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Are you setting your budget for 2009? If so, there is a good chance that you are focusing closely on your expenses. After all, if you can cut expenses you can save money. But guess what? You may be leaving some things out that are very important. For instance, are you including insurance premiums? This is one (which is sometimes more than one) expense that many forget to write into their budget. Did you make this mistake?

Even if you only pay your insurance premiums once or twice per year, instead of monthly, you still need to budget for them. For instance, many people pay their auto insurance every six months. In this case you need to take the total amount due and divide it by 12. This will show you how much money you need to save each month for this particular expense.

If your budget does not currently include insurance premiums you should go back and change this. You don’t want your budget to be thrown out of whack because you left these important and often times expensive expenses out of the equation. A budget is only accurate if it includes all of your income and expenses.

Some people get so caught up in their day to day budget that they never think about important long term details such as their insurance needs. It is very important that all of your insurance needs are taken care of. What type of insurance do you need? Well, this all depends on who you are, your age, and the position you are in.

First things first, everybody needs health insurance. This is the case no matter if you are a young child or retired. When it comes down to it, quality health insurance is very important and you need to make sure you are always covered.

Do you have a car? If so, and you want to legally drive, you also need car insurance. It is against the law to drive without insurance in the United States. Instead of taking the risk of getting caught you should always carry the proper amount of coverage.

Other important types of insurance include life, long term care, disability, and home among many others.

If you are not sure about the type of insurance you have, or if you have enough, you should take a closer look at your situation to ensure that you are not missing out on anything important.

Nobody really wants to think about getting old and needing long-term care, but it’s important to consider the possibility that you might need expensive care. Do you have the savings to pay for this if it becomes necessary, or should you look at taking out a long-term care insurance policy? There are arguments for both sides which you really have to weigh up for your personal situation. (more…)

It’s a pretty rare case to find a home owner who doesn’t have insurance for their home - but it’s not rare at all to find people who don’t really know what their home insurance actually covers, and I’m afraid to admit that I’m one of them. I signed up for a standard home insurance policy but don’t know for sure what is and isn’t included on that - for example, if my home was flooded I don’t know if it would be covered adequately.

It seems obvious to hear but checking your home owners’ insurance is sufficient and appropriate is something many of us need to do. Your home is likely to be the most expensive thing you own, so making sure it is covered in the case of an accident or emergency is really important.

In the United States, for example, many basic home insurance policies do NOT cover events like flooding and water damage, earthquakes and power failure, unless you specifically ask for the cover and pay an additional premium. You should check what your policy covers, and even more important, what it doesn’t, and consider the likely risk of these events happening in your area or to your home. Check the costs for additional insurance and make an informed decision about exactly what your insurance covers and at what cost. Paying a slightly higher premium, or even just being aware of what is and isn’t covered, is a whole lot better than discovering in the middle of a crisis that your insurance doesn’t cover what you thought it did.

photo credit: dan taylor

You can never predict when a hurricane, earthquake, fire or other disaster is going to hit - but you can predict that they will keep occurring, somewhere in the world. And that’s why being prepared for disaster is not just a matter of having an escape plan but also making sure you won’t be financially devastated. (more…)

photo credit: CarbonNYC

It’s easy to take your home and its contents for granted - it’s there when you wake up and there when you get home at night. And the home insurance is just another bill that you pay every year with thinking too much about it. But that can sure lead to problems, which is why checking these tips could save you a whole lot of hassle: (more…)

credit: Joshua Davis (jdavis.info)

Buying insurance is always about weighing the odds, and now, more than ever, it seems that travel insurance is well worth the gamble. However, as you plan where to go, investing your hard-earned cash, devote a bit of time to the best travel insurance for your needs: (more…)

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If you stop working because you lose your job or you make the decision to retire early, it’s important to consider the different avenues for getting medical insurance coverage. For many people, the shock of how much the full payments will be, compared to the lesser amount they had to contribute while they were employed, is enough to make them give up medical coverage, but there are definitely better ways. About.com lists the possibilities in the following order of priority: (more…)

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Insurance salespeople will assure you that a dozen different kinds of insurance are necessary to feel secure in life. But often these very insurance policies are what’s holding you back financially, insuring you for low-risk “what if” scenarios, and very often not even actually covering what you think they are. Try these tips to figure out exactly what insurances are important in your life:

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Auto insurance in one of those frustrating expenses in life – it can be quite expensive, but the alternative of not having any and being involved in an accident can be a whole lot more expensive. Here are some ways you might be able to save money on your car insurance:

1. Compare quotes from at least three different insurance companies – the amounts can vary considerably, and some might offer discounts if you can pay the premium annually.
2. Ask if you can get a discount by buying your other insurance needs from the same company.
3. Keep your driving record clean, and remind your insurance agent if your accident or speeding fine is more than three or four years old – at most, after five years, you can usually be insured as a driver with a clean record.
4. Increase the deductibles on your policy, especially for highly unlikely events. Check with your insurance agent about exactly what the possibilities are – some insurance companies have standard deductibles that won’t change unless you ask about them, and this could lower your insurance costs.
5. Be aware that if you are a student, having good grades can actually get you an insurance policy discount as well.
6. Consider installing anti-theft devices to your car – check with your insurance company about how much these will decrease your premium and decide if it is worthwhile.