In a universe full of uncertainties, you never know when your next rainy day will come. Insurance helps to ensure we are covered from the effects of unforeseen troubles and inconveniences by saving us time and saving us money. In this article, we’ll discuss the difference between 10 types of insurance starting with the obvious assets to insure and moving on to some policies you’ve probably never heard of.
1. Car Insurance
Every driver needs car insurance in case they cause an accident. Your car insurance policy helps pay for the other driver’s medical bills, legal fees if you’re taken to court, and damage to the vehicle. There are a number of factors that go into your car insurance premium including your driving record, the type of vehicle you have, and your demographic (age, gender, location of where you live and park).
2. Homeowners Insurance
Dwelling, contents, and personal liability coverage is typically included in most homeowners insurance policies, but be sure to check in with your insurance provider to make sure you are completely covered.
3. Dwelling Coverage
This is the basic home insurance that all homeowners must have in order to own a home. It provides structural protection for your home, covering damage to your floors, walls, built-in appliances, ceilings, and anything attached structures to your home. Dwelling coverage will cover damages to your home due to disasters like fire, hail, theft, and vandalism and can even rebuild your home in the event of a total loss, depending on your policy limit.
4. Contents Coverage
While dwelling coverage protects the structure of your home, contents coverage protects the content of your home, such as your furniture and clothing. For example, if your home was broken into, and you lose a substantial amount of contents, your contents coverage should cover that loss. Your insurance policy will pay you for the value of the items, as determined by your policy.
5. Personal Liability
If any type of injury were to occur on your property, your personal liability insurance would cover the cost of injuries. You never know when an accident can happen at your home, so making sure you’re properly protected is essential.
6. Home Warranty
Your home’s appliances are bound to break down naturally over time. Investing in a home warranty plan helps cover the cost of repairing appliances—get started by searching for the best home warranty plan for your home needs. If your dryer happens to break down, all you would need to do is contact your home warranty provider and they will have an approved technician come to your home to inspect and repair the damage or replace if needed. You’ll be charged a monthly premium (usually less than $50) and a service fee per claim ($75 on average), which will cost you much less than a brand new HVAC system for $3,000.
7. Manufacturer’s Warranty
These warranties are typically comprehensive warranties that are provided by appliance manufacturers that will cover the costs of damages or replacements to certain or all parts of the appliances for a pre-set amount or period of time that you own the appliance. Each warranty is different, depending on the appliance and the manufacturer. If you are purchasing a new home that comes fully equipped with new appliances, or you are planning on replacing old appliances, be sure to investigate any manufacturer warranties available to provide added protection to your home’s appliances.
8. Utility Insurance
This is sometimes offered by certain utility organizations to provide coverage for a loss that was caused due to a lack of electricity, such as a fire or windstorm, for property that is away from the insured’s property. This is also considered “off-premises power coverage”. While this is not considered typical insurance to be held by homeowners, it can prove to be beneficial to some, if it is offered by your local utility organization.
9. Multiple Birth Insurance
Learning you are going to have a baby can be one of the most joyous moments of your life. It is, however, rather shocking to learn you have more than one bundle of joy developing in the belly. You are bound to get worried since you never banked on it. Children bring you financial obligations. It can be overwhelming if you are not well prepared. The multiple birth insurance policy offers you an agreed payout when you find out you are having more than one baby. You need to purchase the policy prior though. That is if you are planning to get pregnant, or you have just learnt that you are pregnant. Note: people who have undergone fertility treatments are not eligible for multiple birth insurance.
10. Smartphone Insurance
A smartphone has become a very essential gadget in the modern world. It is, nowadays, more than just a communication gadget. As such, many people are paying impressive amounts to acquire the best smartphones on the market. Losing such a smartphone can be a big loss.
Fortunately, you can insure your phone against theft or damage. That means you will have your phone replaced if it gets lost or damaged. The debate about whether smartphone insurance is worth it is currently quite contentious though. There are a couple of parameters that should inform whether you should get insurance for your smartphone.
First, you have to determine the value of your phone and weight it against your budget. If you can afford to pay for a brand new phone, it wouldn’t make sense to pay monthly premiums on insurance. Once you determine that your phone has insurable value, assess the risks of losing your phone or damaging it.
11. Wedding Insurance
Planning a wedding is quite costly, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always go to plan. It’s every couples’ nightmare to plan a wedding and incur hefty costs, only to postpone the wedding at the last minute. Whether a caterer dropped the ball or a hurricane hit your venue, buying wedding insurance will give you a backup plan for when the “best day ever” goes wrong.
Wedding insurance means that you’ll get your dream wedding at a later date just the way you had planned it, without having to pay for it all over again. The policy might cover costs when vendors fail to deliver what was agreed upon. It may also cover damage or injury as a result of hosting the wedding in a dangerous location or in critical weather conditions.
12. Bicycle Insurance
Serious cyclists spend thousands of dollars on their bikes. If you live in a busy city where you have to park your bike outside or if your bicycle is your primary mode of transportation, you want to protect your investment, you might consider bicycle insurance. This policy will cover liability, damage, and theft of your bicycle. Some companies also include roadside assistance. Note: Your homeowners or renters insurance might already protect your bike, so read the fine print before getting a new policy.
13. VIP Insurance
Here’s a strange one. Key person insurance works a lot like life insurance. However, if you die, rather than the payout going to a family member, it’ll go to the company you work for. We told you it’s strange. This is applicable to very important people in the workplace, like company owners, partners, and executives, who is absolutely crucial to the success of the business. Key person insurance helps the company stay afloat while they look for another star employee to take your place.
Get All The Insurance Coverage Necessary
Today, you can insure anything and everything. If you have something that you feel is too valuable to you, you should talk to an insurance company and get it covered to protect your finances. Learn more about insurance and financial protection in the Money Management section of our site.
