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Insurance That You Don't Need

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  • Insurance That You Don't Need

    While each person's circumstances are different, it's important to look at all the specifics of your situation before making a decision about whether or not to purchase certain types of insurance. It's important to weigh the risk with what you're actually paying for the protection. For most people, there are areas where an insurance policy doesn't make financial sense because suffering the consequences of a loss turns out to be a better risk than paying the money that the insurance policy would cost.

    It's important to remember that making a decision not to get insurance doesn't mean that there is no risk involved of the particular misfortune happening. Risks always exist. The key is balancing the risk with the amount you'd pay for the insurance and your ability to pay if the unfortunate event occurred. Considering all these aspects and coming to an answer is often not an easy exercise in financial planning. To help, here are different types of insurance that most people don't need and shouldn't pay for:

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    <b>Comprehensive / Collision Auto Insurance (For Older Cars)</b>: Most people keep the same amount of insurance on their car throughout the car's life. The fact is that as your car gets older, it is worth less money and you should consider whether you still need the comprehensive & collision portion of your insurance. This is necessary because if you do get into an accident or sustain damage to it in some other way, the insurance company will never pay more than it's worth. That means that if the Kelly's Blue Book value of the car is $2,000 and you do damage that will require $5,000 in repair work, the

    insurance company will only pay $2,000 minus whatever the <a href="http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45">auto insurance deductible</a> would be. By paying what the insurance would cost for the comprehensive and collision portion of the insurance policy, you could save up what the insurance company would actually pay out.

    <b>Life Insurance For Singles With NO dependents</b>: The reason to purchase life insurance is to replace an income that is lost with death so that the dependants have enough money to survive on without the income. If you are single and there isn't anyone who is counting on the money that you earn for their daily living expenses, then there isn't any reason to have life insurance.

    <b>Life Insurance For A Child</b>: Life insurance policies aimed at children are usually sold on emotion and not on a true financial need. If you look closely at advertisements for child life insurance, they will have a theme of "if you really love your child you'll buy this policy." Your love toward your child is not determined by whether or not you have a life insurance policy for him or her. While the commercials will try to appeal to your emotions, the financial facts are that a loss of a child will actually relieve you of a financial commitment. You will have many less expenses without a child than when you have one. Since life insurance is meant to replace an income that is lost when one dies, and a child rarely has an income, child life insurance rarely makes sense. Unless you're in the enviable position where your child is the main source of income for your family, there is probably not a need to have life insurance for him or her.

    <b>Travel Insurance Bought At The Airport</b>: All those travel insurance policies from kiosks at the airport play on your fears and you page a huge price for falling for them. Chances are for most trips you won't need any travel insurance at all. You need to check what your medical health insurance and life insurance cover to make sure, but these will cover you for most in country accidents. If you pay for the trip with your credit card, you will probably have some <a href="http://www.creditcardadvantages.com/travel_insurance.html"> credit card travel insurance</a> coverage from it, too. If you're traveling overseas, you'll need to do a little more research to see what exactly you're covered for and what you're not. At that point you'll want to purchase travel insurance for the specifics of the trip that you're current insurance doesn't cover (not a generic plan that probably doesn't cover anything you aren't already covered for from your own insurance).

    <b>Rental Car Insurance</b>: When you walk up to a rental car counter, you won't leave before they ask you if you want numerous types of insurance that you probably haven't even considered before the questions were asked. To prevent purchasing insurance you don't need, you should take the time to call your current auto insurance company and see exactly what your policy covers if you rent a car. Take a few more minutes after that and call your credit card company and see what <a href="http://www.creditcardadvantages.com/rental_car_coverage.html">rental car insurance</a> they provide if you'll be renting the car using their card. Once you know both of these, you'll know exactly what you need and don't need when renting a car. The chances are that you won't need any, and certainly not all, the policies that the rental car company will be trying to sell you.

    <b>Extended Warranties On Appliances</b>: When you purchase a new appliance or electronic device, you'll almost always be asked if you would like to purchase extended warranty protection. You're almost always better off taking the money you'd pay for the extended warranty and placing it aside into a bank account. Extended warranties are usually expensive and only are worthwhile for a short window (of maybe a year or two) between when the manufacturer's warranty ends and the extended policy becomes more expensive than replacing the item yourself. While the salesperson will place high pressure on you to get the extended warranty, it's because they get a fat commission for selling it, not because you really need it.

    <b>Roadside Assistance</b>: When you purchase a car, you will almost always be asked if you want to purchase roadside assistance. Before you purchase it, find out if you already have it through another organization that you belong to or if it is included in your auto insurance policy. There is no reason to pay for something you already have. If you do need it, opt for doing it through AAA or your own insurance where you'll receive better benefits for a less expensive price.

