Auto insurance

Earthquake Insurance in California

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:17:44 +0000

As the water began to drain from New Orleans in 2005, we learned that most of the homeowners in New Orleans did not have flood insurance, since they were supposedly in “low risk” areas. The over 60% of homeowners will need to depend upon their own savings, and limited federal assistance, to rebuild New Orleans – at an uncalculated cost for homeowners and taxpayers.

Could that level of disaster, especially that level of uninsured disaster, happen in California? Less than 15% of California homeowners currently carry earthquake insurance, due to its high cost, the “can’t happen to me or my house” factor, and mortgage providers not requiring coverage. The next big quake will result in billions of uninsured damage – but is earthquake insurance really worth the high cost?

How Did We Get Here?

The state of California requires that all homeowner’s insurance providers to at least offer earthquake insurance (albeit, at a high cost). Until 1994, it was widely available – but the high damage costs of the Northridge earthquake resulted in 97% of homeowner’s insurance providers pulling out of the state the California. In response, the California Earthquake Authority was formed by the California legislator to provide earthquake insurance.

What Is the California Earthquake Authority, and How Does It Work?

The California Earthquake Authority provides two-thirds of the earthquake policies in California, sold through their member providers, like Allstate and State Farm. A homeowner purchases the policy through their regular insurance agent, but the policy is actually a CEA policy.

The CEA currently has about $7.2 billion to pay claims, which it states is enough to pay foreseeable damages (Loma Prieta in 1989 had $6 billion in total damages). If the damage claims are more than $7.2 billion, then each claim would be paid a prorated portion of their losses – unlike a regular insurance company, which promises to pay the actual damages under the insurance policy. The state of California cannot help pay the claims out of general funds.

The policies also have a high deductible – usually 15% of the value of the dwelling. In other words, your home must be damaged more than 15% of its value before the insurance starts paying. So, this insurance is not for cracks in the driveway – it is for significant structural damage to your home. The policy also pays for limited contents (starting at $5K) and loss of use (starting at $1500).

Why Is Earthquake Insurance So Expensive?

Insurance policy premiums are calculated based on probabilities – the probability that a house like yours in a neighborhood like yours will catch fire, or a driver like you will have an accident. With data from millions of homes, these probabilities can be calculated with reasonable accuracy. But, no one can reliably predict the probability that there will be an earthquake strong enough to damage your home.

And, as you can imagine, damages from an earthquake, flood, or hurricane, are widespread, over potentially thousands of square miles – instead of one or a few dozen homes, as in a fire. As such, the insurer would have to pay either zero claims, or billions of dollars of claims – too much variance to reasonably plan for or price accurately.

Are We Really At Risk Here in San Jose?

According to the USGS, there is a 62% probability that there will be an earthquake of 6.7 or greater (like the Northridge quake) in the Bay Area in the next 30 years. In my zip code (San Jose 95126), USGS calculates a 80% chance of a 6.0 earthquake and a 20% chance of a 7.0, in the next 30 years. Whether you consider that to be a high risk depends on your risk tolerance for earthquakes – I consider that a high risk of a moderate earthquake and a somewhat low risk of a terrible earthquake, over the next 30 years.

But like any issue involving real estate – it is all local. Where your home is actually located significantly affects your risk – bedrock, reclaimed land from the bay, soil type, nearby streams, actual distance from the epicenter – all can affect potential damage.

But of course, many earthquakes occur where the USGS was not even aware of a fault line – and we never know when or where it will happen, until it happens.

Should I Obtain Earthquake Insurance?

Factors to Consider:
Could you afford to pay for the rebuilding your home from your own savings & investments? Can you afford to pay the high cost of insurance, indefinitely? Could make payments on your current mortgage and on a new loan to rebuild? Can you mitigate your potential losses by bolting your roof to the walls and the walls to the foundation, for example? What is your tolerance for the risk of an earthquake? What is the risks of your current home construction (type, age, foundation)? What are the risks of your specific location (soil type, distance to known faults)?

Are the Costs Worth It?

Let’s assume that you have a home that would cost $250K to rebuild, you will own the home for the next 30 years, and your earthquake premiums are $1200 per year. Over the next 30 years, that would be a total of $36,000 in premiums (assuming your premiums do not increase, to simplify calculations).

