Have You Reevaluated Your Insurance Coverage Since COVID Began? If Not, Here Are Four Areas to Review Right Now

Life has likely felt like a whirlwind since the pandemic started. While adjusting to the resulting life changes, your insurance coverage probably hasn’t been top-of-mind. However, you could be missing out by not reevaluating your current coverage. Here are four insurance areas you should reassess right away.

#1: Health Insurance

This one may seem like a no-brainer. Your health insurance can protect you from sizeable, unexpected expenses due to serious illness. With new cases of COVID-19 each day, it’s important to make sure that your insurance is up to date for anything from routine check-ups to an emergency.

This is especially important if you obtained your coverage through the workplace and your employment was affected by COVID-19.

#2: Auto Insurance

Throughout COVID-19 lockdowns and working remotely, we’ve spent less time traveling and more time at home. Therefore, it is likely that your driving habits may have changed over the past year. If you’ve found yourself spending a lot less time in the car commuting or traveling, you may be able to save money on your car insurance. Report your updated mileage to your insurance provider and see if they can lower your premiums.

#3: Life Insurance

You may not want to think about it, but it is important to reexamine your life insurance policies - especially amidst the pandemic. America has surpassed 500,000 COVID-related deaths, and you want to make sure that your family is taken care of should something happen to you.

Also of note, the past year or so may have included some big life changes. You may have gotten married, divorced, or had a child, for example. Make sure that you are evaluating how these changes may impact your life insurance coverage needs.

#4: Identity Theft Insurance

Protecting your identity may seem like a less obvious area to look over, but COVID has caused us to spend much more time online. From online shopping to working from home, the extra screen time means more opportunities for online hackers to steal your identity. There are even scammers using COVID-19 to get your information. For example, they may pretend to be contact tracers or offer early access to a stimulus check. If you don’t have any protection currently in place, now would be a good time to consider identity theft insurance.

Take some time in the coming days to consider your current insurance coverage and identify potential gaps. If you’re unsure whether to update or change your coverage, work with your financial planner or insurance broker to review your options.

About Eric

Erickson Braund is the Founder and Chief Financial Officer at Black Walnut Wealth Management. He is a Certified Financial Planner®️ professional and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor®️. Eric brings over 20 years of experience working with high net-worth individuals and families, helping them achieve their goals of protecting and growing their wealth for retirement and for generations to come. Because Eric is a CFP®️ professional, he adheres to high ethical standards and engages in at least 30 hours of approved continuing education in the financial industry each year.

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