Evaluate your insurance needs
Evaluating Your Insurance Needs When the New Baby Comes
When you’re expecting a new baby,
the list of tasks to be completed seems absolutely endless. You’ve got to
prepare the baby’s room, baby-proof the house, and arrange for your absence
from work (or home if you have other children). Preparations can seem very
overwhelming.
One other important preparation for
the arrival of your new family member is an re-analysis of your insurance
needs. Taking the time to re-evaluate your insurance coverage and requirements
may not feel as exciting and fun as your both baby-prep tasks; however, you’ll
be glad to know that you’ve prepared for your baby’s impending arrival
fiscally, as well as emotionally. Consider these types of insurance as you look
over your situation:
Life Insurance – If you and/or your
spouse don’t have life insurance, now is the time to buy it. You will want to
know, with all certainty, that your little bundle of joy is financially cared
for if the unthinkable happens and he loses one or both of his parents. The
loss of a parent is difficult enough for a child to endure, without having to
worry about where he will live.
Health Insurance – Health insurance
is another important necessity when you have children. Maybe you were able to get
by before simply visiting the doctor once or twice a year and paying the cost
out of your own pocket. Well, now that just isn’t a good option. Babies, even
healthy ones, have to go to the doctor’s office a lot.
If you are fortunate enough to have
health insurance, make sure you let your carrier know when your baby arrives.
Odds are that he will be covered with his mother for the first thirty days.
However, you’ll want to add him to the plan as quickly as possible to avoid any
lapses in coverage after that initial period of time.
Disability Insurance – Having a
reliable source of income is never more important than it is when you have a
baby depending upon you for everything. The breadwinner(s) in your family
should have disability insurance in place, just in case they find themselves
unable to work. In a perfect world, you should plan to have disability coverage
for short-term and long-term disabilities.