Instead of purchasing insurance, you invest the premiums in a diversified mutual fund. With an 8% annual return, you would have $135,000 (pre-tax) in year 30.* But of course, you only have that total in year 30, not in year one – meaning that if the earthquake happens tomorrow, you don’t have the money.

The deductible is another big turn off for many homeowners. The insurance pays only for large structural damage, not broken dishes or cracked driveways – meaning that it is less likely you will use it. However, be aware that you will not need to come up with the cash for the deductible – you may either opt to not undertake those repair or rebuilding costs, or you can apply for an SBA loan to pay for the deductible (assuming a federal disaster area is declared).

Why Not Just Get Federal Aid, or “Walk Away” and Let the Bank Have the Property?

The federal government would probably provide access to SBA loans, if the area is declared a federal disaster area (no small business required). However, the $200K maximum SBA loan may not be enough to rebuild your home – and, it is a loan that you need to pay back (in addition to your current mortgage).

If you have refinanced your mortgage, you have a recourse mortgage – which means that not only can the bank foreclose on the property in case of non-payment, the bank can also come after your personal assets and future income in case of non-payment. So you cannot just walk away, especially if you have a good income and some personal assets. The bank may help out by deferring payments for a few months, but you still must pay back the loan.

Last Thoughts

We have earthquake insurance on our home. Our home was not yet built in the 1906 earthquake (so who knows if it would stand), it is 75+ years old and is not bolted to the foundation, and we have a refinanced mortgage. For my family, the insurance premiums are worth peace of mind in case of a major earthquake disaster. That’s exactly what insurance is for – the “you never know.”

*calculations ignore inflation

By: Elizabeth Potts Weinstein

Self Employed Insurance – Health and Dental Coverage Plans

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:34:32 +0000

Self employed insurance – whether medical or dental – is rarely cheap, at least when compared to employer-provided insurance plans. When starting a new small business or going out on your own, arranging for proper dental care and health care is a very important part of the process. Since solo professionals already have so much to think about and so many different hats to wear, this is often an overlooked area. Unfortunately, not making proper plans in the early stages can be very detrimental.

Why do so many small businesses fail every year? There are a lot of reasons, but perhaps the most important and most common is related to cash flow problems. And one of the major reasons behind cash flow failure or slow down is an inability to increase income over time. To take this one step further, I am sure you can imagine a number of reasons it could become difficult to increase income in a small business or a self employed operation.

Imagine that you are a self employed professional who is solely responsible for your ability to earn a living for you and to bring home the bacon to your family. Maybe you are a dentist. Well, what happens if you suddenly become very sick or temporarily disabled? Without you out on the front lines of your business, the income flow is going to slow down or come to a complete stop. Your ability to recover from an illness quickly is paramount to your success in a self employed venture.

Health insurance should not be your only area of concern. Dental care is very important as well as you will want to plan accordingly to care for your teeth – a very important component in any insurance coverage plan for the self-employed. Although there are a number of important factors to consider which may or may not make you a good candidate, most small business owners should secure quality health insurance, dental insurance, and even vision coverage if possible.

When you start looking at your options, use the World Wide Web first to make your research process easy and focused. Steer clear of websites that ask you for lots of personal information upfront and stick to focused articles that help you make sense of the rather confusing insurance terrain. With so many concepts to think about (HSA, Liability, Disability, Term Life, etc.) you will want to consult with experts before visiting a provider and researching prices and getting quotes.

By: Jason Clegg

Diamond Ring Insurance

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:21:11 +0000

If you are lucky enough to have received a diamond ring for engagement or just a gift or are considering purchasing one for someone then it is worth looking into insuring such a precious stone.

Many people forget the importance of insuring a diamond ring, what can be worse than falling in love with a ring and something happening to it, whether it is lost or damaged if the ring is not insured then the costs will have to be forfeited by the owner, If the diamond ring was expensive then you may find your self in a situation where you simply can not afford to replace or repair the ring.

Diamond ring insurance is not as simple as you may think, most insurance companies will not just cover the item on your normal policy, some may cover jewelry for theft but not for other circumstances where by the diamond ring has become lost or damaged.

Most insurance companies will allow you to purchase additional insurance for fine jewelry and your diamond ring however there are a few questions you should ask before taking out this addition to your existing policy.

1st and most importantly you will want to know how much the insurance will cost. It is also wise to ask how this will affect your policy should you need to make a claim for your diamond ring.

2nd ask if an appraisal needed to cover your diamond ring and if so would these need to be provided by yourself by specific appraiser or will your insurance company take care of this for you.

