By Jesse Herman, contributing editor
Insurance protection is one of the more valuable investments a person can make. As important as quality insurance is, some is more expendable than others. If you stopped eating fast food, cut back on movie rentals, buy generic cereal and still find yourself needing to save more money, than it may be time to analyze your insurance coverage.
The following are Insurance types that should be first on the cutting board.
Mortgage Life Insurance
- The intentions are good, as this insurance policy will repay your mortgage in the event of a disability, debilitating disease and death. The cost, though, is much higher than a similar term-life insurance policy.
When you pay off your mortgage the amount received through mortgage life insurance goes down, resulting in less money to be received. It is best to buy quality life insurance than to waste time dealing with something else.
Cancer Insurance
- Much like mortgage life insurance, the intentions of cancer insurance are good but not essential when considering mainstream alternatives. It is intended to supplement health insurance for cancer-care costs.
Premiums can get expensive, ranging from $200 to $3,000 a year for cancer insurance, according to Consumer Reports. Additionally, your plan may only cover hospital care and not outpatient care often needed for radiation and chemotherapy.
If that were not enough, smokers may not even be able to get this insurance and if you fall within a waiting period you may not be covered either. Buying a comprehensive health insurance plan should make cancer insurance unimportant.
Annuity Fees
- Annuities provide a great way to put away as much tax-deferred money as you can and getting a monthly check for life. Beware of fees and withdrawal penalties.
Typically, basic fees for an annuity will be .5% to 1% higher for a variable annuity than for a mutual fund. The taxman is waiting to get his share too and annuities are not guaranteed by the government.
ID Theft Insurance
- This can cover the cost of attorney’s fees and repairing your credit. $25-$50 covers up to $25,000.
A study showed that most ID theft victims lost about $750 but incurred no out of pocket expenses. This outlines a fact that this insurance won’t fix your credit or give back thousands of dollars for your bank accounts. With consumer protections already in place, it would be easiest to closely monitor credit reports.
