Educational Grants

Everyone should have some type of insurance no matter no matter what your salary. Insurance is used to reimburse for a loss that occurs or protects against loss or harm to something or someone. There are several types of insurance available: life, health, dental, home, auto, fire, flood, credit card insurance, disability (short term and long term), and many more. The basic types of life insurance everyone should have are: health, life and disability. All three actually work together. Health insurance is needed if you ever develop a health condition or need to go to the emergency room. Disability insurance is used if you have a short-term or long-term medical condition that prevents you from working and ensures that you still continue to receive a paycheck (usually at least 60% of your salary). Life insurance is used in the event a family member dies. Having at least these three may affect your pocketbook now, but will cause you less headache and expenses in the future.

According to the National Health Care Coalition, nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured. A study by Harvard University researchers found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partially the result of medical expenses. Since 2000, employment health insurance premiums have increased 73 percent.

I had surgery in May 2006. I stayed in the hospital overnight. I was checked into my room at 7:00 pm and was released at 12:00 noon the following day. I received some basic medication and had staff assist me. The total bill for less than 24 hours was $12,000. This did not include the cost of surgery. The total bill was $20,000, luckily I had health insurance and only had to pay $5.

Many people go into debt and have bad credit due to medical bills from lack of having some type of insurance. When buying insurance it is best to comparison shop. You can also go to the Better Business Bureau's website at www.bbb.org to search for companies and view their reliability report. A few good websites you can use to comparison shop for insurance are www.bankrate.com and www.progressive.com (for auto insurance). If your employer does not provide health insurance , life or disability insurance you can purchase insurance on your own. Go to ushealthcare.port5.com or www.healthinsurance.org (for selected states) to find information on affordable insurance. If you need insurance for your children visit www.insurekidsnow.gov. They also offer accident and critical illness insurance. For information on affordable disability insurance visit www.about-disability-insurance.com or www.assurity.com. If you really cannot afford to purchase insurance make sure you get enough rest, eat well and exercise. Try to get a part-time job to pay for the insurance.

If you are able to purchase additional types of insurance some as home owner's insurance, auto or fire insurance, it is best to purchase bundled packages or insurance several types of the same item with the same company (such as insuring multiple cars with the same company). Many companies give you a discount if you purchase multiple products but you have to ask for it. For example, I purchased my home and auto insurance with the same company and saved about 15% of the total cost versus buying home owner's insurance with one company and auto insurance with another company. Purchasing bundled packages or multi-line policies can result in a savings of 1 to 25% depending on the company.

As my grandmother used to always say, "it is better to be safe, than sorry". At the very least try to purchase health insurance for yourself and your family.

For more information and resources on insurance visit

www.ahrq.gov/consumer/insuranc.htm#head10, www.healthinsuranceinfo.net, www.prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb435162.htm, ask.hrsa.gov/pc, www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp (Medicare and Medicaid), https://perfdata.hrsa.gov/mchb/mchreports/Search/search.asp (maternal bureau information), www.life-line.org (click on glossary to get common insurance definitions), www.travelers.com (auto, home, rental insurance).

Harrine Freeman is the CEO of H.E. Freeman Enterprises, a credit repair and money management services company. She is a member of the American Association of Daily Money Managers. She is a credit repair expert and the author of, "How to Get Out of Debt: Get an "A" Credit Rating for Free Using the System Ive Used Successfully with Thousands of Clients. For more information on how to get out of debt or to buy my book please visit http://www.hefreemanenterprises.com She can be reached at hfreeman@hefreemanenterprises.com