3rd ask if the diamond ring be covered for its full value or replacement cost and will this be in the form of a cash sum where by you would purchase the replacement ring yourself or will the insurance company replace the diamond ring themselves and send to you.

4th check if the diamond ring be covered wherever the damage or loss takes place, some insurance companies will only cover loss or damage within your own company so additional travel insurance may be needed if you were to go abroad.

5th will the insurance cover all repairs on the diamond ring and who will make any repair to the ring, some insurance companies have their own tradesmen who would make any repairs needed other insurance companies will ask for several estimates provided by yourself before you can go ahead and get the diamond ring repaired.

6th always ask about excess, this is a sum of money you will pay before anything is repaired or replaced, this is normally ascertained by the value of the ring, it is a very important aspect of insurance, you may find small repairs can be done without going through your insurance, some cases will show that it simply is not worth paying the excess to replace or repair your diamond ring depending on the excess figure.

Diamond ring insurance may sound daunting but it need not be, knowing what to ask and knowing the facts always helps.

By: Vicki Churchill

Differences Between Firearm Insurance and Firearm Business Insurance

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:22:38 +0000

The difference between firearm insurance and firearm business insurance is based on the use that the weapons receive. Therefore, a business working with firearms should not be satisfied with firearm insurance and should get firearm business insurance too.

Simple firearm insurance protects the bearer from accidents and liability by damages produced with the gun. However, if the firearms are used as part of a business like in sporting firearm commerce or collector’s exhibitions, there is another kind of policy that needs to be purchased. Moreover, there are actually two different policies that are known as firearm business insurances.

Firearm Insurance

Firearm insurance protects the owner and or bearer of the weapon from damages caused by its use or misuse (depending on the extension of the insurance contract). The average policy includes only accidents caused by the use of the gun, however, some insurance policies may include other risks like damage to properties when using the weapon reasonably, etc.

Under no circumstances an insurance policy will cover for the illegal use of a firearm that results in damages to people or possessions. However, damages caused when using a firearm to defend oneself are usually covered by firearm insurance policies as the self defense is an exception that excludes the misdemeanor from most actions that would otherwise constitute a crime.

Firearm Business Insurances

As explained above, there are two different types of firearm business insurances. Neither of them has to do with actual firearm insurance and should complement it. These insurances protect the holder, user or transporter of any damages caused to the weapon or by the weapon under its commercial use. Since firearms can be used commercially in different ways, more than one insurance policy had to be created.

Collector policies are firearm business insurance that protect the owner against damages when the weapons are not fired or used. This includes the use of weapons only for exhibits, and needs also to protect the goods while they are in route to a show or exhibition against: fire, flood, theft, damage, explosion or other accidental damages that may render the firearm useless for the commercial purpose covered.

Sporting firearm business insurance, on the other hand, protects weapons that are used for competitive shooting, target shooting, hunting or any other LEGAL use that implies firing the weapons. It obviously protects both the weapons and other possessions and people from the damages caused by the firearms.

On both cases, it is very important to obtain, prior to the insurance contract, an appraisal of the firearm value, especially when the weapon is an antique. It is advisable to get it from a third party and not to resort only to the insurance company’s appraisal specialists even if your are asked to provide a value yourself for the insurance contract as price variations can occur and you should be protected of that too.
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By: Hilary Bowman

Home Insurance Claims – Tips For Filing And Winning

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:59:25 +0000

The process of filing home insurance claims can mean only one thing, you have suffered a loss of some sort. Now the work begins. Acquiring home insurance is easy, with the help of your insurance agent or broker. Obtaining a quote and policy activation can happen very quickly. However, things do not go quite so smoothly when you try to file a claim on your home insurance. It can be in some cases, be shocking at how your once accommodating agent can all of a sudden seem a bit jumpy upon hearing the word “claim” mentioned.

A best case scenario is, the claim form is completed and the insurance adjuster has viewed the damage and assessed the claim as appropriate, then it is just a matter of waiting for the check to arrive from the insurance company, which is usually a reasonably smooth procedure.

However, winning a home insurance claim is not always so straightforward. The insurance company will be looking to find ways to throw out your claim in some cases. The main reasons they will use to reject your claim are that you are not adequately covered, your time period for filing has expired or that what you are asking for exceeds the claimable amount as detailed on your policy.

