When buying health insurance or property and casualty insurance, ask about potential discounts. While health insurance discounts are often income-based, homeowners and auto insurers offer discounts for everything from being a member of groups like AARP, to being a good student or a good driver, to having a home security system.
2. Relying on assumptions or outdated figures. Changing economic conditions mean you might need more insurance coverage than you had in the past. Take life insurance. In the past, consumers might have based their life insurance coverage on their current income, but if something happens and you're no longer around, you need more capital at work to provide the same income to your beneficiaries. Disability and long-term care insurance are even more complicated than traditional life insurance.
Buying insurance can be confusing, but when the unexpected happens - a house fire, a car accident or a bone fracture - it is a relief to know that some of those financial losses are going to be covered. But how do you know how much coverage you need? And what questions should you ask before buying a policy? Many consumers aren't very sure. Insurance coverage is far from one size fits all, so here are mistakes some consumers make when buying insurance.
1. Assuming insurance is out of reach. In some cases, consumers skip insurance because they think it's out of their budget. Often, that's not the case, according to Marvin Feldman, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation, a nonprofit organization that educates consumers about financial planning and insurance. The LIFE Foundation collaborated with LIMRA, a worldwide research and consulting organization for insurance and financial services, on the 2013 Insurance Barometer Study, which found that the average consumer thinks life insurance is three times more expensive than it actually is.
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