Can You Ever Have Too Much Insurance?

 

Some insurance is essential, but it's important to buy the right types of coverage and the proper amounts.  Some insurance is required by law like vehicle liability coverage, while some protection is required by a lender such as the mortgage lender for your home loan.

Life insurance, which isn't usually required by anybody but highly recommended for everybody who has others depending on their income has two ways of costing too much:

1. Buying a policy with a death benefit that's too large.  The purpose of most life insurance policies is to make sure that, if you suffer a premature death, your family will have enough money to maintain their previous standard of living after covering funeral costs, college tuition for the kids and outstanding loans like those for cars and your home mortgage.  The aim isn't to suddenly make your family wealthy upon your passing, but to maintain their lifestyle.
2. Buying insurance for longer than needed.  Once the kids are out on their own, your home loan is paid off and you've retired, living on retirement income, your life insurance needs will be much different than when you were young with a growing family.

At this point, keeping the same amount of coverage could constitute over insuring yourself.  Contact your Greensboro insurance agent to go over your current life insurance needs.

 Too Much Car Insurance

If you drive a car, you're required by state law to have at least a minimum amount of liability insurance.  When you look at the numbers, 30K/60K/25K, you'll see that these minimum amounts are significantly lower than what you'd need after having a serious "real-world" accident for which you're held legally responsible.  If you have only minimum required amount of liability car insurance, you're likely well underinsured.

If you continue to carry full comprehensive coverage on an older, low-value car, you could be wasting your money.  If you could easily replace the vehicle if it were to be stolen or wrecked, the amount of premium you pay compared to the amount of a settlement may not be that much different.  In that case, you're likely over insured.

Homeowners Coverage

Your Greensboro insurance agent is happy to review your coverages to ensure you're properly covered.  Review your homeowners policy every couple of years to ensure adequate protection.  Protection for your home's structure should cover the cost of rebuilding, not its market value.