Page 54 - Book5E

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Maintaining Appropriate Levels of Health Insurance
1 . Catastrophic health insurance coverage
As Weston reports, just over half of working Americans today can obtain health insurance through employers, which usually subsidize some of the cost, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). If you’re trying to find coverage on your own, you can often reduce the costs of coverage by choosing the highest deductible you can find. For example, catastrophic health insurance polices require that you pay for the first $1,000 to $5,000 in medical bills, but cover everything beyond that amount up to a limit of $500,000 to $1 million. So, instead of costing $300 to $500 a month for two people in their 30s (which is the typical cost for lower-deductible plans), catastrophic policies can run in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month, which can certainly ease the burden when you’re trying to live within a limited monthly budget. And while the costs increase the older you are, catastrophic coverage will still be less expensive than the alternatives. For example, a couple aged 55 could pay more than $1,200 a month for a traditional medical plan, while high-deductible plans will cost around $500.
2 . Umbrella liability insurance
Weston explains that this type of insurance is designed to offer peace of mind by protecting you if you are sued or cause damage to someone else. While your homeowners and auto policies have liability insurance built into them, the coverage may not be enough. The typical auto policy, for example, may have a maximum liability ceiling of $300,000 per accident, although your limit could be as low as $15,000 if you bought a no-frills policy. If you cause an accident that results in $1 million of medical bills for someone else, you could be sued for the difference, which is why insurance experts recommend you have liability insurance equal to at least twice your net worth (especially if you happen to be a highly paid professional such as a doctor or lawyer or hold some sort of highly visible public office). Most auto and homeowners policies have a coverage ceiling of $500,000, so