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Cheap Insurance for Your Home, Automobile, Health, & Life: How to Save Thousands While Getting Good Coverage

Copyright © 2007 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, Florida 34471.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-006-7 ISBN-10: 1-60138-006-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rowley, Carla, 1977-

Cheap insurance for your home, automobile, health, and life : how to save thousands while getting good coverage / by Carla and Lee Rowley.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-006-7 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-006-2 (alk. paper)

1. Insurance--United States. 2. Homeowner’s insurance--United States. 3. Insurance, Automobile--United States. 4. Insurance, Health--United States. 5. Insurance, Life--United States. I. Rowley, Lee, 1973- II. Title.

HG8531.R69 2008

368.00973--dc22

2007052809

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A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the “Vice President of Sunshine” here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bear’s memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

– Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Table of Contents

Introduction

In today’s society, every penny counts when creating and maintaining a monthly budget. For many people, there is little room left for anything extra, and budgeting for the various types of personal insurance necessary to protect your family’s financial well-being can pose a significant challenge. The cost of insurance premiums can take a large bite out of any family’s budget, creating additional strain on already tight finances.

Although carrying personal insurance can be costly, it is not an expense that can reasonably be eliminated from your family’s monthly budget. Failing to maintain adequate personal insurance can prove far more costly than paying premiums for automobile, homeowner’s, life, and health coverage. A single accident, illness, death, or other occurrence can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without sufficient insurance, the financial consequences of any of these events could prove catastrophic.

Here are examples of the ways the four major types of personal insurance can help protect you and your family from catastrophic financial loss:

• Auto insurance protects you against personal liability for bodily injury or death to other drivers and damage to the property of other people arising from automobile accidents you may cause. It can also protect you against having to pay for your own medical expenses if an uninsured driver causes an accident in which you are injured. If you have a newer car, or one that could not easily be replaced, comprehensive and collision coverages pay for damage, theft, and the total loss of your vehicle.

Also, the majority of states have passed automobile financial responsibility laws that require every driver to maintain sufficient funds to pay for damages caused to other drivers. Although some states allow drivers to place funds on deposit with the Department of Motor Vehicles to demonstrate financial responsibility, automobile insurance is a more cost-effective option for most drivers. Each year, more states pass laws that require insurance companies to report policy cancellations electronically to the Department of Insurance or the Department of Motor Vehicles. If the state receives notification that a driver’s policy has been canceled, the state will require the driver to provide proof of a replacement automobile insurance policy to avoid driver’s license suspension and possible fines and penalties.

• Homeowner’s insurance protects you against substantial financial loss resulting from damage to your home, injury to a visitor while on your property, damage to the contents of your home, and loss of personal property due to theft or vandalism.

Most mortgage companies require that you secure homeowner’s insurance before the purchase of your home can be completed. The mortgage company is listed on the policy and is notified if the policy cancels. If proof of new insurance is not provided, the mortgage company will put insurance on the property and charge the homeowner for the coverage. This insurance is often more costly than if the homeowner had secured coverage from another insurance company on his or her own.

It is also necessary to carry homeowner’s insurance because most of your possessions are stored in your home. If you do not carry homeowner’s insurance, you may not have the financial resources available to replace your personal items or rebuild your home if damage or total loss occurs. If disaster strikes, you could be left homeless and in serious debt.

• Health insurance may not be required by law, but it is a necessity that can be critical to your family’s financial well-being. A single illness can cost your family tens of thousands of dollars and even more if surgery or a hospital stay is required. With the high cost of medical treatment and procedures, you can be left with a tremendous amount of debt if you do not carry personal health insurance.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that if you are healthy today you will be healthy tomorrow. Even if you are seemingly healthy, you could incur an unexpected medical condition, surgery, or hospital stay at any time. By the time this unexpected condition arises, it will be too late to secure health insurance.

• Life insurance protects your family’s finances in the event of your death. Many people assume that, if they died, their family would be able to continue paying the bills. Unfortunately, the loss of an income, along with funeral and burial expenses, can place an unmanageable financial strain on the family members left behind.

Because life insurance is not required by law, it is often overlooked. This is a serious financial mistake, because it is crucial for every family to carry life insurance on anyone that contributes to the family’s finances. Without the proper level of life insurance, the death of a contributor to your family’s income can result in the loss of a home or thousands of dollars in debt that cannot be easily paid.

As important as personal insurance is to your family’s financial well-being, it can be difficult to manage multiple insurance premiums on top of your other financial obligations. Auto insurance premiums can cost thousands of dollars each year, and health insurance premiums rise nearly every year, without providing better coverage for medical expenses. Add life and homeowner’s insurance premiums to your budget, and it can cost you hundreds of dollars each month to protect your family’s finances.

Fortunately, there are many ways you can save money on insurance premiums without skimping on necessary coverages, even if you have had difficulty obtaining insurance in the past. Knowing how to use these techniques will help you properly protect yourself and your family, while leaving more room in your budget for other items.

This book is the key to learning these techniques. It contains tips on how to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year on automobile, homeowner’s, health, and life insurance and how to obtain coverage even if you have been denied an insurance policy in the past. It will also provide an overview of each type of insurance and give you tips on choosing what coverage is necessary and which ones are unnecessary.

Knowing how to save on insurance premiums will show your agent you are a savvy insurance consumer, and he or she will be required to have your family’s best interests in mind when helping you select coverages, policy limits, deductibles, and policy terms.

Do not be concerned if the world of personal insurance is new to you. By the time you finish this book, you will have more insurance knowledge than 99 percent of the population. Even better, you will be on even footing with your insurance agent, which puts you in the position to obtain the best coverage possible for the least amount of money.

Before we begin exploring the four major types of personal insurance, let us start with a brief explanation of insurance and why you need it to manage the risks in your life. Understanding this will help you be better prepared when you visit your insurance agent.

Table of Contents