Insurance is a financial safety net for when life just doesn’t go your way, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it when things are going well. Here are 10 things you can do in 2017 to strengthen your net and avoid common insurance claims.
1. Make a home inventory
After a fire or natural disaster, you want the insurance claim process to go as smoothly as possible. Making a list of items in your home before a disaster occurs helps guarantee you won’t forget to claim anything, but 48% of homeowners say they don’t have an inventory, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
2. Read your insurance policies
The key to making a claim is understanding your policy. For auto and home insurance, look for the policy’s declarations page. For health insurance, look for the summary of benefits.
Make sure you understand the limits and deductibles of each policy, along with the copayments and coinsurance for health insurance.
3. Quit smoking
If you smoke, your insurers want you to quit. Both health and life insurance typically cost less for nonsmokers, and your health plan might even help by paying for counseling and medication to help you quit.
If you’re shopping for life insurance, you need to be smoke-free for at least a year to get nonsmoking rates, says Robert Wolfe, managing director of United Capital, a financial advising firm.
4. Improve your credit
Bad credit may be having a bigger impact on your car insurance bill than you realize. Credit history can impact your car insurance rates more than your driving record, according to Consumer Reports. Only California, Hawaii and Massachusetts ban the practice.
The worse your credit, “the higher the risk your insurer sees you as,” Wolfe says. Read More.......
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