Types of Insurance Schemes

There are many kinds of insurance, but all insurance is meant to guard against loss. The major forms of insurance in the United States are health insurance, life insurance and vehicle insurance. Many employers help employees enroll in group health insurance. Life insurance helps provide for your family after your die, and almost all states require that all vehicle owners maintain a certain level of liability insurance. But there are many other kinds of insurance as well.

While health insurance may help you pay the costs of your medical care, it will not help you to recoup the financial losses you incur from not being able to work. Employees can, however, purchase additional long-term and short-term disability insurance. You may be able to buy this from the same company you get your health insurance from, or you may have to look outside for another company in order to get the disability coverage you need. If you get short-term disability insurance as part of a group policy at your place of employment, it will probably cover about 40 to 65 percent of your wages. Individual disability insurance will have higher premiums but should also provide a higher amount of replacement income. Long-term disability policies pick up after most short-term policies expire, usually from three to six months. Long-term disability benefits last for much longer, from two to five years, or until you turn 65. Long-term disability generally covers around 50 percent of your income. Most long- and short-term disability insurance policies, group of individual, will have a cap, a maximum benefit amount you can receive each month.

People love their pets, and almost all pets will need vet services at some time during their lives. But few people think to buy health insurance for them. There are companies which offer pet insurance, not only cats and/or dogs but also for birds and exotic pets. Pet health insurance may help cover vaccinations, spay and neuter, accidents, injuries, infections and diseases. Pet insurance companies also often offer different kinds of plans with different maximum amounts of benefits, allowing you to choose according to you budget and your pet’s needs.

Most health insurance will not cover you once you leave the United States. However, you can buy specialized travel insurance, which offers a number of benefits depending on the length of your stay outside the U.S., your activities and/or what country or countries you are visiting.