Insurance

Insurance is broad so we'll cover most of the important things to consider when dealing with insurances for either yourself, the home or for your estate.

Let's start with basic insurance. The bottom line is that you need it. If you rent an apartment, you should have insurance especially in a big city.

If you own a home, you need insurance.

If you drive a car, you need insurance.

Most insurance compaines will interview you to determine your level of risk. Depeding on what type of insurance you're pursuing they can ask;

What do you do for a living? Do you smoke? Do you drive to work everyday? Do you have an alarm system in your home, car? Do you have fire estinguisher? How far away is the fire hydrant from your home? Do you have anti-lock brakes on your car?

The list goes on and on. This types of questions determine the premium or price you'll pay to get the insurance. In some cases you may be rejected because you may be a high risk policy holder.

All insureres are different, less expensive is not always better so shop around and make sure you're happy with your policy. Also, make sure you requests discounts depending on how you answered the questions above. Remember it is their job to drill you for answers so be prepared and do your research. The best advice is to speak to friends and family about what insurance companies they use.

Another important note to remember that we Americans waste some $300 billion a year because we forget to ask for discounts. Make sure you add items to your policy to keep it updated.

Another great suggestion is to video tape your entire house and it's contents. Pay special attention to those high prices items. Video the inside and the outside of your home. Include a list of those items in a nice typed out sheet describing items and their locations. Send your insurer a copy because if anything happens you have proof of your belongings and how much they are worth. It is best to keep this copy of the video tape and list outside of your home. Perhaps your sister's Susie can hold on to the copy, it's best to be prepared.

Remember, Insurance companies are not your friend especially when something terrrible happens. If you file for a claim the insurer will send a claims adjuster to check things out. They are through and heartless. So the better you're prepared the better you'll be in the long run.

Click on Estate Planning to learn all about estate planning and the documents you need to protect yourself and your family.

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