Insurance

Covering yourself against liabilities and other problems

Insurance

There are a number of ways of getting private insurance to cover eventualities and emergency situations. You can seek advice on different types of insurance from private insurance companies or from insurance consultants.

Be aware that most consultants work on commission so their advice may be biased. If you want unbiased advice, you should find an independent insurance consultant. Some banks also offer insurance consultancy as part of their financial advice or services.

Auto insurance

Auto insurance is mandatory in many states in the USA. Before issuing a policy, insurance companies generally do a thorough investigation. That includes the driver's record and prior claims history. If you don’t have a good driving record in the U.S. you will probably pay more for auto insurance.

Renters Insurance

Your landlord insures the property you live in but you need insurance to cover your own possessions. In addition, if someone was injured in your apartment you could be liable for that person’s medical expenses. Although you don’t own the place where you live, it makes good sense to get insurance.

Home insurance

Home Insurance covers costs in case of burglary, vandalism, storms and other events. It usually replaces damaged items at their current value, including furniture, appliances and a limited amount of cash. The insurance cover should correspond to the actual cost of the items insured in the household. If you have valuable possessions, it might be necessary to take out an additional policy.

Life insurance

Whole Life insurance guarantees the family of the insured person a fixed cash sum if he or she dies. You can also buy Term life insurance which does not include the cash value features inherent in whole life policies. Term life insurance covers you for a specific period of time, as short as one year, or as many as 10, 20, or even 30 years. You can also buy term insurance that covers you until you reach a certain age, usually 65 or 70. Term insurance policies expire at a set time.

You generally purchase term life insurance if you want to protect your loved ones from debts. For example, if you and your spouse own a home and you died, your spouse could be stuck paying the mortgage on his or her own. If you had a term life insurance policy, your spouse could have enough money from the policy's death benefit to pay off the mortgage.

Further reading

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