The economy is in a tough place right now, many people have lost their jobs and everyone is looking for places to either save money, or make outright cuts in the household budget. One place to avoid scrimping and saving is with your insurance. To a lot of people, insurance feels like an expenditure that goes out with nothing coming in.
It’s important to remember a major aspect of all types of insurance – auto insurance, health insurance, home insurance, life insurance and renters insurance – is protection against a catastrophe or disaster. A major car accident, a burglary of your residence, a fire that destroys your home, all these things are rare and you hope to never face them, but if the unexpected happens and you are insured, the force of the disaster is not nearly as bad and you are quickly back on the track of putting your life in order again.
Probably the most important insurance to consider when economic times become difficult is health insurance. If you get your health insurance through your employer you might find your benefits being cut, or your out-of-paycheck health insurance expenses rise, or if you were to lose your job you may lose your health insurance altogether. If you become unemployed be sure to look into COBRA benefits available to you, and begin looking for personal health insurance for you and your family.
Keeping your health insurance is important for a number of reasons; the most obvious is in case of a medical emergency. Without health insurance a visit to a doctor to check out a severely sick child can be very expensive. And if you or a member of your family faces a hospital visit, or emergency surgery, the costs can be staggering.
Another consequence of not having health insurance is you and your family will likely skip routine check-ups and other medical visits. The long-term health care costs for missing annual medical examinations can add up if a condition that might be caught and easily treated goes undetected for a time.
Health insurance is only one area where you simply don’t want to go uninsured. Theft of your belongings is a terrible violation and made that much worse if you do not have home insurance or renters insurance to replace the items. And if you don’t have auto insurance you face fines and possible towing, not to mention you will be personally sued if you cause an accident with damages or injuries.
The economy is struggling right now and everyone is struggling along with it, but remember – you can’t afford to not have insurance.