Insurance You Don't Need
Fool's School

Insurance is too important to ignore. It's critical to have it for your home, your health, your car and often your life. There are other kinds of insurance that can serve you well, too - such as disability insurance, renter's insurance or long-term care insurance.

But not all insurance is equally valuable. Don't be overinsured. Don't buy insurance you don't need. Consumer Reports magazine listed several kinds of insurance policies that most people don't need. Here are some of them:

• Mortgage life insurance. A cheaper way to pay off your mortgage if you pass on is through term life insurance.

• Credit card-loss prevention insurance. Instead of forking over more than $100 per year for this, know that by law your losses due to card theft are capped at $50 per card.

• Cancer insurance. For many of us, our regular health insurance plan will cover medical expenses related to cancer treatments. So don't buy this unless it offers more than you have, at a reasonable price.

• Accidental death insurance. Since you're extremely unlikely to die via an accident, term life insurance is a more logical investment.

• Involuntary-unemployment insurance. This is designed to make minimum payments on your credit card or auto loan debt should you become unemployed. Instead, simply maintain an emergency fund that can cover your living expenses for three to six months or more. Drop by www.fool.com/ savings for more guidance on how to best invest short-term money.

• Flight insurance. Sorry, but you're extremely likely to survive every flight you take. If you're concerned about premature death, look into term life insurance.

• Life insurance. Even this can be unnecessary for many people. If you're single and childless, for example, and no one depends on your income, skipping it may be best. Life insurance is meant to protect critical income streams.

Learn more about insurance and choosing it well at www.fool.com/insurancecenter and (the not unbiased) www.iii.org.