For these reasons, it is essential that you understand exactly what your policy states and covers. The policy itself is a binding agreement between you and your insurance company. You should read all the fine print and know exactly what you are covered for and what deductibles and exclusions exist. It is extremely important that anything you don’t understand and any questions you have to ask be brought up at the time of taking out your policy.

Here are some tips to help you win a home insurance claim. First of all, evaluate your claim situation. Is this claim your first within the initial two or three years of the policy? If the answer to this question is yes, then ask yourself about the harm done to your property. Is your home vastly damaged? If you do not consider the damage to be great, it may well be better not to make a small claim at all. Lets face it, you never know what’s around the corner and you may be wise to save your insurance claim in order to declare something bigger in the future. Insurers are less likely to grant many small claims for damages than one large one.

Following an incident where losses or damages have taken place, you should call your agent to make a report and ask him to forward a claim form to you. Absolutely be able to document all items and property damaged or lost. Make sure you know how long you have to make the claim and where it should be submitted to once it is completed. Even if you are confident about filling in the claim form, make any queries you have in writing and take instruction and guidance from your agent. Ensure you do it right and you will be safe in the knowledge that everything is documented as it should be.

You can expect a successful result if you submit your filing in a timely manner before expiration. Your knowledge of the terms and conditions of the coverage you have in your policy will play a huge part in you filing a accurate claim, this can not be over emphasized. If you are really not happy with the insurance claims adjusters assessment, you may want to consult/hire a independent private claims adjuster. You have that right. All in all as the homeowner, don’t give up if your if your claim is disputed, you have to stay on top of your policy terms and sometimes insurance companies as well to be win home insurance claims.

By: Rhonda Strump

Insurance For the Community

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:38:05 +0000

It might be unusual to think about, but insurance is actually a good idea for the entire community. When most people think of insurance, they think about how it can benefit them or their company on an individual basis. However, insurance also helps to benefit the same time, since whatever affects the individual also affects the entire community. Here is a look at how.

Providing for the future

By taking out an insurance policy against fire or flood or other property damage, you are not only taking care of your business in the present, but also safeguarding it for the future. Doing this shows that you have a stable business and company. A company that stays around has an impact on the community. On a personal level, having life insurance helps a man or woman to provide not only for their family while they are alive, but also for a period after they have died. Relieving the community of expenses

Many insurance policies can help remove the burden of caring for an individual from the community. For instance, workman’s compensation insurance, disability insurance, maternity coverage, health insurance, and life insurance can all take care of a person, and/or their family, in a different instance where they would normally rely on the community to do so. This can help to prevent poverty and the reliance upon public aid in the event of an injury or disaster. Often, many of the natural disasters that would normally impoverish families would have less of an impact if the families had insurance.

Help maintain the standard of living

Insurance helps to make sure that individuals, families, and businesses aren’t left penniless after a disaster. By doing so, they are able to maintain the current standard of living for those people.

Balance payments

Without insurance, the cost of things would shift dramatically. For instance, should a company have several debtors bankrupt out of loans; they would be forced to raise prices to make up for the difference. Then they would have to wait for money to come in again to be able to drop prices. This could have a huge impact on the market. By having insurance, losses like these are absorbed so that their impact on society is much less.

Reduce losses

Insurance also helps to reduce the actual calamities that it is designed to pay for. For instance, take discount car insurance. Because premiums for car insurance go up when there is an accident, many drivers are more careful while they are driving. By driving more carefully, there are fewer total accidents on the road.

Insurance equals equality

Having insurance allows small businesses to compete with larger businesses because the insurance helps to eliminate some of the risk. This can allow for more competition in the market and make it easier for small business owners to stay in business.

Having insurance is not beneficial just for the individual who carries the policy. Instead, it is beneficial to the entire community as a whole.

By: Sarah Martin

How Verified Liability Insurance Attracts Contractors

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:59:24 +0000

If you are a small information technology (IT) business and finding it hard to get contractors to work with your company, maybe you are overlooking the importance of verified liability insurance. Having business insurance can really add a level of professionalism and ease tension when getting work from outside contractors.

Let Them Know You Trust Their Abilities

Let’s face it, no one wants to work for a small IT company if they don’t respect their workers and offer coverage in dangerous or risky situations. Professional liability insurance makes contractors more comfortable because their skills are backed up by your company’s coverage. You basically instill confidence in contractors when you offer professional liability insurance.

