance premiums will dramatically decrease if you purchase a policy that starts six months after you become injured.
Umbrella Insurance
Nothing scares me more than getting sued. When you have teenage kids who start to drive or when you start to accumulate assets, the threat of a lawsuit grows every day. Having
Having umbrella insurance can help protect you again lawsuits that can quickly dwarf your liability coverage that you have with your car insurance coverage or homeowners insurance. Many car insurance policies limit the number of hospital bills that they will pay.
For example, some car insurance policies will only pay $100,000 in medical bills per person and up to a cap of $400,000 for total injuries in one car. You can quickly drain this amount of money if you hit a car full of people and someone is seriously hurt. If you do not own umbrella insurance, you could be on the hook for damages that eclipse your insurance. Many people can purchase $1 million coverages for a few hundred dollars per year.
Another place to place that you may want to use to check out quotes is Accuterm Life Insurance. It’s a great resource and lets you compare policies.
The above types of insurance are a part of a larger selection of other just as critical insurances, and the different types of life insurance besides the above-mentioned ones, include Whole Life Insurance, Final Expense Insurance, Indexed Universal, Credit Life Insurance, Variable or Universal Life Insurance and many others. Knowing the pros and cons of these can help you make a calculative decision about where you should be putting your money.
With so much choice, it is always recommended to sit down with your chosen insurance provider and discuss the one(s) that fits the best in your situation and the one you qualify for. They may be able to offer you a comprehensive package deal too.
Do not let the unpleasant topic dissuade you from protecting yourself and your family with the right types and amounts of insurance. You need to protect your income if someone depends on you and that income to survive and live their day-to-day lives. You need to protect your income.
You need to protect your income and either replace it with insurance or keep it coming in. That is why we need disability insurance. If you can’t keep the income coming in, you have to protect it.
And, today, we live in a far too litigious society that is quick to sue each other. It would help if you had umbrella insurance to protect yourself. There are many different types of insurance that you need to be aware of. While it is not a pleasant topic, it can save you a lot of money in the long run.
I understand why people like the term over whole life insurance mainly because it is much cheaper. But what would happen after 20 year term life insurance expires? You’ll have no insurance afterwards and to get a new term life at later would be very expensive. Maybe you don’t need life insurance by age 50 or so, but the fact is that many people actually use whole life to plan for their estate/will planning for their spouse/children, who will pay zero tax when you die. It’s almost similar to whether you should rent or buy a home. Both has pros and cons associated with it. Talk to friends, families, and even experts to discuss which is better.
People like term life insurance not only because it is quite a bit cheaper but also because your need for insurance is almost none when it expires if your children are grown, debts are paid, home is paid off, etc. You are absolutely right that everyone’s situation is different and they have different needs. You should carefully think about the pros and cons of both before jumping into either insurance policy. As for life insurance in estate planning, there are other options that may be better than an expensive whole life policy if you wanted to leave a legacy for your heirs.
In today’s litigious culture, an umbrella liability policy may be prudent, and relatively inexpensive. I once purchased a $1 million umbrella liability policy because doing so reduced the premiums enough on the auto and home policies I carried (with the same insurance company) to more than offset the cost of the umbrella policy.
It is indeed very important to have various forms of insurance cover in place. You may resent having to pay monthly premiums but at least you can be sure that your family’s financial security won’t be compromised should unfortunate events occur.