Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Insurance

Save Money – Ask About Bundling Insurance Policies

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How many insurance companies do you have?

Not just insurance policies, but how many insurance companies are you juggling?

If you are working with multiple insurance firms you might be missing out on significant savings that you can get by bundling your insurance policies.

Most Americans have several lines of insurance to cover various aspects of their lives: car insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, and life insurance are some of the most common policies.  Price shopping is common by consumers and often the lowest bid company wins.

But is that the best strategy?

How Does Bundling Insurance Policies Save Money?

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Why Do I Need Life Insurance and How Much Should I Buy?

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I think it’s safe to say most people don’t like the idea of thinking about life insurance.

It’s a reminder that, after all, we’re mortal and one day we won’t be around anymore.  In fact the subject bothers some people so much that they don’t even look into getting life insurance.

But you won’t do that, will you?

To help make getting life insurance easier for you I’m going to tackle a couple of common questions when considering life insurance — why do i need life insurance and how much should I buy?

When Most People Start Thinking About Life Insurance

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Should I Buy Travel Insurance for My Next Trip – Pros and Cons to Consider

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Travel insurance is one of those up-sell services you see tacked on to your flight and hotel reservations when you book through most online travel sites.

You stop and think about it for a minute, but it can be frustrating.

Is insuring your trip worth the price asked?  What are the odds you need to use travel insurance?  Do you really need this type of insurance or is the travel company just looking to pad their pockets with your hard earned cash?

As is the case with most insurance questions, the answer to whether or not you need trip insurance is maybe.

Read on and you’ll see some compelling reasons for and against buying travel insurance for you next trip.

Pros of Buying Travel Insurance

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Would You Continue to See Your Doctor If He Stopped Taking Insurance?

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After I graduated from grad school, I paid my teaching dues by working as an adjunct instructor at three different community colleges and working part-time at a social services office. 

The pay for all of the jobs was lousy, and I had no health insurance.

I wasn’t brave enough (or stupid enough, depending on your view), to go without health insurance completely.  I paid for a catastrophic insurance policy that was fairly low cost, but would only pay for incidents over $5,000.  I was sick a few times that year, and though I would have liked to have gone to see the doctor, I simply didn’t have the money to pay for the entire doctor’s visit myself.

Unfortunately, many others are in this same position.

The Health Insurance Crisis

When we think about the health insurance crisis, we often think about those without insurance or those who go bankrupt thanks to outrageous medical bills.

As consumers, what we often fail to see is the flip side can be just as frustrating for doctors.
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4 Obamacare Essentials You NEED to Know

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The provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) — sometimes referred to as Obamacare — have been phasing in for a few years now.

The biggest provision affecting consumers, though, is the requirement to purchase individual health insurance.  That mandate doesn’t kick in until 2014.

But guess what?  2014 is just around the corner.

If you don’t have health insurance coverage in 2014, you will have to pay a fine, unless you qualify for an exception.  Before 2014 arrives, it’s a good idea to understand how all of this works.

Here are 4 essentials you need to know about Obamacare:

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