However, as an average bank customer, you don’t have to worry. Why, you ask? The answer is simple: deposit insurance. In the United States the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures all accounts up to $100,000. That means that even if a bank goes under, your money is safe up to that limit.

Better yet, you don’t have to do anything to get insured. All banks in the United States are required to be part of the FDIC insurance scheme. In fact, the whole thing works so well that even if you were a customer of a bank facing failure you would still have access to your money within 24 hours.

This is a vast improvement of the situation that existed before the FDIC was created in 1933. Before, that time if you were the customer of bank that failed you lost everything. That is why you used to get runs on the bank.

Now of course you don’t have to worry about losing everything. However, if you have more than $100,000 with one institution you do face some risk because amounts over this amount are not insured. The solution of course is (at least from a risk point of view) is to spread your accounts around at a few institutions should you be fortunate enough to have more than $100,000 to deposit at the bank.

War Risk Insurance

As you can probably guess by the name, war risk insurance protects individuals and companies from damages caused by war. These types of insurance policies have exploded in size in recent years due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These policies are very useful if you plan to operate in a war zone but otherwise you probably don’t need this kind of protection.

Terrorism Insurance

What can you do if you are worried about the next 9/11? Well you could consider terrorism insurance which will cover loses related to terrorism. Sounds useful right? Well maybe, but keep in mind that there has been fewer than one terrorism incident a year in the United States over the last 20 years and none since September 11th.

Therefore, the odds are pretty low that you will ever need this kind of insurance. Nevertheless, many people are worried enough about the threat of terrorism to shell out money for it.

Kidnapping Insurance

Finally, if you are an important politician or rich business person there are also insurance products for you. One of the more common types is kidnapping and ransom insurance. Essentially, these policies will cover the costs of paying a ransom if you someone in your family should happen to be kidnapped.

These policies are especially useful if you are operating in dangerous countries or even war zones. But, most people will probably never need one of these policies. Still it is good to know that you could get it if you really wanted it.

Well there you have it a few insurance products that can help you in this dangerous world. However, if you are like most Americans you should probably just focus on getting basic insurance products like auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance and home insurance.

This is where longevity insurance comes in. Essentially longevity insurance is like an annuity, but one that only starts paying out once you reach a certain age (usually 80 to 85). It can help protect you should you be fortunate enough to live longer than you originally budgeted for.

Seems good on paper right? Well longevity insurance may or may not be a good idea depending on your retirement goals. First, of all you only get the money if you live past the age the longevity insurance starts. So, you will have to live for several years beyond the start of the annuity, before you recoup the amount invested.

Second, if you happen to pass away before the policy kicks in you and your heirs get nothing. Therefore, for some people it may be better just to invest the money they would have spent on the policy.

Finally, there is always the risk that the insurance company will go out of business. Again, in that case you would be left with nothing. Thus, if you do opt for this kind of policy make sure you research any company offering it before buying.

So, what can we conclude? Longevity insurance could be part of your retirement planning but it should not be the biggest part. It should not be a substitute for retirement saving and investing. However, if you do plan on living a long time and are not certain your savings will see you though, longevity insurance may be for you.

The good news is that producers were eventually able to find one company willing to take the risk of covering Ms. Lohan. However, this was only achieved after one of the producers personally vouched for her.

Actors or Actresses with past substance abuse histories, are usually required to get some form of insurance to protect the production company from possible work delays or stoppages. Yet, this can also be extremely difficult for these same people; because what insurance company really wants to take the risk on someone who may or may not show up to work.

In Lohan’s case she has a long history of alleged drug and alcohol use and she is among Hollywood’s most notorious partyers. Plus, she has had two DUI incidents within just the last year alone. All these factors made insurance companies extremely wary of dealing with her.

Fortunately, (assuming you are a Lindsay Lohan fan) the movie is going ahead, with an expected release date sometime in 2009. Hopefully, there won’t be any delays, otherwise Ms. Lohan may find it impossible to get coverage for her next film.

In the mean time, I am sure her auto insurance rates are also through the roof given her two DUI incidents. But then again I am sure she could easily afford to pay even a few thousand a month if that’s what is cost to maintain coverage.