Life is full of risks!  It doesn’t matter if you are driving in a car and get into an accident or you get hurt on the job, getting sick, being ill or being hurt can make it so you might not even be able to earn a living anymore (or temporarily).  This is one of the biggest reasons why insurance is available, and there are all sorts of options available in terms of different facets of your life to protect.  Below, we will be going over the top types of insurance you should have to protect your life, the way you live and the lives of your loved ones.  These types of insurance include; Life insurance, Health insurance, Long-Term Disability insurance and Auto Insurance.

Life Insurance

One of the best reasons to have life insurance, to be honest, is for if anything ever happens to you to provide for those you leave behind.  This might be a very important type of insurance if you leave someone behind that may depend on your salary, but it’s also important for anyone that is in your family that will have to take care of aftercare services, funerals for instance, that might not have the money to do so otherwise.  There are quite a few ways of going about picking the right amount, but most experts in the Life Insurance industry say that it’s a good idea to find a policy that will equal out to be 10 times what you make in a year.  So if you make $60,000 a year, your policy should be for $600,000.  This will not only come existing expenses like doctor fees and medical bills, but it will also cover funeral expenses and still leave money left over so that your family can have a nice financial cushion.  This will also cover future worries like mortgage payments, how to pay for college, credit cards, etc.  There are 2 types of life insurance.  Traditional Whole Life and Term Life.  When picking the right policy, consider your age, the number of children or other people who rely on you, your occupation and more.

Health Insurance

These days it’s very hard to find a job or career that gives you free health insurance if you only have a part time job.  Instead, they mainly give it to people that have full time jobs, and even then sometimes companies and businesses will not offer it.  A recent study at one of the top colleges, Harvard, noted that when it comes to bankruptcies in the US, that in 2007 62% of all money issues had to deal with health problems.  If you want extra insurance or your job does not currently offer health insurance, it’s a good idea to look for a health insurance company in Summit that you can sign up with.  Make sure that before choosing anyone that you always shop around and do some comparisons such as benefits, pros and cons, as well as prices and coverage to find the best one to go with.

Long-Term Disability Coverage

While most people know they need life or health insurance, when it comes to Long-Term Disability Coverage, most people think this is something they will never need, and while that may be true for some people, it’s not always true for everyone.  This is a type of insurance that is for people that could possibly become disabled.  Statistics show that 3 in 10 people that are in the workforce right now will become disabled at some point or another, and that as of right now around 12% of people in the world are disable din some way, shape or form.  This might be a good option for people that work in high-risk occupations such as people who work on oil rigs, warehouses, work with heavy machinery, construction sites, etc.  While health insurance will help deal with things like medical bills, only Long-Term Disability Coverage is going to help cover your expenses while you are disabled.  There are of course different policies.  It would be the best option to find a policy where you are 100% covered for your income, but these tend to cost a lot more than something that only covers 40-60%.

Auto Insurance

Not only is it beneficial to have auto insurance, it’s the law in most states in the USA.  Even if it’s not a law where you live, chances are there are requirements when it comes to a car accident.  If you live in a state where they require car insurance and you have a random check done and do not have insurance, this can result in fees, penalties, having your license taken away or even getting points placed on your driving record.  In 2009 alone, there were well over 10 million traffic accidents!  Because of these accidents there were around $70B worth of damage in cars alone, not to mention other expenses like injuries.  Car insurance isn’t as much money as some people seem to think though, in fact for most people their car insurance costs a fraction of the cost of something like health insurance!  A few years ago I had a used car I had insured, and the cost was a measly $65 a month for standard coverage.  And it was even less if I paid in advance of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months ahead of time.  Not only is not having car insurance a good way to put yourself in the hole by owning someone else money because of an accident you were in, specifically one that was your fault, but not having the money for repairs or a new car, could put you in dire circumstances – you probably have a car because it gets you to work for example; without insurance, you not only will be paying for someone else’s medical and car expenses, but if the accident is bad enough to where you can’t drive the car, how are you going to get to work to provide for yourself or your family?