Failing to Review Your Insurance Can Cost You
The personal insurance contracts you possess may need to be updated annually if possible. The life, medical, disability, car and homeowner's insurance that you have may no longer meet your needs. Each contract should be looked at and adjusted as necessary.
Your need for life insurance may have changed since you reviewed it. You may have too much coverage. You may have too little life insurance. You may have the wrong kind of coverage.
If you are earning more money you may need to adjust the amount of life insurance you possess. One of the primary reasons to buy life insurance is to replace lost income. Having too little life insurance can mean that your dependents have too little income.
If you have more obligations now than when you bought your policy you may want to update your policy. A recent addition to your family can increase your requirements for insurance. The opposite is also true. If your children are now grown and self sufficient, you may require less protection than you did before.
Your need for health insurance may have changed. When is the last time you reviewed your health insurance policy? Your health care insurance policy may have a pregnancy rider that you no longer require. Or, it may not have coverage for maternity and you are planning to have more children.
Your policy's deductible may be too low or too high. You can easily over insure yourself by buying a contract with a deductible that is too low.
The limits on your contract may be lower than you need. The cost of a hospital stay goes up each year. Medical providers charge more each year. Unless your contract has no limits it may fall short if you have a serious medical problem.
Disability insurance gives you an income when you are unable to work due to an accident or sickness. If your income has increased, your disability insurance should also rise.
If your need for income has shrunk, you may want to reduce your coverage. If you are able to live off of your investments now you may no longer require this coverage.
Your car insurance policy has probably been updated when you bought and sold automobiles. It may not have been changed to make sure that you have adequate liability limits. It may not have been adjusted as your cars have grown older and perhaps no longer need collision and comprehensive coverage.
Your homeowners insurance needs adjustment on a regular basis. The amount of coverage you have on your dwelling needs to equal the cost of rebuilding your home. (Not the cost of purchasing a similar dwelling.) This amount changes from year to year and your plan should be adjusted.
If you have purchased jewelry since you bought your homeowners policy, you may want to make sure that you have enough jewelry insurance. You may need to purchase a rider or a separate plan to cover your jewelry. The standard home owner's insurance plan will only cover a small amount of jewelry.
Checking with other carriers to get the best rate is an important part of reviewing your insurance. Your needs change as time passes. So do the prices of the various insurance companies. Although it is more important to be sure that you have the right kind and amount of insurance protection, it is also important that you not pay too much for it.
The only way to make sure that your insurance policies still fit you is to review your needs and your insurance policies one by one. Being over insured means that you pay too much. Not having enough coverage can also hurt you. It means that you get paid too little when you need it the most.
Your need for life insurance may have changed since you reviewed it. You may have too much coverage. You may have too little life insurance. You may have the wrong kind of coverage.
If you are earning more money you may need to adjust the amount of life insurance you possess. One of the primary reasons to buy life insurance is to replace lost income. Having too little life insurance can mean that your dependents have too little income.
If you have more obligations now than when you bought your policy you may want to update your policy. A recent addition to your family can increase your requirements for insurance. The opposite is also true. If your children are now grown and self sufficient, you may require less protection than you did before.
Your need for health insurance may have changed. When is the last time you reviewed your health insurance policy? Your health care insurance policy may have a pregnancy rider that you no longer require. Or, it may not have coverage for maternity and you are planning to have more children.
Your policy's deductible may be too low or too high. You can easily over insure yourself by buying a contract with a deductible that is too low.
The limits on your contract may be lower than you need. The cost of a hospital stay goes up each year. Medical providers charge more each year. Unless your contract has no limits it may fall short if you have a serious medical problem.
Disability insurance gives you an income when you are unable to work due to an accident or sickness. If your income has increased, your disability insurance should also rise.
If your need for income has shrunk, you may want to reduce your coverage. If you are able to live off of your investments now you may no longer require this coverage.
Your car insurance policy has probably been updated when you bought and sold automobiles. It may not have been changed to make sure that you have adequate liability limits. It may not have been adjusted as your cars have grown older and perhaps no longer need collision and comprehensive coverage.
Your homeowners insurance needs adjustment on a regular basis. The amount of coverage you have on your dwelling needs to equal the cost of rebuilding your home. (Not the cost of purchasing a similar dwelling.) This amount changes from year to year and your plan should be adjusted.
If you have purchased jewelry since you bought your homeowners policy, you may want to make sure that you have enough jewelry insurance. You may need to purchase a rider or a separate plan to cover your jewelry. The standard home owner's insurance plan will only cover a small amount of jewelry.
Checking with other carriers to get the best rate is an important part of reviewing your insurance. Your needs change as time passes. So do the prices of the various insurance companies. Although it is more important to be sure that you have the right kind and amount of insurance protection, it is also important that you not pay too much for it.
The only way to make sure that your insurance policies still fit you is to review your needs and your insurance policies one by one. Being over insured means that you pay too much. Not having enough coverage can also hurt you. It means that you get paid too little when you need it the most.
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