There are literally thousands of insurance options available in the US, but only eight actually matter. So in this video, I'm going to break down the only types of insurance you need, what they are, why you need them, and how much coverage to get. And I promise, before you click away, we're going to keep it light and we're going to keep it moving because the only thing more bland and confusing than insurance is... No.
Anyways, stick around to the end to find out the most forgotten type of insurance that can end up costing you big time. And let's start with something that could get you into trouble legally here. And I'm not talking about not picking up your shih tzu schnitzel around the neighborhood. All right? Which you should do as a citizen of a society. And you have no idea how many times it took me to say shih tzu's schnitzel. And yes, this episode is NFSH now.
thanks to that word, not safe for homeschoolers. The word is in it, and if you break it down and play it in slow-mo, you will hear me cuss. So... Take that! You say I'm not a bad boy? Does it get more bad than that in an insurance video? That's why I'm wearing my denim jacket.
My mom got it for me from Oshkosh B'gosh. I'm sure all the kids on the playground will be really impressed. All right. I told you it's going to be fun. So what am I talking about? What am I talking about? What is illegal to not have? I'm talking about auto insurance. And operating a motor vehicle without it is straight up illegal. Except, and this is true, in New Hampshire for some reason. Good auto insurance covers these things. Collision. This fixes your car if the accident is your fault. Comprehensive.
This is for random stuff like hail, fire, theft, basically all the fun stuff Mother Nature or a Fast and Furious movie throws your way. And finally, liability. This covers the other person's car, the other person's injuries, and the other person's property and legal fees if they should sue.
And I recommend getting the most coverage you can afford for all three of these areas. This is not the type of thing you want to skimp on. Plus, the difference in cost between lower coverage and higher coverage is usually just a few bucks a month. And most insurance pros will recommend at minimum 100, 300, 100 coverage. Here's what that means. $100,000 in coverage for injuries per person, $300,000 total per accident, and $100,000 for property damages.
but I think you need more. I recommend $250, $500, $250, because for that slightly increased cost, it is so worth the extra protection and peace of mind. One down, seven to go.
Let's do this. Number two, health insurance. Listen, you can handle the cost of DayQuil and hemorrhoid cream on your own. Side note, do not use those together. Just ask Dr. John Deloney. The rocket diarrheas. Health insurance is about covering you when life goes full Grey's Anatomy, hopefully not season three, episode 15, fairy accident level, but...
You know what I mean. Because medical costs do be expensive and you probably can't afford care without it. In fact, get this, 67% of bankruptcies are at least partially caused by medical debt. So this is one you absolutely need. It is not a luxury. It's a necessity. And here's my recommendation when it comes to health insurance.
If you've got an emergency fund and you're relatively healthy, go for a high-deductible health care plan because they will come with lower premiums. You're taking on a little bit more risk with that higher deductible, and the insurance company blesses you with a lower monthly premium. Plus, high-deductible plans let you use a health savings account, an HSA, which is a savings account dedicated to health care costs that you can put money into tax-free. Not to mention...
Your contributions will roll over year to year so you don't lose them, and you can even invest your HSA funds so they grow over the long term with compound growth. Now, if you want to know more about how HSAs work, I'm not going to do it in this video. I did a whole other video breaking it down, and it includes my hit single, Party in the HSA. I will leave a link in the description if you want to watch that after this. All right, number three on our list of insurances you need...
term life insurance. Now, not everyone needs this, but if someone relies on your income, this is a non-negotiable. So look deep into my eyes and listen carefully. Closer, closer. Too close, too close. Back up, back up, back up, back up. Only get...
term life insurance. Do not, do not ever get whole life insurance or universal life insurance or some dollar store crypto insurance. Just stick to a term life policy that is 10 to 12 times your annual income with a term that's 15 to 20 years in length. For many people, that 15 or 20 year term is just right because it's long enough to pay off all of your debt, including your mortgage, grow your wealth and make your family bulletproof financially. At that point, you'll be what we call self-insured.
meaning your family can live comfortably off of the return of your investments should you find yourself with Jesus after a season three, episode 15 type incident. And don't forget, even a stay-at-home parent or caretaker needs to be covered with a minimum $250,000 to $400,000 policy to take care of the cost of childcare, education, cooking, cleaning, caregiving, the list goes on.
Moving on to number four, homeowners insurance or renter's insurance. Because Lord knows your landlord isn't gonna buy you a new chaise lounge should your house burn down, God forbid. Homeowners insurance basically protects your home and your belongings. And a good policy covers extended dwelling, which pays to rebuild your home, personal property, which replaces your personal belongings, and liability, which covers injuries and damages that should happen on your property.
And before we get back to the list,
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And they don't just set it and forget it. There's a real person out there all year long, manually checking and removing all of this, sending you a personalized report every few months to give you the scoop on exactly what's been going on. And right now, you can get 20% off their Delete Me plans by going to joindeleteme.com slash george or click the link in the description below. Now, before we get to the next insurance on the list, it's time for today's money tip.
