How many insurances do you have?

[gaydemon]

I'm getting more conscious about where I spend my money and where it's all going.. I'm endlessly writing checks or sending payments.

I've got so many insurances Are they worth it? Is it just stupid?

I just once which was insurance on all credit cards if they get stolen, but I only have 3 cards and mainly use my American Express for everything.. And never lost or had any card stolen my whole life.

I've got life insurances, car insurance, accountancy insurance, house and content insurance.. the list goes on.. even my washing machine got its own!

Are they worth it, are there some you would always keep paying for?

[Paul]

Some things are required to have insurance like car, house, boat, and anything financed by the bank. Other insurance is just nice to have like credid card protection, appliance coverage, flood.

IMO - car and house insurance are absolute must haves. Thses investments are too big and liability too high not have covered.

With the other stuff you have to ask is the insurance giving you the peace of mind worth the cost? If it does, keep it.

I recently bought a new camera after my old camera all of a sudden stopped working for no reason. The old camera had the extra coverage and the store where I bought it gave me the price of the old camera off of the price of the new camera. Saved $800 for the price of the $125 insurance. I did get that again but didn't insure my washer/dryer, garage door opener, or microwave that had similar policies offered.

Good luck Bjorn. Personally, I think insurance and bank intrest are two of the biggest (legal) scams in the world. My teeth grind just thinking about how much they charge then screw you or raise your rates when you actually use it.

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

well yeah... a person can be over insured but it seems more often that people are under insured

seems as if you need to do some spring cleaning and sort through what you have and don't have in terms of coverage

in many instances, some policies may overlap and you may learn quite a bit about your coverage when you're looking things over and talking to your insurance people (they're always happy to talk coverage - that's their job)

we too have a multitude of policies and when you are producers like we are, you also need lots of expensive extra coverage such as liability for productions which cities will require when you're pulling permits to do the shoots - and, NYC now requires that a one million dollar policy to shoot ANYTHING on the streets of New York - this type of coverage also holds true for other cities such as Beverly Hills, LA, SF, etc... even if you're just filming someone leaving their apartment to walk a dog for 100 feet...

I bumped my auto insurance up a long while back when we had moved into Beverly Hills - I wanted to make sure that I would be covered if I fell asleep at the wheel and broadsided a corniche convertible leaving the occupant in need of a new face lift...

in short, the insurance you don't have is always the insurance you need (or so the saying goes)

[gaydemon_jr]

Your home insurance, for instance, should cover your washing machine.


in many instances, some policies may overlap and you may learn quite a bit about your coverage when you're looking things over and talking to your insurance people

[gaydemon_jr]

Credit card and payment protection insurance has been found to be a con many times over. If you lose your credit cards, or they get stolen - unless the bank can prove you have been negligent with your account details and PIN number, you won't be charged a penny anyway.

[100boys]

Credit card and payment protection insurance has been found to be a con many times over. If you lose your credit cards, or they get stolen - unless the bank can prove you have been negligent with your account details and PIN number, you won't be charged a penny anyway.

Correct, you don't need a credit card insurance! I only have a health and car insurance plus an insurance which pays if I damage things which don't belong to me or injure other people by accident. That's it.

[dzinerbear]

And you need to read the fine print on that credit card balance insurance, as a self-employed person you may not even be eligible. And anyone who is HIV-positive may not qualify either because they have a pre-existing condition, so you really need to check that fine print in their TOS.

But like others have said, you're already protected. They're just scamming more money out of you.

Cheers
Michael

[TropixxxMichael]

Insurance as a whole is a total scam that preys on the fears of people.

Calculate all the money you spend on premiums, then put it into a bank account instead.

If the rain ever comes, you have savings. If not, then you saved your money.

When you TRUELY need insurance, like after a hurricane, tornado, fire, etc. they will usually fuck you anyway...so why bother.

Here in the United States, people have all sorts of insurance...and as far as I can tell, none of it is even remotely worth it.

A LOT of people make A LOT of money in the insurance industry. They have the LARGEST lobby organization in Washington, and spend tons to insure that the status quo is not challenged.

