JM GetMoore Insurance
& Financial Services

 

  When it comes to protecting yourself and your family, how does one know which insurance policies will protect what is most valuable to them and will still remain within their budget.  According to the February issue of Money magazine, there are five insurance policies everyone should own.  Those policies are health insurance, a home or renters policy and auto coverage.  If you have dependants it would be of best interest to you to purchase life insurance and if you are working you will want to purchase disability.  But, that is where you should draw the line and use your much needed hard earned income for other purchases.

  There are six types of policies that you’re better off not even considering. Those policies are: Involuntary unemployment, car rental, life insurance for kids, flight, cancer and mortgage.

  Involuntary unemployment insurance will cover payments on your credit cards, mortgage and other loans.  But the plans are expensive and will often make a limited number of loan payments.  Instead, use the money to build an emergency fund.  Car rental policies run between $7 and $15 dollars a day and cover damage to cars and people.  But, most auto policies already cover rentals, as do many credit cards, especially premium ones.  If you do not own a car or if you rent cars very often, ask your insurance agent about buying a non owner liability policy, which for a few hundred dollars a year will insure you for multiple rentals.  If you’re on company business, full coverage is probably provided.

  Life insurance policies for kids are a waste of money, according to Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America. Few depend on a child for income and deaths among children under 18 are extremely rare (an average of 1 in 3,000, according to actuarial tables used by the life insurance industry). To prepare for the unthinkable, you'd be wiser to add a seperate child rider to your own plan,which could cost you about $60 a year and provid a death benefit of roughly $10,000.

 

  Flight insurance is as unnecessary as bringing chopsticks to a pie-eating contest.  “This is sold completely on fear,” says Hunter.  Your regular life and health insurance will cover you if your plane crashes, and litigation will likely add to your compensation.  If you’re going on a business trip, your employer’s insurance protects you.

 

  Premiums on cancer policies are relatively low -about $30 a month- but you don’t get much in return.  This ty pe of insurance typically covers only hospital care, but most cancer treatments, from radiation to chemotherapy, are outpatient.  In addition, many cancer policies have fixed dollar limits, such as $50 or $100 for each day in the hospital, or up to $5,000 in total benefits.  Skin cancer, the most common form of the disease, is often excluded.   

  Jeff Moore, President of JM GetMoore Insurance & Financial Services, recommends that instead of investing in a cancer insurance plan invest in a full critical illness insurance policy that can pay you a lump sum cash benefit up to $250,000 if you are diagnosed with 1 of 13 illnesses, one of which includes cancer.   

  Mortgage policies would make payments on your mortgage if you become disabled or die.  But so would term life or disability insurance plans.  So, if you need to increase your coverage to include house debt, consider boosting the more comprehensive policies you already have instead of buying an additional one.

  For your complimentary face-to-face or phone consultation please contact our Firm at (956) 928-1811 or visit our website www.getmooreinsurance.com.