Did you know that using a traditional savings account is not always the best place to keep your hard-earned money? Instead, what you want to do is put it in a high-yield savings account like the one from online bank Laurel Road, another sponsor of today's episode. Unlike most brick-and-mortar banks, Laurel Road's high-yield savings accounts offer top-tier APY that lets your money grow a whole lot faster than a traditional account. I
I personally use them because they never charge me monthly maintenance fees, my deposits are FDIC insured, and there's no minimum balance required to open an account. So what are you waiting for? Get started today and upgrade your savings by going to laurelroad.com slash george or click the link in the description below. All right, back to the show.
All right, back to the insurance action, baby. Here we go. At number five, we've got long-term disability insurance. Now, before you skip over this one, let me remind you, facts are your friends. And the facts are, you're more likely to be disabled than you are to die young. We live in a fallen world. I don't make the rules. Now, an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses is perfectly fine for a short-term disability. Say you tear your labrum at your adult softball game and have to take time off work for a few months. It was worth it to strike out your brother-in-law, Chasen.
Am I right? Who names their kid Jason? If your name's Jason, drop a comment. We gotta wrap our arms around you. You're going through it right now and probably forever. What a tragedy. Now, when it comes to disabilities that keep you out of work longer, that's where you need a long-term disability insurance policy. And these days, most policies are set up to pay you for five years after you're declared disabled. Which again, here's
And here's some facts: a quarter of today's 20-year-olds will become disabled at some point before their 67th birthday. So this is a protection you can't live without. Now typically, the price for a policy is around 1-3% of your annual income, but the cost will mostly depend on the physical risk associated with your job. If you work in a library or sit at a desk all day, you'll pay less for disability insurance than, say, Tom Cruise, because he's probably out there hanging on a helicopter as we speak.
How impossible is the mission if you keep making it possible, Tom? Mission accomplished! Hopped out the car at the CVS, need some suns. Moving on to another long-term insurance, this one is long-term care insurance. I know it sounds similar to the last one, but it's different. And if you're over 60, this one and Miralax are your new best friend. Long-term care insurance covers stuff like nursing homes or in-home care if you're in a situation where you can't look after yourself.
And no, Medicare will not cover the cost of long-term care. So you've got to have this one in place. Because 70% of Americans over 65 will wind up needing long-term care. So you've got to get this covered. And for uninsured people, those costs will end up coming out of retirement accounts or other personal savings. Meaning you're going to burn through your net worth faster than that Taco Bell burrito will burn through you. And that's why you need...
Miralax. I'm done with the Miralax jokes. I say when it is done. All right, number seven on our list is identity theft protection. And this one is technically not insurance, but it's a must-have in my book because fraudsters are out there trying to buy the latest iPhone with your information. At least that's what happened to me when my identity was stolen by a Bostonian woman back in the 2010s. But that's a story for a different time.
Let's face it, identity theft is becoming more common each year. And even though you aren't personally responsible for money that's fraudulently spent or taken out in your name, you will have to clean up the damage, which means fixing your credit report, dealing with banks, and jumping through a lot of legal hoops. And this costs you two very important resources, your time
and your money. So if you have a good ID theft protection policy, your provider will assign a dedicated restoration specialist to help you clean up the mess. So get a plan that offers actual restoration, not just monitoring. And if you want to know the one I use, this is not an ad, this is not a sponsorship, but the one I use is from Zander Insurance. They have a great ID theft protection plan that's very affordable. I will drop a link in the description if you're interested. All right, last but not least on our insurance list, we've got
An umbrella policy. Now, if you've got a net worth of over $500,000, you need to get this today. An umbrella policy stacks on top of your homeowners and auto policy as an extra layer of protection for you and your assets. Why? Because when you start to build wealth, you put a target on your butt. Metaphorically, of course. And in the lawsuit-happy world we live in, you gotta be cautious. So umbrella policies cover the legal battles and freak accidents where you get sued for more than your regular insurance will cover. It's like the bonus fry at the bottom of the bag.
except this one protects you with an extra million dollars of coverage for just two to 300 bucks per year. I sleep better having this in place and you will too once you hit that level of net worth. So there you have it, eight types of insurance you actually need to protect your family and your future.
And did you notice what's not on this list? Burial insurance, phone insurance, insurance for your trip to holiday world in Santa Claus, Indiana. None of that's on here. But if you're still unsure of what coverage you need or if you have enough or maybe even too much, I've got a free coverage checkup quiz that will take you just a few minutes and give you all the clarity you need. I'm going to drop a link in the description below. And I have to admit, even though it's on this list, it's been pretty painful to pay my car insurance lately with premiums going up and up and up.
So keep watching this next video to find out why rates are hitting the roof and what you can do about it. And again, I will link it in the description below. That's it for today. Be sure to like this video, subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.