Good morning Dinks. The short answer is YES. Remember how last week our rental car was broken in to? And remember how my luggage was stolen last May on my way home from a weeklong vacation? Oh and remember how last year United Airlines lost my luggage twice and delayed it once. I am living proof that insurance is always worth the cost.
I know that some people don’t buy insurance because they think it’s a waste of money. But the question we have to ask when faced with the option is to take insurance is not “Can I afford to pay extra for insurance?” The question we really need to ask is “Can we afford not to?”
In my opinion here are three types of insurance we always need to have:
Home owners or renters insurance
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen cases on The People’s Court about neighbors suing each other for flood damage because they didn’t have renters insurance. I’m pretty sure it’s over a dozen. The scenario is always the same: one tenant causes damage to another tenants property or belongings and neither side wants to pay and neither side has renters or home owners insurance. If we always have home owners insurance then these problems – and expenses – can be avoided.
Car insurance
When Nick and I had our Honda we were paying almost $100 per month in car insurance. I hated doing it but when our car was stolen off the street in front of our apartment we were mighty glad we had full coverage and car replacement insurance. That $100 per month didn’t seem so excessive then.
Last week when our rental car was broken in to and our personal items were stolen out of the back seat we didn’t have loss damage insurance with the car rental company Avis. Thankfully our American Express card offers car rental insurance and although we are still waiting for an official decision hopefully the cost to replace the window will be covered.
Medical insurance
I know this is a very sensitive subject for many people and as a Canadian I honestly believe that basic health care should be available to everyone. However this is not the reality we live in so that’s why it’s a good idea to purchase individual medical insurance even though it can be expensive.
I am fortunate enough to have medical insurance through my employer and trust me it comes in handy every month when I go to the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions. Then of course there are those times of uncertainty when unforeseen expenses pop up. I don’t know anyone who has tens of thousands of dollars in the bank that they can throw away on medical bills. Yes of course those expenses are for your own good health, but I’m sure we can all agree that the money can be otherwise spent.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
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