When is the right time to get insurance?

So when do you need insurance?

That’s one question that you would be asking yourself if the topic of insurance is taken up. There is no perfect scenario or time when an insurance becomes necessary. There are those who get insured much later in life but are still happy with their decision.

But if you want to know where to start, here are events when insurance becomes important. Note that insurance serves different purposes, depending on specific motivations, and points in your lifetime.

Getting your first job. When you start working, you can consider your own insurance. Either a life insurance or health insurance, or even both, would do. You can enjoy much lower premium payments for the insurance you get if you are about to enter the workforce. If you decide to pay earlier (some life insurance policies have a 10-year premium payment terms), you can further lower the cost of premium.

Starting a family. If you’re raising a family, insurance means peace of mind. Just like getting a job, a life and health insurance can be beneficial not just to you but to your family, especially if you’re the sole breadwinner. If you happen to suffer an illness or, heaven forbid, pass away suddenly, your family would not be burdened financially with medical bills or funeral costs. Your insurance should cover them.

Getting a home or car. Getting your home or car insured is probably the best way to protect these properties from accidental fire, break-ins, and road accidents for vehicles. These unexpected events can be very expensive. If ever your home or car needs major repairs, insurance can pay a part of the repair costs, the amount of which depends on the agreed coverage of your insurance policy.

Starting a business. A business is a serious endeavor. It requires you to spend time, money, and physical and mental effort to start and operate. You might even have raised capital by getting loans from banks or colleagues. This means you are not only responsible to yourself, for the efforts you spent, but also to others, including people you hire. You want your business assets protected from potential fire or natural disasters, or even from theft. Business insurance can help you recover the costs when these unplanned events occur, so your operations are not disrupted.

Traveling safely. If you travel, having insurance can help protect you from trip cancellations, lost baggage, or even lost passport. Of course, travel insurance includes coverage for health and medical treatments, and death during travel. So it’s best to include this in your cost of traveling.

As you can see, there are many options for insurance to choose from depending on the needs. Just remember to always read the policy agreement first to make sure that you maximize what you’re paying for.