Quick Insurance Blog

Everybody wants to make sure that they have enough money for retirement. However, the one variable nobody knows for sure is how long they are going to live. If you retire at 65 and end living to 85 you won’t need as much as if you end up living to 125.

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.
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If you are planning on traveling this summer you need to make sure you get travel medical insurance. This is doubly important if you plan on traveling outside your home country. The reason of course is very straightforward.

If you get hurt or injured in a foreign country you will of course have to seek medical attention. This will cost money. If you don’t want to be out of pocket thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars you want these costs to be covered by your insurer.
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The associated press is reporting that, yesterday June 11th, 2008, former US House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich wants a health insurance mandate for those earning over $75,000 per year. He called it “immoral” that people who can afford medical insurance choose not to buy it and then expect free medical care at emergency rooms.

However, he does not want the mandatory health insurance to come from government, so presumably he expects people to buy it from private insurers. Thus, the system he envisions would probably resemble something along the lines of the fact that all drivers are required to have valid auto insurance.
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The other day I answered (or at least tried to) the question about who needs life insurance? As I mentioned then the only people who really need life insurance are those with dependents who are unable to provide for themselves. Another, related and almost as common question is, how much life insurance do I need?

This one is much tricker to answer since it depends on a whole host of factors. Let’s look at a few them to help give you a better idea of much you may need.

The first thing to consider is the direct costs of your death (e.g. your funeral). Do you want to be buried or cremated? Do you want a large funeral or a small one? Costs can easily range from as little as $1,000 to $10,000 or more. Decide what you want and prepare for that.
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Well my article, 11 Insanely Easy Ways To Reduce Your Auto Insurance Premiums by 40%, that I wrote a few days ago has turned out to be something of an unexpected success. So, as a thank you to everyone who made the post so popular I have decided to tell you about a contest were you can win a $1,500 gas gift card.

The contest itself is being run by The Consumer Beat and you must be a resident of either the United States or Canada to register. (Sorry to those of you living elsewhere). Entry is completely free, all you have to do is complete a 4 page survey about your consumer preferences.
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One of the most common questions people have about life insurance is: ‘who needs it’? The answer of course will depend on who you ask. Ask someone from the life insurance industry and they will probably tell you that everyone should get some.

At the other extreme, some people just don’t believe in getting any form of coverage whatsoever. I think that neither of these extreme views are very helpful. Instead, like many things in life, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
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