Cheap Insurance

Rescuing your Budget with Cheap Insurance

What's not insured or insurable these days? Not only can you insure your money, home, business, apartment, life, pet, health, teeth, children, belongings, auto, and collection of antique rocks, Lloyds of London will be happy to write you a policy just in case you get captured and impregnated by space aliens. In our tumultuous, expensive world, we want and need assurance that, no matter what happens, the things we treasure will remain safe.

That's doesn't mean that we don't howl when we see our insurance bills, which can easily add up to a significant portion of our expenses. If your insurance is eating you out of house and home, you have two options: you can accept it, or stand up to it. We recommend the latter. It's easy to make your insurance costs back down if you're willing to put some effort in.

Cheap insurance: first and foremost

To save money in the long-term, you may want to spend a little in the short-term. Start by hiring an insurance specialist. An insurance specialist can take in all the information about your situation, examine it from all angles, conduct a risk assessment for you and your family, and provide you with a report on the exact types of insurance you actually need. You may discover that you're over-covered on some things and can start easing back on those items. If, on the other hand, you're under-covered, don't despair; the specialist may be able to point out cheap insurance options that you hadn't considered.

Where to go from there

No matter how much you like your current insurance carrier, their goal is to make money, and they may not be serving your best interests. Don't be afraid to shop around for the best deal on cheap insurance; if you're afraid to call Geico, there are lots of Internet sites that'll help. Once you've found the cheapest rates that will give you adequate coverage, switch. You might find that your current carrier will be willing to match the cheap insurance rates in order to keep your custom, but don't bet on it.

The key here is the term "adequate coverage": you may not need all the coverage you have on a particular item. If your house is on top of a high hill or located in the desert, it's doubtful you'll need that flood rider on your homeowner's insurance (unless of course the mortgage company requires it). Similarly, cars older than ten years rarely need full coverage; they're usually paid for by then, so you can back down from comprehensive to liability. Speaking of cheap insurance for your car: if you're a woman, check to see if your insurance company has a special rare reduction plan for women. Because women generally make fewer claims than men, they may be willing to knock your rates down considerably.

Health insurance is an iffy subject, but there are ways to trim to costs there, too. If your company offers several plans, choose the least expensive possible; it might not be the most convenient, but that you can generally live with. And as with car insurance, you can often save money by opting for higher deductibles. While it may not be a good idea to get the cheap insurance with the big deductibles if you have kids to take care of, if you're single or childless, it might be the best (and surely the cheapest) option for you.