    While your circumstances may be different than the average person, if you have - or are thinking about - purchasing any of these types of insurance, it would pay to sit down and thoroughly study if they truly make sense for your current circumstances. by doing so you'll make sure you're paying for what you need and not paying for what you don't need.

  • #2
    Re: Insurance That You Don't Need

    I disagree on the life insurance for a child. It will cost a minimum of $5k to bury a child these days. So, we carry that amount of life insurance for the children. Plus, we carry a little bit more to cover therapy for all of us if we lose a child. The cost is literally pennies/month.

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    • #3
      Re: Insurance That You Don't Need

      Ditto. We carry it on our kids for a very, very minimal cost through my union.

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      • #4
        Re: Insurance That You Don't Need

        My wife and I often had arguments about this. The reason that children's life insurance is cheap is because they rarely die - the insurance company isn't going to lose money. And just because something is cheap doesn't mean it's a deal. If you don't have $5000 in savings and no way to raise it if your child unfortunately dies, then maybe it is worthwhile. If you do or can borrow it, then I don't think it is.

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        • #5
          Re: Insurance That You Don't Need

          Maybe there should be a thread about what insurance you DO need.

          Life insurance (to cover lost wages)
          Disability insurance (to cover lost earning power)
          Life insurance (to cover funeral expenses)
          Health insurance (to keep health care costs under some semblance of control)
          Car insurance (to be legal)

          The ironic thing is people probably carry more car insurance than life or disability insurance.

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          • #6
            I have no dependents or children, and the insurance I have is:

            Health, life, and disability (benefits at work, so I pay nothing)
            Car insurance (new truck with full coverage and 1k deductible, required by financing co and I really should be insuring against a total loss if it was totalled or stolen...)
            Roadside Assistance (AAA still active for a few more months from when I had my old truck that broke down quite a bit, plus I do a lot of travelling and the discounts pay for themselves)
            I don't currently renters insurance. I'm young and move around a lot for work, and get it whenever I have most of my expensive stuff with me, but work usually pays for it so it's a no brainer. When I'm home, I store most of my expensive stuff at my parent's house, which is covered by their homeowner's insurance.

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            • #7
              When evaluating life insurance needs, don't forget to factor in the Social Security benifit for surviving minors and their care-giving spouse. I have life insurance as a benefit at work, but it looks to me like if I drop over tommorrow, my family will get enough from SS to cover our monthly spending. I've considered buying more insurance, but it's hard for me to justify it.

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              • #8
                The life insurance for a child I disagree. Two of my 5 children actually do have an income equal to about 5 thousand a year. It isn't much but it certainly helps. While I only carry 5 thousand in life insurance on each, I am contemplating upping it to 15 thousand.

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                • #9
                  I think that all young single people should get at least a small term life policy. IN a few years they might end up getting married and starting a family. At that time the policy will be more expensive and they may have become uninsurable. If they get when they are younger, they lock in a great rate.

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                  • #10
                    Angio333 mentioned Term life policies, and I think they may be the way to go these days for most people- young and a little less young. They have a good value, allow you to invest money that you may have otherwise allowed an insurance company to do on your behalf, and are sometimes less of a hassle than a whole life policy.

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                    • #11
                      Selecting a Plan

                      Health Insurance is about risk. It works both ways, though. Finances are significant to you and the carriers. Be sure you know which physicians and hospitals are part of their network if you select a company that requires treatment by their approved physicians.

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                      • #12
                        I disagree about not having life insurance when you are single with no dependents.
                        Life insurance rates are calculated based on "morbidity table" which is statistics compiled by insurance carriers on death probability based on a number of factors. Now, the younger the person is, the lower the probability to die hence the lower the rate.
                        With a term life insurance you can lock in a rate for 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years (depending on carrier), meaning the rate will not go up regardless of any illness etc.
                        so lets say a person is 20 y.o. single with no dependents. If they get term life insurance for 30 years and the premium is $1000 a year that person will pay that premium for 30 years. And when they are 50 if they invested well and kids are grown they can become self insured and not renew for another term (obviously at much higher rate).

                        I think life insurance should be gotten around twenties when the person is still completely healthy and can benefit from lower rate.

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                        • #13
                          PS - I am insurance agent in CA in case anybody was wandering

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                          • #14
                            if a person 'really' doesn't have any goals in life, he most probably doesn't need any insurance

                            details here

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                            • #15
                              I believe young folks should purchase life insurance while they are young and while it is cheap. Term insurance is a good choice provided the get the Return of Premium rider which will refund them all of their premiums if they outlive the term. Just another $10K-$15K check they'll be happy to see 30 years from now. I am also a big fan of cash value dividend paying whole life insurance as an investment vehicle as well as Indexed Universal Life Insurance which will allow you to get stock market gains without stock market risks.

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