The Insurance Help Hub and Why Want Which by Lifestyle

You can insure nearly anything, from cars to body parts. The general guideline is if damage or loss of the insured item causes financial harm to you or your beneficiary, you can insure it.

Still, just because you can insure something doesn't mean you should. You only need insurance when two conditions are true. One, it's a reasonable possibility that damage or loss will occur. And two, the resulting cost may be higher than you can fund yourself. 

You might think about those two conditions as you read through this guide. Below, we cover 26 types of insurance and then share recommendations for which types you may need based on your lifestyle. 

Insurance Overview Index

Health coverages

Most health coverages help pay your preventative and emergency medical bills. Disability insurance is the exception: It partially funds your living expenses after an injury or illness that prevents you from working.

1. Health 

Health insurance defrays your medical costs. What's tricky is that health policies vary widely in how much they cover. Some will pay for preventative services, such as annual check-ups. Some may also partially cover specialty care like chiropractics or physical therapy. Most health plans, unfortunately, treat vision and dental care as optional, paid add-ons. 

It's common for health insurance to have a high deductible. After you reach the deductible, you normally share costs with your insurer by way of copayments and coinsurance. 

The CDC reports that nearly 30 million Americans under the age of 65 do not have health insurance.¹ This is a huge financial risk, given that 60% to 65% of all bankruptcies result from unpaid medical expenses.² Unless your employer takes care of it, Healthcare.gov is a good place to start your search.

2. Vision

Vision insurance partially pays for eye exams, prescription eyeglasses, and contact lenses. Typically, vision insurance is supplemental -- meaning you pay extra for it.³ 

Some 11 million Americans over age 12 need vision correction. And even if you don't wear glasses or contacts, eye exams are critical to detecting eye diseases in the early, treatable stages.⁴ 

The average cost of an annual eye exam is about $200 in the U.S. That estimate does not include the cost of glasses and contacts.⁵ Vision insurance typically costs less than $20 monthly.⁶

3. Dental 

Dental care, like eyecare, is not normally a part of your standard health insurance. To avoid paying cash for dental visits and treatments, you'd need a supplemental dental plan.  

Dental insurance premiums are, on average, $500 to $600 annually.⁷ Policies with lower premiums may only cover preventative care, and with exclusions. Pricier policies may kick in for restorative treatments -- such as fillings and extractions. 

4. Disability 

Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to a health issue. This type of insurance comes in two main varieties: short-term disability and long-term disability. The main difference between these is the coverage period. Short-term plans limit payouts to a few months. Long-term coverage can provide income for years.

Generally, disability insurance has an elimination period -- or a waiting period after the disability occurs and before the insurance will pay benefits. Also, each policy will have rules defining what qualifies as a disability.

The CDC estimates that one in four adults has a functional disability.⁸ Long-term disability coverage usually costs between 1% and 3% of your salary.⁹

5. Long-term care

Long-term care insurance partially funds the cost of custodial care associated with chronic conditions. Custodial care is not covered by standard health insurance. 

Usually, you qualify for benefits under a long-term care policy when you need help with basic living activities, like dressing, bathing, or feeding yourself.¹⁰ As with disability insurance, long-term care policies have elimination periods. They also cap how much they'll pay, per day, per month, and/or over your lifetime.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services estimates that seven of 10 adults will need long-term care at some point.¹¹ Without insurance, long-term care costs range from about $1,700 monthly for adult day health care to $9,300 monthly for a private room in a nursing home.¹²

6. Life insurance 

Life insurance pays an agreed-upon sum to a beneficiary upon your death. If you are the household breadwinner, the payment helps your surviving family members establish themselves financially. Otherwise, a life insurance payout can be an inheritance gift you leave behind. 

There are two main types of life insurance, term and permanent. Term life insurance is more affordable and covers you for a defined period. Permanent life insurance has much higher premiums, but it doesn't expire. There is a saving and investing component embedded in permanent life insurance also. 

According to a Forbes Advisor survey, about 75% of adults carry some form of life insurance.¹³

Vehicle coverages

Vehicle insurance protects you and your property from damages that result from driving. Car insurance is the most common type of vehicle coverage, but you can also insure your motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle, boat, or classic car. 

