Are You Paying More For Insurance Than Anything Else?
How To Get Cheaper Insurance!
This is a shocker, but it is also quite common. When you really sit down to make a family budget, you may add up all of your various insurance expenses. These include auto, life, health, home. accident, etc. They could also include warranties and insurance policies you purchase on things that you buy – like home electronics or auto repairs. When you do add them up, the total may be larger than any other single bill you have – including your mortgage!
Do You Need Cheaper Insurance?
Your high insurance bills may be the problem, or they may actually just be a symptom of another problem. You need to consider a few things.
- Are you over insured? Have you taken such giant steps to protect yourself against any risk that you are spending more than fixing the problems would cost? This problem could be real on almost any type of coverage you buy.
- Do you just have too much stuff to insure? If you downsized a few things, it could reduce a lot of expenses – and this may include your insurance premiums.
- Do you have the best insurance deal? You may be able to find more competitive companies, or companies that are willing to give you a discount if you bundle your coverage in a package.
Are You Over Insured?
To figure out which problem is affecting you the most, you really need to examine your coverage. You can take out all of your policies and check them, or you could sit down with a good agent who should be happy to help you. Part of a good insurance agent’s job is to consult with their clients to make sure they are adequately, but not over, covered!
Here’s an example that is only meant to illustrate a problem, and not reflect on any individual. If you make $50,000 a year, and live in a $100,000 house with half of the mortgage paid off, maybe you really do not need a three million dollar life insurance policy. You, and possibly your agent, should sit down and figure out how much life insurance you really need to protect your family.
Should You Downsize?
If you have less to insure, your insurance should cost less. Next time you purchase a vehicle, make sure you figure in the cost of insurance. If your luxury home insurance is eating your lunch, maybe more modest accommodations would actually make you happier.
Should You Shop And Compare?
Again, a little insurance shopping is one chore that may give you great returns! Many insurers provide multiple types of coverage, and they are quite willing to cut you a break if you can place multiple policies with them. If you have some type of coverage that is particularly pricy, this may be a great way to spread the risk with your other policies too. We do provide online insurance quotes to make it easy to get a handful of quotes in your local area.
The most common example of bundling discounts are auto and home insurance discounts. But I have seen advertisements for life and health too. Of course, if you already get your health through a group plan at work, this will probably not be an option.
Be A More Frugal Insurance Consumer!
Your high insurance premiums may be the problem, or they may just be the result of other problems. If you can address the real problem, you should be able to cut this expense.
Related posts:
Thanks – I think a lot of us tend to overestimate our insurance needs, or just buy too much stuff we need to cover – and then get in trouble!