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Unit Six Insurance: Your Protection. Questions to be Answered:. Why have insurance? What is risk management? How can you keep your insurance cost down? What are the basic types of auto insurance? When should you take financial risk and when should you avoid them?
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Questions to be Answered: • Why have insurance? • What is risk management? • How can you keep your insurance cost down? • What are the basic types of auto insurance? • When should you take financial risk and when should you avoid them? • How ca you be a smart insurance shopper?
You are young, healthy, vivacious and happy!! WHY – would you need insurance?????? • ACCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS! • Could you afford to pay the damage you caused in a car wreck?
Risk Management • Riskis the chance that something unexpected will occur. • RISK MANAGEMENT –means that you use various ways to deal with potential personal or financial loss. • You have basically three options in how you handle personal or financial risk.
FIRST: You can avoid risk altogether. To avoid the chance of being injured in a plane crash – you could take a train, etc. • SECOND: Minimizing (reducing) risk. If you must travel in a car, wear a seatbelt. If you are the driver, you learn to drive defensively, etc. • THIRD: Pass it on (transfer) to someone else. This is where insurance companies come in. Consumers trade small, predictable losses in exchange for the promise of help with big, unknown financial losses.
Insurance Basics INSURANCE: protection against large-scale financial loss. With a relatively small payment – premium – you’re protected against big financial setbacks. INSURANCE PREMIUM: the payment you make to an insurance company in exchange for its protection. Paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. DEDUCTIBLE: the amount of the loss you must pay out of your own pocket before the insurance company begins to reimburse you. Can be from $100 - $1000 or more. The higher the deductible, the lower your premium.
Keeping your costs down: • Higher deductible = lower premium • Drive four door cars instead of two door cars. • Homeowners add safety features – smoke alarms and deadbolt locks. • Shop around annually for lower rates. • If you drive an older vehicle, have just liability coverage, drop the collision coverage.
Auto Insurance • Liability coverage: pays for bodily injury to other people and damage to property. • Medical payments: cover your medical expenses – hospital bills, doctor fees, etc. • Uninsured motorist: additional coverage on yourself for insurance policies that other drivers should have for themselves. • Underinsured motorist: protects you in case another motorist doesn’t have enough coverage. • Collision: coverage that pays to repair your car if it’s damaged in an accident. • Other than collision: protects you from damage caused by theft, hail, flood, vandalism, etc.
Variables to consider when shopping for Auto Policies: • Age: younger you are – higher the premium. • Gender: males under 25 have higher accident rates = higher premiums. • Marital status: single people pay higher premiums. • Type of car: sports cars have more accidents, high theft rate = higher premiums. Safety devices such as airbags, antitheft equipment and antilock brakes usually lower insurance costs.
Cost of repairs: domestic brands lower repair costs = lower premiums. • Mileage: less you drive = lower the premiums. • Location: odds of accidents are greater in highly populated cities, residents of smaller populated towns pay lower premiums. • Law enforcement: drivers who obey traffic laws have lower premiums. • Driving record: drivers without accidents have lower premiums.
Future Insurance Needs: • Health insurance: pays the medical bills in case you or your family become sick or injured. Cheaper if you can join a “group policy”. Will cover you as a “dependent” until 19 or 26 if you are a student. • Property insurance: protects your material possessions – your stuff – clothes, stereo, TV, appliances, furniture, computers, etc. • Life insurance: protects people who depend on you financially in the event of your untimely death. • Disability insurance: pays your income from a job if you are sick or physically unable to work for long periods of time. • Liability insurance: protects you from costly legal fees and multi-thousand dollar settlements in court cases.
Often times the cheapest place to get insurance coverage is through an employer. So when you are in the job market, it pays to think ahead and look at all the benefits an employer offers, including insurance coverage for potential future needs.
