What Insurance Do I Need?

Sean Patterson

We've established that all young people should have insurance that covers them for many different reasons and risk. Do you know which products will be right for your situation, given your age, assets, and risk?

As such you will need insurance in the event that an accidents occurs, and GradGuard can provide you with a multi-product comparison for you to assess which insurance options may be best for you. How do you determine your insurance needs? Take a look at this chart:

	Auto	Health	Life	Property/Renter's	Disability	ID Theft
Single?
Married?
Kids?

Legend
= You should definitely obtain this type of insurance.
= You may consider this type of insurance; based on your individual needs, you may or may not need this.

If you are in college you may still be able to latch on to your parents insurance discounts via a multiple car discount. You may also be eligible for a "good student" discount if your grades remain high enough. If you have had insurance with your parents in the past, double-check to make sure that you are still covered once you leave home. Some insurers require you to tell them if/when you take a car to a college campus.

Whether you lease or finance a car, you will have a financial liability for that car until it is paid off. Most leases include limited Gap Insurance in case the car is totaled. This covers the difference between what you owe and how much your regular auto insurance will cover. With a leased car, this Gap insurance is rolled into the monthly payment. Also, leasing a car generally requires you maintain collision and comprehensive liability insurance. However, in the case of a financed car, your lender may give you the option of whether or not to carry gap, collision and comprehensive insurance. You may find on a very old car that comprehensive insurance is not worth the money, and you may instead opt only for very minimum insurance.

The bottom-line is that if you drive a car, auto insurance is a must-have.

Click on the link "How do I choose the Automotive Insurance I need?" to learn more about getting yourself insured!