Review and understand your insurance coverage

There are various forms of insurance you can obtain to help cover different aspects of your life, such as personal life and health. Insurance can cover situations such as medical conditions, sickness or even death, so it is important to review your insurance to ensure you have the appropriate coverage.

Life insurance

The main form of insurance that provides financial coverage upon an individual’s death is life insurance. The most important question to ask when trying to ascertain whether life insurance is necessary for you is whether your family would suffer financially, if you were you to die unexpectedly. Some people don’t give this question serious enough thought. In fact, according to research for America’s National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), less than half of young families have life insurance for either spouse that they have purchased on their own.

To begin, you need to think about how much life insurance coverage you need, for how long and how much can you afford to pay in insurance premiums. Consider your dependents financial needs if you were not there to provide for them, which takes in consideration determining how much of the family's overall income you contribute. Are there other important expenses that you would like to cover, such as education for your children or other outstanding debts? All of these aspects will affect how much life insurance you should consider obtaining.

Health insurance

Health insurance is mandatory for anyone who works in the Cayman Islands. If you are employed, you will normally join the health insurance provider that your employer uses for all employees. But it is worth examining if the level of coverage offered by this service provider is sufficient for you and your dependents. Sometimes you may be offered more than one plan, with different premiums, co-payments, deductibles and benefits which should all be carefully examined.

Think about how much you spend on average as a family each year on healthcare, which doctors and hospitals are included in your health insurer’s network and whether you’d like to broaden that reach to cover specific doctors or hospitals. Also, it is important to look at whether your insurance plan covers services such as dental coverage, optician's visits or even eye glasses. If you or a dependent has a medical condition that may require regular medication, check to see if your medication is included in the plan’s drug list, otherwise you may have to pay for your medication in full. Paying a little extra for health insurance may mean the difference between an average service and one that really suits your needs.

Insurance is an important financial expense to ensure that you are adequately prepared, given various situations that could happen. As with your retirement plans, planning for the future gives peace of mind for you and for your loved ones.