Insurance is something designed to cover your financial bases in case of emergency. Of course, the assets you need to cover and the types of emergencies you worry about will change over the course of your life. From young graduates in their first apartment to seniors planning for a comfortable retirement – and everything in between – your insurance needs will change throughout your journey.
Let’s take a dive into how your need for insurance will evolve over a lifetime. Whether it’s moving in with your new spouse, buying a home, or having a baby – they all change your circumstances and impact decisions you’ll make for you and your loved ones.
Graduating College: Time for Renter’s Insurance
When preparing for the early stages of your career, most parents and teachers forget to mention renter’s insurance. From your very first apartment to rental homes near your future jobs, you will need a rental insurance policy in addition to the homeowner’s policy held by your landlord.
Renter’s insurance covers your possessions inside the home and may also cover lodgings and compensation if there is a disaster that displaces you from a rental home while repairs are conducted.
Getting a New Roommate and Reviewing Your Policy
Roommates complicate the matter of insurance. Whether you are co-signing the lease or subletting to a new roommate, it’s time to review your tenant and renter’s insurance policy. Make sure your landlord is on board with the new roommate and that your renter’s policy covers any damage that might relate to the roommate, as well.
It may be necessary for your roommate to get their own renter’s insurance policy to cover their separate possessions, and you might even want a signed agreement regarding damage to your personal property by the roommate. Whether you’ve just met or you’ve been friends forever, it’s important to be prepared.
Buying Your First Car and Getting Full Coverage
Whenever your first car enters the picture, so too will its insurance. Vehicle loan lenders and most states require a minimum car insurance policy just to buy and drive the vehicle. Of course, you’ll want to do the research and get actual comprehensive coverage. This includes liability, collision, and under/uninsured motorist coverage in addition to the bare minimum for liability and injury.
Insuring Your Engagement Ring
Should your romantic life take flight and you are giving or receiving an engagement ring, get that ring insured. It is not unusual for the engagement ring to be the single most valuable possession you own outside of a personal vehicle. You can have the ring added to your home insurance policy or have it “scheduled” with an exclusive policy. You may also want to get a plan from a local jeweler that covers cleaning, resizing, stone tightening, and repairs if necessary.
Buying a Home and Insuring for Regional Risks
When it comes time to buy a home and/or move in with your spouse, you should be ready to purchase a homeowner’s insurance policy. But wait – a standard policy is usually not complete without a few add-ons that are based on regional risks. For example, a homeowner’s policy covers flooding from burst pipes or a damaged roof, but not flooding from heavy rains or local bodies of water.
Earthquakes, sinkholes, flooding, and landslides are not covered and require special additional coverage. Be sure to build a more complete insurance plan based on the risks relevant to your region. If you buy in a strict HOA, you might even need “matching roofing and siding” insurance.
Working from Home: When to Get In-Home Business Insurance
Remote work has also introduced a new concern for home insurance: insuring your home office. Depending on the nature of your work and just how much equipment and resources your home office needs, it may be appropriate to get in-home business insurance or home-based business insurance. This is a special type of policy that covers your business equipment and supplies in case of a disaster – above and beyond what would be covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy.
This allows you to cover additional liability, valuable equipment, and even loss of income should your home office experience damage.
Adding a New Baby to Your Health Insurance
When you have your first baby, your health insurance landscape will change. You will need to add your child to your health insurance plan and, likely to both parent’s plans provided by their work. The Birthday Rule dictates that the parent whose birthday comes earlier in the year becomes the primary insurance source, while the parent with the later birthday is secondary.
Insuring Your Big Life Purchases
Later in your career, you may make a few large purchases that will need a unique insurance plan. You might buy a vacation home or invest in rental homes that will become part of a private real estate portfolio. You might invest in more expensive clothes and jewelry, or in extremely high-value sports or workshop equipment. You might buy a recreational vehicle, a boat, or purchase a condo inside a ski resort.
Be sure to strategize the right insurance coverage for each major purchase, as these choices will be unique to you.
New Responsibilities: Disability and Life Insurance
Finally, there will come a time when you realize that you want life insurance. For many people, it is the birth of their first child. For others, it is a close-call experience when they realize the possibility of a fatal accident. Disability insurance and life insurance are your way of providing for yourself and your family should the worst of accidents happen.
Disability insurance will cover your loss of income if you are suddenly unable to work or if your work capacity is severely reduced. Life insurance will provide a financial benefit to your family that won’t be tied up in will execution and probate. This can provide important peace of mind, knowing that your children and spouse will be taken care of if you are no longer able to provide for them one way or the other.
Plan for the Future with Peace of Mind
Life has many interesting turns in your insurance journey. From your first apartment to watching your children grow, you want to be prepared for anything. Our sister company Hometown Life Insurance can help you cover that all important final consideration and ensure that your family will be financially secure whether you are working to support them or no longer able to do so.
Embrace the ups and downs of life and reduce your worries about the occasional setback with a comprehensive insurance plan. As always, we can help you find the best insurance provider for every unique coverage need you may have. Contact us today to learn more.