7. Auto

There is a lot to know when it comes to auto insurance. The most basic function of it is liability coverage, which kicks in when you damage someone else's person or property in a car accident. Nearly every state requires you to carry auto liability coverage. 

Driving without insurance can lead to a license suspension or jail. Worse, you could be responsible for six-digit damages if you cause an accident. A liability like that could wipe you out financially.¹⁴ 

If you want to compare almost every auto insurance company, we have carrier profiles and metrics by state. If you're more interested in contrasting prices, our privacy-focused quote process can fetch multiple independent car insurance rates at no cost.

8. Motorcycle

Motorcycle insurance is like auto insurance, only it covers vehicles with two and three wheels instead of four. As with car insurance, you generally must carry liability insurance on your motorcycle. From there, you can add coverages for different levels of protection. 

J.D. Power reports that 80% of motorcycle accidents result in injury or death. This is about four times the injury or death rate for car accidents -- and a strong reminder of the importance of insurance on your motorcycle.¹⁵ 

9. Off-Road or ATV insurance 

You can also insure your ATV, golf cart, or snowmobile. Liability insurance is available for damage or bodily injury you cause to someone else while driving an off-road vehicle. You can also get medical coverage for yourself plus coverage that pays for damage or theft to your off-roader.

Some states do require insurance on off-road vehicles, and for good reason.¹⁶ The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated 112,300 injuries related to off-road vehicles in 2020.¹⁷

10. Bicycle

Damage to your bicycle or yourself while riding a bicycle is often covered by other forms of insurance. For example, the personal property coverage on your homeowners policy should cover theft of your bike and even some repairs after a crash. Or, if a driver hits you, that driver's car insurance should cover the bills. 

The only trouble is, using your homeowners insurance means you pay a deductible. It also means your payout will be capped -- possibly at a value that's less than what your bike is worth.¹⁸ 

Specialty bike insurance is available as an alternative. Use it when you have a valuable bicycle that warrants richer coverage and a lower deductible than your other policies will provide.

11. Classic Car

Standard car insurance usually covers your car at market value. Classic car insurance works differently. Instead, you and your insurer agree on the value of your car, and that's the amount of coverage you get. Usually, the insurer will request a recent appraisal to confirm the car's value.¹⁹ 

Classic car insurance has stricter eligibility requirements than standard car insurance. For example, some insurers require you park and store the car inside. They may also impose mileage limits and prohibit you from driving the car every day.²⁰

12. Boat insurance 

Boat insurance provides liability coverage, medical payments coverage, and protection against boat damage and uninsured boaters.²¹  

Your state may not require you to hold boating insurance, but you'd be crazy not to if you own a boat. Boating accidents in 2019 caused nearly 2,600 injuries and 613 deaths. They also caused about $55 million in property damage.²² When lawsuits arise from these accidents, the settlements can run up into the millions. 

Shelter coverages

Shelter coverages protect your home and, sometimes, your belongings inside that home. The coverage you want depends on whether you own or rent and what type of structure your home is. 

13. Homeowners

Homeowners insurance protects you against losses related to your home and the personal property in your home. Most homeowners policies also include liability insurance. This insulates you from lawsuits if someone suffers an injury at your place.

Mortgage lenders require homeowners insurance. Even if you didn't finance your home, insurance is a no-brainer. If your house suddenly burns down, the insurance will be well worth the cost. To learn more, our guide on what you should know about homeowners is a good place to go. For unbiased metrics on home insurance companies, we also have carrier profiles you can compare. If you're ready to start comparing prices, our private quoting form can fetch rates from multiple independent insurers to help get the ball rolling.

14. Dwelling Fire or Landlord insurance 

Dwelling fire insurance is like standard homeowners insurance, with some tweaks specifically for rental properties. For example, this insurance doesn't include personal property coverage -- since the policy assumes someone other than the owner occupies the home. 

Look for a landlord policy that pays missed rent if the tenants must move out temporarily after a covered loss.²³ 

15. Condo insurance 

Condo insurance covers the inside structure of your condo and your personal belongings. It also includes personal liability coverage for any injury or damage you cause to someone else in or around your condo. 

