Insurance

Okay, so I got out of order with that last post... actually - goal development is something that you should take plenty of time to review and develop. This should be done concurrent with getting your financial "ducks in a row", so maybe it wasn't that untimely after all.

At any rate, I had alluded to a discussion of insurance as one of our next topics. This will likely take several posts to cover things completely, as there are so many kinds of insurance, and so many issues to address with each kind. In this post, I'll simply list and describe the various different kinds of insurance, with the more important types (IMHO) listed toward the top of the list.

Health - what's more important to protect than your and your family's health? Coverage options here include comprehensive, major medical, and specific treatment plans, like dental or vision coverage.

Auto - another important type of insurance, as most states (including Illinois, where I'm located) require liability and medical expense coverage on your automobile. In addition, depending upon your requirements and the age and value of the vehicle, you may wish to carry collision, comprehensive, and/or some of the other options available.

Liability - in our litigious society, everyone should have coverage for general liability. For many folks, the liability coverage in their HomeOwner's (HO) policy may be adequate, but we'll discuss this separately from HO coverage because of the importance.

Homeowners - damage or loss of your house, your posessions, and protection from liability for you is what is provided by a HO policy. Here again, there are many variables to consider, so we'll discuss it separately.

Disability - this is coverage in the event that you become disabled and are unable to work at your current job. There are several types of disability policy available that we'll discuss. In my opinion, no one with financial obligations (i.e., bills to pay, family to support), should be without disability coverage.

Life - once again, this type of coverage is a necessity for anyone who has financial obligations. The array of policy types can be confusing, so I'll try to explain these as clearly as possible.

Long-Term Care - this kind of policy has gotten a lot of attention in the past few years. It is important to consider whether this makes sense for you, and then to consider all of the options within the policy(s) that could make the difference as to whether or not the coverage is adequate. LTC insurance is not for everyone - sometimes it just doesn't make sense. We'll discuss this in the LTC section.

So - there you are. Over the course of the next several posts I'll be taking one type of insurance at a time, explaining the types of policies, options available, and customized coverages that each type of insurance covers.

'til then -

jb