Tuesday, June 12, 2012

New Parents’ Guide to Insurance

TeenagerAs new parents, you’re probably overwhelmed by the amount of planning and the number of decisions you must make in order to ensure the comfort and safety of your newest addition. It's important that you not overlook how insurance fits in to your new role as a mommy or daddy.

Life Insurance
When you become a parent, you may want to consider creating a trust to be the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. By naming a trust, you can ensure that your death benefit proceeds don't get added to your estate or, after your death, your spouse's estate for tax purposes. In addition, you can make sure that a portion of your benefit is allocated toward your minor child at the time he or she reaches the age of majority or whenever you specify within your trust. Additionally, a trust allows you a certain amount of control over the use of your death benefits so that you can direct them to help make financial life easier on your spouse and children immediately after you pass away and later on in life.

Buying life insurance for your child gives them a financial head start when they become adults because by buying a child an insurance policy, you lock in low rates and can start creating cash values that they can take loans against later, such as when they go to college.

Disability Insurance
Your children rely on you to support them. A disability insurance policy ensures that you can continue supporting them even in the face of a disabling injury. Disability insurance gives you much more control over the receipt of benefits than Social Security and can also help you rely less on savings during the waiting period for benefits to begin.

Home or Renters Insurance
Giving children a safe place to live is one of the most basic responsibilities of a parent. With home or renters insurance, you can ensure that your children have a safe place to live even after an insurable incident makes your home unlivable as long as you have loss of use benefits. In addition, both types of insurance will help you replace your family’s lost possessions. Finally, a home insurance policy will help you get necessary repairs to make your home livable once more.

Auto Insurance
Not only is Houston auto insurance required by your state, but it also offers one of the best ways to keep your family safe. Auto insurance can help pay for liabilities you incur, removing the need to access your savings to satisfy injured parties. In addition, the medical payments can help your family afford the best care after they've been injured. It's important to note that state insurance limits may not be representative of the actual protection you need.

If you have questions about the kinds of insurance policies you should have as a new parent or you want to make changes to your insurance portfolio, give us a call at Reliable Insurance Managers.