What are the Most Common Types of Insurance? A Comprehensive Guide

Selecting the right type and amount of insurance is based on your specific situation, such as children, age, lifestyle, and employment benefits. The four types of insurance that most financial experts recommend are life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance and long-term disability. Unlike car insurance, no state law stipulates that you must have homeowners coverage. However, if you financed your home, your lender will normally require coverage to protect your interests in your property.

This way, if your home is damaged or destroyed, you have the funds to rebuild it and you won't abandon your mortgage. Even if you don't have a mortgage and have paid for your home directly, you are responsible for repair or replacement costs if something damages or destroys your home and you don't have home insurance. It is wise to purchase a home insurance policy. Remember that a standard home insurance policy doesn't cover damage caused by floods or earthquakes, but separate insurance is available for these issues. If you don't own a home, that doesn't mean you don't need insurance.

Renters insurance helps you replace your belongings, such as electronics, furniture, and clothing, if they are stolen or damaged. Issues covered include fires, tornados, explosions, and more. Auto, home and renters insurance include liability coverage that protects your assets and those of your family from lawsuits brought against you. However, all policies have limits of liability.

If you have significant assets, your home insurance, renters insurance, or auto liability insurance may not be enough if you lose an expensive lawsuit. If someone depends on you financially, it's essential to find the best life insurance for your situation. Households would face financial difficulties within six months if the main wage earner died and, for 28%, it would be just one month, according to LIMRA, an industry-funded research firm. Life insurance is a way to replace your income if you die unexpectedly.

Term life insurance

allows you to set rates for a certain period of time, such as 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. During this time, your premiums are level.

Once the tier's term ends, you can usually renew your policy annually, but each time at a higher cost. If you want to cover a specific financial obligation, such as college years or debt, term life insurance may be a good option for you. Term life insurance is often the most affordable type of life insurance.

Permanent life insurance

can provide lifetime coverage. In addition to the death benefit, permanent life insurance includes a cash value component. If the cash value increases, you can access the money by applying for a loan or withdrawing funds.

If you decide to cancel the policy, you can keep the cash value of the policy (less any cancellation fees). Consider taking out permanent life insurance if you want to build up cash value to supplement your retirement savings or to provide a death benefit to someone who depends on you financially for an extended period of time. Permanent life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance. Types of permanent life insurance include comprehensive life insurance, universal life insurance, variable life insurance and life insurance for burials. You can usually get a health insurance plan through your employer. If your employer doesn't offer health insurance or if you're unemployed, you can search for health insurance plans on the federal health insurance marketplace.

Federal market health insurance plans can offer subsidies if you meet income and eligibility requirements. Or you can buy health insurance by contacting health insurance companies directly or by going to a health insurance agent or broker. If monthly premiums seem unaffordable consider the costs of a high-deductible health plan. With this type of coverage you must pay a higher deductible before coverage begins but this will reduce the monthly cost of your health insurance. You can generally buy health insurance only during the open enrollment periods specified by the health insurance companies that sell them.

Open enrollment for marketplace plans is usually starting November 31. You may think that you need disability insurance only if you have a job that involves hazardous activities. Arthritis cancer diabetes and back pain are among the most important causes of disability according to the Disability Awareness Council. That's why it's wise to consider disability insurance as part of your financial plan. If you become ill or disabled and can't work disability insurance supplements a portion of your income. It usually replaces 40 to 70% of your base income and you usually have a waiting period before coverage takes effect and a limit on how much you pay each month. If you're buying life Insurance you can add long-term care coverage to your policy as an additional life Insurance clause or buy a policy that combines life Insurance and LTC coverage.

The three main types are comprehensive life Insurance

, universal life Insurance and term life Insurance.

What are the basic features of a life Insurance policy?

Universal Life Insurance is a flexible permanent Life Insurance policy that allows you to reduce or increase the amount you pay in premiums.

If you reduce the amount spent on premiums the difference is removed from the cash value of your policy.No Medical Exam Life Insurance, also known as simplified issue Life Insurance is another type of Life Insurance that does not require approval from a medical exam. Instead non-medical policies use previous medical records and other information about yourself to determine premiums.

Short-term Life Insurance

, provides some coverage while waiting for long-term policies to take effect. Policies last one year or less and protect individuals who cannot get affordable premiums due to current health problems or who are waiting for their insurer's decision on their application.

Annual Renewable Life Insurance

, and Term Life Insurance, are two common types of short-term policies with their own limitations such as increasing premiums and maximum coverage but they can provide some temporary protection.

Jenny Kizzia
Jenny Kizzia

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