Have Control of Any Detrimental Situation

In addition, if you hire a contractor, you both want to make sure things run smoothly. If something goes wrong, though, you want things to be under control. If the contractor looses client information or data, doesn’t show up, or there’s a system failure, your professional liability insurance will put all three parties (you, the contractor, and the client) at ease. It’s the perfect solution.

Verified Liability Insurance Eases Contractors By:

• Instilling confidence in their work

• Protecting them and you from injury or unsatisfactory service/product

• Adding comfort for all parties involved

• Building stronger trust between you and the contractor

• Ensuring the project will run smoothly

• Proving that your business is professional

Overview of General Liability Insurance

Most companies will find a general liability insurance package that lines up with their business operations. If you are a small IT business without many risky scenarios, general liability insurance is probably a great money-saving option. It will cover most accidents and, most importantly, cover destruction or theft to your computer’s software and hardware. General liability insurance covers almost everything related to bodily injury, property damage, products-completed operations, fire or explosion damage, and legal defense costs. There are also a ton of other options that usually come with general liability insurance.

Add Professional Liability Insurance to the Mix

While general liability insurance covers mostly physical damage or injury, professional liability insurance will cover you if a client claims financial loss due to your service or product. This is extremely important for your business if you are contracting work out. You never know when a little slip up will cause a catastrophe for your client. Get assistance from a professional broker to find a good insurance rate for your specific business. There are a wide range of options, so invest your time and money in finding the appropriate professional liability insurance to suit your specific needs.

Show Off Your Business’s Professionalism

A sense of professionalism really adds trust and will make your relationship with the contractor much stronger. Business insurance really proves that you are an honest business owner. If you can prove to contractors that you mean business and want to make sure all parties are covered in messy situations, they will be much more willing to work with you.

Make Negotiations Run Smoothly

Negotiations will also move along much quicker without conflict. There’s nothing worse than getting close to an agreement and then it falling through at the last minute, leaving you without a contractor. With liability insurance backing you up, it’s much more likely that you will reach an easy agreement with the contractor.

So start building your contractor relationships today and find insurance that will suit you and your company.

By: James Cochran

Photography Insurance-Insurance for the Photographer

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:28:20 +0000

Part and parcel of establishing your own photographic business is establishing your own legal entity. This means establishing yourself for taxes. This is broader than the scope of this article, because every country has it’s own business rules. Also every state in federal countries has different legal rules. The first thing you need to do is register your business according to your local rules, if you are unsure of this either take legal advice or go and see your local town hall and ask them about local legal requirements.

You then need to separate your private finances from your business finances. Even if you pay your bills with a credit card you should have a separate business card.

Once you have set up your business, then you have to ensure that that business is protected, and one of the ways you can do this is to insure yourself against risks to your business. Whilst you should be able to insure an overall business policy for your business you need to make sure that all the liabilities you face both fiscally and legally are covered. We live in a litigative society, and whilst insurance may seem an expense you can do without, it gives you peace of mind. You need to consider insurance for your errors, omissions and liabilities, as well as ensuring your equipment for loss or damage. You also need an insurance against a claim made as a result of an accident, occurring whilst you are conducting a photographic session.

All sorts of simple errors and omissions can occur between taking the photographs and giving the finished image to the customer. Film can get lost either through your fault or the processor’s. Images may be lost whilst shipping, or in the postal system. Images may also be lost by private carriers, paying a premium price for services may not be sufficient, do you know whether or not you are covered by their insurance, and if you are what is the limit? Whilst it is possible for images to be lost in Cyberspace you should be able to cover those eventualities yourself, by having back up systems. You may release the images to the incorrect party. As well as this there may be a human delay and you may find yourself in the wrong venue, with no time to correct this.

There are other errors that you can be held responsible for this; your customers may sustain a personal injury whilst they are in your home or studio. It is advisable to protect yourself with liability insurance. If someone trips or falls over a piece of equipment, you can be held responsible for the damage. One of your customers may even trip and sustain and injury outside your house on the steps, but if they are coming to your house for business purposes, the business is often deemed to be liable.

Depending on what type of work you are doing you may need an insurance policy for your models. Supposing you take a model to photograph to an outside location and she or he is struck by lightning, or a stray horse, etc? You will also have to ensure that all your equipment is also covered whilst you are on location, as well as inside your normal working area. If you work internationally on location, it is very important to ensure that everything is covered on an international basis.

