Question: I don’t know what insurance I should have. How do I figure that out?
Answer: This is a tricky question. Let’s start with the basics. (I am going to skip life and health insurance since those are significantly more complicated and beyond the scope of this blog.)
First, in most states, automobile insurance is mandatory. But, only liability insurance. So, if you own a car, you need to have insurance that protects other people. If you cannot afford to replace your car if it becomes a total loss in a crash, then you should also have collision coverage. The same thing applies if you cannot afford to replace your car if it is stolen. Then you need comprehensive insurance. These protect you! There are other auto coverages that I have written about in the past.
If you own a home, your mortgage company is going to require you to have homeowners insuance. Once your mortgage is paid off, you should still carry this insurance. Protecting your home and property is one of the best decisions you can make. Homeowners insurance is vital to this.
If you are a renter, you do not get to walk away from this without a little blurb. I get too many calls from tenants who do not have renter’s insurance. If there is a chance your property could be stolen, damaged by fire, or someone could be injured visiting you, then you need renter’s insurance. It is not expensive and the coverage protects you!
Then we get to the other issues. If you own an RV, a boat, a travel trailer, or any other “toy,” you need insurance. Even if your RV is small or you own a small boat with a small engine, those can cause significant damage to other people, as well as be expensive to repair. Even if you wouldn’t fix it if it was damaged, you NEED liability insurance in case someone else is injured as a result of your toy.
If you are unsure if you need insurance, and you do not trust an insurance agent to give you the facts, you can always call my office for a free consultation or email me at insurance@jonathangstein.com.