But to answer your question:

I would drop them all except those which you are required by law to keep, and on those, I would set them at the lowest level possible.

[TropixxxMichael]

And unless you have kids that can not support themselves, then life insurance is the biggest waste of all. It is NOT an investment.

Insurance as an investment is a great investment for the insurance company but a terrible one for you. If you want insurance, get insurance; if you want to invest, buy an investment. Don’t mix the two - it’s akin to buying a box of bad cereal to get the cheap plastic toy inside. Why not just save a buck and get a better box of cereal, then spend the buck to get a better toy.

Second, if you have no dependents and no spouse, don’t buy life insurance. Ever. Don’t let a salesman talk you into it.

Next, the more net worth you have, the less insurance you need.

Lastly, you are dead. Who really cares? Do you NEED that $20,000 funeral, or would a $400 Green burial in a simple pine box or be dumped at sea be good enough?


Ugh...sorry to rant, but I hate insurance people.

[TropixxxMichael]

Lastly, the money would be better spent protecting your true assets offshore, or with an LLC, or whatever your country offers...(or hop on a train to Switzerland and open one of those fancy number accounts.)

Then, you can't be sued, and if you do, great, they get nothing.

There is an old saying where i am from:

You can't get blood from a tomato.

If you get sued, and your assets are protected, then there is nothing to worry about.

Sure, Tony has some great points, and yeah, it is true you need a shitload of insurance to film in a lot of locations...but hey, do you really need that film permit? I don't think so. I worried for a long time about what would happen if a model sued us, or someone got hurt on set, or whatever...and then I realized...fuck, I am a tomato. Hear me roar!

Insurance only serves to further the system of fear based economics we find ourselves in on a daily basis.

[Teddy]

Maybe my personal experience can help out.

When I bought my cell phone I got the insurance where they would replace it if ANYTHING happens to it (lost, stolen, drop it in a bucket of water - which I eventually did). I paid $7 a month for 2 years before I made use of the policy. When I called for the replacement, they told me there was a $50 deductible.

In other words, I paid $218 ($50 deductible, monthly insurance fee $7*24=$168) to get a phone that is two years old and probably worth $50.

Another suggestion, check manufacturers warranties for appliances and electronics. When my 1 year old TV broke I thought I was hosed because I didn't buy the extended warranty from the store. However, the manufacturer's warranty was 2 years. So, I was fine.

[Maryflixxx]

I've got auto and contents insurance (we rent).
I've got supplemental health insurance which includes a small life policy for hubby and I.

The credit card I use for 99% of my life has a balance insurance on it, but it only works out to $2 or $3 a month, so it isn't exactly a money grab.

Other than that, not much. When we buy a house we'll have mortgage insurance and house insurance.

But I don't insure individual items and such - seems like that is all covered under the auto and contents policies.

M.

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

Maybe my personal experience can help out.

When I bought my cell phone I got the insurance where they would replace it if ANYTHING happens to it (lost, stolen, drop it in a bucket of water - which I eventually did). I paid $7 a month for 2 years before I made use of the policy. When I called for the replacement, they told me there was a $50 deductible.



Our home owners policy with State Farm actually covers lost of stolen personal items such as cameras and cell phones when we're away from home... and iPhones and camera equipment can be expensive to replace!

And don't forget that we Californians all need earthquake insurance and some of us need flood, fire, etc... its costly but we have a good relationship with our agents and do semi-annual reviews of all policies on everything - never did go for the credit card protection plans - they're a rip off plus, you're not responsible for anything over and above $50 with some and $0 with others and those "loss of job or income" policies are the worst rip-off imaginable and second only to card interest rates - use debit cards and pay cash or traveler's checks which are 100% replaceable

[rawTOP]

The ones I think are a good idea are:
Homeowners/Renters (and flood insurance if in a low-lying area - separate in the US)
Auto
Disability (if you can get it and the terms are good)
Business Equipment (similar to homeowners/renters, but for your business)
Health (not an issue for Bjorn since it's covered by his government)
Beyond that - getting as many as possible from the same company with an umbrella liability policy that fills in gaps is a good idea as well.