These Big Life Changes Will Affect Your Insurance Needs
By Allison Bisbey Colter
Life is full of many exciting milestones – from college graduation to marriage to retirement. Throughout these important life changes, you will need to have sufficient insurance to protect yourself and your loved ones. Read more about your insurance options that you will need throughout the course of your life.
Finished college and have your first job. After the exciting milestone of graduating college you will most likely move into your first apartment and get a job. With this newfound responsibility you will need renters insurance. This protection will cover your belongings should theft, fire, or damage occur to your unit. It can also cover the cost of staying in a hotel if you are unable to stay there. In most cases a renters insurance plan is also pretty cheap – which is worth the protection should anything happen to your belongings.
In general, you will also be driving to work and most likely not be under your parents’ auto insurance policy. Shop around for auto insurance and look into providers online that can offer you the best vehicle protection.
You should also look into disability insurance when you enter the working world. Although you may think nothing can hurt you at this age, it is actually proven that young people are four times more likely to be disabled on the job, according the Insurance Information Institute. This protection is offered by many employers - to protect you from a work-related injury. Also workers compensation will cover costs related to a work-place injury.
Congratulations, you got married. Many young couples do not look into a life insurance policy until later in life. This is not only foolish, but it will cost you. Purchasing a life insurance plan early-on will not only provide your family with protection should anything happen to you, but buying early guarantees that you will save money. Plans purchased early have lower interest rates that don’t increase as you age. So, if you purchase a plan when you are 25 that rate will be the same throughout your life.
If you are a young couple that also purchased a home, you will need homeowners’ insurance. Plans range from HO-1 to HO-8 – depending on the structure of your home and your needs. If you are living in a condo or coop, you may need two insurance polices for protection: one for coverage of your belongings and plan provided by the condominium or co-op board to cover common areas such as the sidewalks, roof, basement, elevator and laundry room – should anything happen to you there.
You have kids. A huge major milestone, having children is a critical time to obtain insurance – specifically life insurance. In addition to maintaining your finances, paying the mortgage and credit card bills, you also need to think about your beneficiaries (or who will obtain your money should anything happen to you).
This is also a great time to think about updating your homeowner's insurance, because you will inevitably acquire more possessions as the children grow and need coverage to protect your items. As the kids age, other policies will change such as adding them to your auto insurance policy or needing a more comprehensive health insurance plan.
The kids have left. Wasn’t it just a few years ago that you were going off to college? Now your kids are the ones going off on their own and this major life-change will also affect your insurance polices. They will remain on your health insurance (generally until age 26 or whenever they get their first job) and will stay on your auto policy while they're in school, but once college is over, they will have to obtain their own plan.
Around this time, also think about long-term care insurance, which pays for help performing everyday activities like eating, dressing and bathing if you become chronically disabled as well as the assistance needed for the appropriate care. It is advisable to look for this premium early-on because once an amount is set; it will stay that way for the terms of the policy.
It’s time to retire. Now that you are retired, you may have sold your home and downsized into a smaller home like a condo or a co-op. This also means you’re your homeowner's insurance policy will change and you won’t need disability insurance since you aren’t working anymore. You should also look into updating your long-term care insurance and health insurance policies.
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