Insurance; Can You Get it for Less?

Are You Covered?

“Fun is like life insurance, the older you get, the more it costs!” – Unknown

Accident in your home?  Are you covered?  Ten years ago my mother fell down a small flight of stairs in my home and broke her hip.  There started a never ending nightmare of personal and financial calamity that ended with my mother being wheelchair-bound, needing round the clock care.  Being an only child this disaster hit me with the full force of personal and financial responsibility for my mother.  However, I learned a lot from this enormously costly experience and I am still learning.  Perhaps my experience and mistakes made along the way can help you or a friend not fall into the same mishap.

The first part of this disaster was insurance related.  I thought my mother’s injuries, surgeries and possibly temporary home care would be covered by my home-owner’s insurance.  I was wrong.  She lived in my home, therefore she was not covered.

Had my mother been just visiting or a neighbor she would have been covered in full under my home owner’s insurance policy.  We happened to be extremely fortunate that she was in her 70′s and was on Medicare.  Medicare and her secondary insurance did pay most of her medical bills, but she could not be alone, so those expenses fell on me. This entire personal and financial calamity is still evolving six years later.  My mother needs full time care and I am an only child, she lived with me (happily) and I was third shift until she passed away in 2010. After this experience I told myself that I would do everything in my power NOT to have an accident in my home. There are a few things you can do to avoid trouble:

1.Preventative Maintainance: I did some preventative maintenance by adding handicapped bars in all bathrooms by the tub, shower and toilets just to be on the safe side.  (This entire project materials and labor was under $100 and worth it for my peace of mind).  These inexpensive protective measures could save you money and possibly your life by avoiding an accident.  Plus, you don’t have to be 80 to consider safety bars.

2.Be Careful! I further tried to protect myself by altering my lifestyle slightly.  I have a tendency to rush/run everywhere; up stairs, down stairs, across the room, around the corner, through the office, etc. I have been making a conscious effort to move more slowly and carefully and slow my run to a walk to avoid an in home accident.

3. Remove Hazards: However, as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Recently I had the opportunity to have a cup of early morning coffee on my deck (never happens).  I had the cup and was walking through my living room, stopped to step over a small hazard, lost my balance and fell full throttle backwards onto a pointed end table that did not move.  As I was falling I saw my life as a quadriplegic before me. I fell directly on my spine in the middle of my back.  Through a miracle, when I landed I was conscious and although shaken up, I got up and could walk.  I went directly for xrays and another miracle, no permanent damage.  Did my homeowner’s insurance pay for this check up and xray?  No.  Once again, residents are not covered.  I had to use my health insurance (for which I pay and for which I am grateful) that has a huge deductible.

4. Update Insurance/Know Your Coverage: The moral of this story is that I advise all readers to get at the very least a bi-annual check up with all of the people who you count on to be experts; Your insurance agent(home and auto), your banker, your mortgage professional, financial planner and anyone else who is instrumental in your financial home health.  Comparing your insurance policies for coverage and then for price comparison can save you in two ways; your bank check can make sure you are not paying sur charges, for debit transactions, etc., your mortgage professional can help you decide if you should refinance which may save you money each month.  Make a list of all the experts in your life and set up appointments before an issue pops up.

5. Increase Visibility: Keep Bright Lights over stairways.

If you are going to compare price and coverage of your insurance, I would start with homeowner’s because your home is your biggest investment and therefore potentially your largest liability.  Following are some suggestions on what you might check into regarding insurance coverage;

1. YOUR BASIC HOME: The physical dwelling structure and other structures attached to it such as the garage, porch, etc.
2. OTHER NON ATTACHED STRUCTURES; for example, detached garabe, pool house (lucky), guest house, tool shed, barn, etc.
3. PERSONAL PROPERTY: Contents of your home, such as furniture, appliances, clothing, computers, (check with your agent for dollar caps)
4. LOSS OF USE OR ADDITIONAL LIVING EXPENSE: This is a biggie if your house burns down or you are flooded out, etc. if a home is damaged by a covered peril, loss-of-use coverage helps meet the cost of hotel bills, apartment or rental home, eating out and other living expenses until you can move back into your home.  (A friend of mine lived in an 8 unit apartment building that was gutted by fire, SHE WAS THE ONLY TENNANT WHO HAD RENTAL INSURANCE WITH LOSS OF USE, she was covered for 6 months of hotel living, while the others were with family or homeless!)
5. PERSONAL LIABILITY: Provides protection against legal liability for bodily injury or property damage if a third party is accidentally injured.
6. MEDICAL PAYMENTS; Also known as guest-medical payments. this provides covered if a third party is accidentally injured and needs medical treatment.

When I compared prices on my auto and home insurance I saved a significant amount–more than $1,500 a year.

We are all in this together. I would love to hear how you are "keeping up" in these down times. Leave a comment or drop me an email!

Jan Leasure is the creator of $uper $aver Survival, a time and money saving website which features frugal living advice, household tips, coupons, recipes, giveaways and more. Visit www.Jan-Leasure.com and join her savings community.