INSURANCE TIPS:

INSURANCE TIPS:

MINIMUM AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
The minimum insurance limit is never enough. In Tennessee, it is only 25,000 for personal injuries. An air ambulance bill from the scene and the emergency room visit for just one person can eclipse that in less than 24 hours.  You can be sued for the rest.

UNISURED MOTORISTS COVERAGE
This auto coverage is a must! Tennessee is overrun with underinsured drivers or those with no coverage at all. Protect your family and buy the highest limits you can afford.
It pays even if you are riding with someone else, or you have a hit and run or you are hit as a pedestrian.

EARTHQUAKE COVERAGE IS NEEDED
If an earthquake destroys your home there is no coverage unless you have an earthquake insurance policy.  Same with floods, unless you have a flood policy. West Tennessee has earthquakes every week and one day there be some severe ones.

BUY RENTERS’ INSURANCE
Landlord's insurance won't cover the contents in your apartment or rental home. Renter’s insurance provides a temporary housing and covers your contents so you can get on with life after a fire.
Also, you need liability coverage. If someone is injured while visiting you and sues you, your landlord's insurance won't cover that either.

LIFE INSURANCE APPLICATIONS
Follow your mother’s advice and tell the truth.  Honesty is the best policy and if you lie on the application, your beneficiary will get nothing.

TERM INSURANCE VS. WHOLE LIFE
Term life insurance is a great, affordable way to pay off that mortgage and provide for your surviving spouse and children at your death.  Whole life and its cousins actually include term, but the additional savings element is not a strong enough rate of return for me.

DON’T FILL YOUR LOCK BOX
While some things can be locked away at the bank,  your life insurance policy should not be in a safe deposit box. Only the person whose name appears can open it. Then only the executor of your will can open it.  This delays use of money that might be needed by family members.