GENERAL INSURANCE
1) HOMEOWNERS' OR RENTERS' COVERAGE
A. Dwelling -- A general rule of thumb is to insure
approximately 75% of market
value to maintain full coverage. Your particular situation may
be different. Review
annually! More than half of all homes are underinsured -- is
yours one of these?
B. Personal property -- Homeowner's insurance typically
includes a fixed amount for all
personal property in the dwelling. Determine if your jewelry,
art, silver, collectibles,
and other personal property are insured for their actual
replacement costs. You may want
to have these items appraised and have your insurance agent
"schedule" them to
ensure full coverage.
C. Comprehensive personal liability, a.k.a. umbrella policy
-- Unlimited potential
loss. Most auto and homeowner's insurance policies include up
to $300,000 of liability.
Umbrella policies provide an additional layer of coverage over
and above this amount.
D. Other structures -- Typically limited to 10% of home
value. Is this sufficient to
cover costs of swimming pools, garages, guest houses, etc?
2) AUTOMOBILES
A. Liability -- Many recommend at least $300,000 - which
is frequently the base for
an umbrella policy.
B. Deductibles -- May be practical to increase deductible
amount and reduce premiums.
Some companies offer $500 and $1,000 deductibles.
C. Property collision -- On older cars consider dropping
this coverage if the cost is
not worth the potential benefits.
D. General -- Check to see if your premiums are as low as
they can be for your
situation. Determine whether you have taken advantage of proper
classifications: multi-car
discounts, good student discounts, safe driving programs,
alarms, air-bags, etc.
3) PERSONAL UMBRELLA COVERAGE -- $1,000,000 OR MORE
In view of the substantial court judgements, this
coverage is essential to
high-income earners or those with a significant net worth. Two-
or three million-dollar
policies are available.
4) MEDICAL COVERAGE
A. "Catastrophic" major medical Your
insurance policy should
include coverage for $1,000,000 or more.
B. Internal policy limits Be sure that any are in
line with customary hospital
and medical expenses in your area.
C. "Emergency" fund Small deductibles
greatly increase premiums.
Handling unexpected minor medical bills yourself would allow
for a higher deductible and
potential savings for you.
D. Stop-loss feature Your plan should have one,
providing 100% coverage after
some specific threshold of out-of-pocket expenses is reached.
E. Long-Term-Care Consider such a policy. Statistics
show 43% of all people over
age 65 will enter a nursing home.
