Your decision to purchase insurance is based on a lot of factors, income, savings, the coverage offered by your employer as a benefit, and your tolerance for risk. Many people use insurance defensively because they don't want to lose what they have. If you have a nice nest egg, would you really want to put that on the line now that you know the average cost per day for a hospital stay? If you don't have a nest egg, ask yourself how you would handle any of the occurrences outlined on this page?

Just give three minutes of thought to how any of these events would effect your life. Thinking about them doesn't' make them happen, it just may put them in a better perspective about how well prepared you are to handle any one instance.

If you were injured in a Sunday softball game which required a short hospital visit and had to miss three days of work, what expenses would you have to pay?
Co-pay?
Deductible?
First $500?
Ambulance?
If you miss three days of work, would you get paid for those three days?
If you miss three days of work, does your landlord or bank give you three days credit on your payment?
Does your bank give you three days credit on your loan?
How much of any medication costs would you have to pay for?
How about crutches, would you have to pay for them?
Would you need to pay for childcare if you were in the hospital for all three days?

Ok, was that painful? Did you come out ok, or only have to come up with a few hundred dollars? Most of us can afford to handle a minor incident. If you find that you weren't able to handle this, this has been a valuable experience. Take some action and call your agent today and get their recommendation.

Let's expand your thinking by considering something a bit more serious. How would you handle a serious illness for yourself or a member of your family? How many of the costs above would you have to pay? Thinking that it won't happen to you is probably not a good strategy. Most bankruptcies are due to medical circumstances and many of those people felt that a serious medical emergency couldn't happen to them.

If you could purchase insurance that covered all the costs for 2 cents a year, you would probably buy it. Down deep you understand the risks, but most people would rather spend the money on something they really like as opposed to insurance. Wouldn't a more prudent course of action be to research the options and take action and to find a program you can afford? No one can control what will happen, only you can control how seriously an event can effect you by giving your future some thought.

(more)