When you protect your equipment make sure that remember to insure all of it. This does not include just your camera, lenses, and other obvious pieces, but your computer, fax machine, as well as all your software. If you use all your own dark room, then there is that equipment to insure as well. Even if you are using your house, your office equipment will not be included on a normal domestic policy.

As well as all these things you need to have a type of health insurance that covers you if you are sick, or cannot make an assignment. Also what happens when your car breaks down, and you miss a wedding? All sorts of events can and do occur.

It is also normal for any individuals to cover themselves for loss of income. You need to have an insurance policy for this, not just for your health expenses, but to ensure that over basic bills such as mortgages or repayments are covered.

If you have employees, then the business of insurance becomes more complicated, you need to ensure against their actions against your customer’s as well. Supposing they get caught up in a claim for sexual harassment, then you yourself are responsible. Each added little extra thing which you ensure yourself against will probably only add a few extra dollars to your annual bill, and the dollars spent may save a lot of heartache later.

You can ask to extend your private insurance to include a business package, or there are several companies that ensure the professional photographer’s needs with a separate package of comprehensive insurance. It may also be necessary to extend your vehicle insurance for the transportation of equipment, or it may be cheaper to include such things as loss of equipment from an unattended vehicle on your business package. It is not advisable to assume that you are covered for liabilities on existing insurance policies; it is always safer to check.

By: Roy Barker

Cheap Mortgage Life Insurance

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:09:18 +0000

Mortgage life insurance is a type of insurance that ensures the remaining balance on a mortgage is paid in case of death of the borrower. Cheap mortgage life insurance is available which the borrower can obtain with a little research of the market. Cheap mortgage life insurance refers to a policy with low rates. However, the rates depend on the type of mortgage and amount.

Mortgage life insurance is necessary for all borrowers who are opting for a mortgage. This is done to offer protection to the homeowners and their families against losing their income in case of unexpected death of the earner. The borrowers are required to fulfill their end of the bargain by making periodic fixed payments to the insurance company. These payments are known as the insurance premium and are determined on the basis of several factors. The insurance company in turn promises to compensate the beneficiaries named in the policy in the unfortunate event of the client?s death. This premium is usually included with the monthly mortgage payment. The borrowers do not have to worry about making another monthly payment towards the insurance policy.

Mortgage life insurance provides peace of mind to the borrowers, as they do not have to worry about their families or other dependents losing the house in case of a premature death. Further, getting a life insurance policy for protecting the mortgage is usually not very expensive. As the amount of the coverage goes on decreasing with the mortgage amount, the insurance also gets cheaper. To find out the best and the cheapest mortgage life insurance, borrowers must compare the life insurance prices of as many carriers as they can. This task has become quite easy as it is now possible to request multiple quotes over the Internet by filling out a single form.

By: Peter Emerson

Why Is Insurance Good To have?

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:10:38 +0000

Perhaps you are wondering why you need to have insurance. After all, you may be young and healthy, so why pay the money for an insurance policy? The answer to this question varies depending on the type of insurance your considering, but as a whole insurance is an important part of your financial plan.

First, some types of insurance are required by law or by lenders. If you have a mortgage, for instance, your lender will require you to have homeowners insurance. Lenders and state laws require auto coverage as well. For this reason, you really do not have a choice about purchasing auto insurance.

Insurance protects you from the things that you cannot anticipate. Accidents, natural disasters, or unexpected illnesses can strike without warning. The medical bills, repair bills, and other expenses caused by these events could wipe out your finances completely. Consider, for instance, if your home were to catch on fire. If you did not have insurance, you would have to pay for all of the repairs and replace all of your belongings out of your own pocket. Chances are you do not have this type of money.

Health insurance is one of the most common types of insurance to ignore, particularly for those who are in good health. Health insurance is expensive, but if you end up with cancer or some other devastating illness, you will not be able to afford the necessary treatment without health insurance. Cancer treatment, for instance, can cost millions of dollars. Without insurance, you would not be able to get access to the treatment that could potentially save your life.

Life insurance is another product you may not want to purchase. However, if you die without it, those you leave behind will have to pay thousands of dollars for your funeral expenses. You can purchase a small policy for an affordable price and be able to protect your loved ones after your death. As you can see, insurance is important for a variety of reasons, and living without it is a dangerous gamble that you should not make.

By: Cary Bergeron