Your personal condo insurance policy fills in where your condo association's master policy ends. Master policies usually cover the building exterior plus common areas.²⁴ While we don't have specific metrics on condo insurance, our home insurance carrier search can help clear up confusion toward catching the best company for you. Conversely, if you're more curious to compare prices, our private and free unified quote form is available from a collection of independent condo carriers.

16. Renters insurance 

As a renter, you can't get homeowners or condo insurance since you don't own the building. Still, you may want liability coverage and protections for your personal belongings.

That's where renters insurance steps in. It's like a homeowners policy, just without the dwelling coverage.²⁵ To learn more about the topic, our renters insurance overview covers most insights you may want to know. As with condo, our metrics on homeowners insurers are the best proxy we have for renters insurer quality via our carrier profiles. If judging insurers by prices is more your jam, we have a privacy-focused and free quote form with instant rates from a number of independent carriers.

17. Mobile Home

Mobile home insurance is homeowners coverage for homes without a permanent foundation. Your insurance limit on a mobile home policy will be the home's actual cash value or depreciated value. This is different from a standard homeowners policy, which sets the coverage limit using the home's replacement cost. 

If your mobile or manufactured home is on a permanent foundation, you may have the option to cover it with standard homeowners insurance or mobile home coverage. Mobile home coverage is often cheaper. The trade-off is that you're only protected up to actual cash value rather than replacement cost.²⁶

18. Flood

Standard homeowners insurance does not protect you from damages caused by floodwaters. If you live in an area prone to flooding, consider specialty flood insurance. Your mortgage lender probably requires flood insurance if the home is in a federally designated flood zone.²⁷ 

Flood insurance comes in two varieties -- building coverage and contents coverage. Building coverage pays to repair walls, electrical systems, plumbing, and other permanently installed equipment. Contents coverage reimburses you for damaged personal property like clothes and furniture.²⁸ 

19. Home Warranty

Home warranty insurance covers appliances, electrical, and plumbing systems in your home. 

The coverage generally functions like a service contract. You pay a premium to one of the many home warranty providers. Then, when something breaks, you either hire a technician and submit for a reimbursement (as with Tend) or you call the warranty provider and schedule a technician for an agreed-upon service fee. Depending on the plan's limits and exclusions, the warranty company helps pay for any necessary repairs.²⁹   

Lifestyle coverages

The next six types of coverage are related to your lifestyle, more so than the property you own. You might want one or two of these coverage types -- it's unlikely you'd need all of them. 

20. Pet insurance

Pet insurance is a health plan for your animal friend. Some pet policies cover only emergencies and illnesses, while others cover preventative care as well. Most pet policies have deductibles, either an annual one or a per-incident deductible.³⁰ 

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association reports that average pet insurance premiums in 2021 ranged from $240 to $580 for dogs and $130 to $343 for cats.³¹ That may seem pricey, but the average cost of an emergency vet visit is $800 to $1,500.³² When it comes to coverage, ASPCA pet insurance is a good one to consider.

21. Identity Theft

Identity theft insurance pays some of the costs associated with restoring your identity after a breach. Costs you might incur after someone steals your identity include legal fees, notary fees, postage, administrative fees (say, for ordering new credit reports), credit monitoring, and lost wages.³³ 

Unfortunately, identity theft insurance does not reimburse you for money stolen or other financial losses.³⁴

In 2020, nearly half of all Americans were victims of identity theft. The median loss per incident is $500.³⁵ Identity theft insurance typically costs $25 to $50 annually.³⁶ 

Note that some homeowners insurance policies include identity theft protection. If yours doesn't currently, you may be able to add it as a low-cost endorsement. 

22. Travel

Travel insurance protects against damages and losses you may incur while traveling. Last-minute cancellations, trip interruptions (say, from weather), delays, lost luggage, and medical costs are the common expense drivers for travelers. You can buy protections for all these incidents, or just some of them.³⁷ 

Travel insurance policies often also provide a concierge team for easy re-bookings and itinerary changes. 

Note that travel insurance covers you for a specific trip. You can purchase it while you are booking or afterwards. Some carriers do allow you to buy travel insurance as late as the day before your trip begins.

23. Event insurance 

Event insurance is primarily liability coverage -- which protects you if someone gets hurt or damages property at your wedding, anniversary party, retirement party, etc. Some policies also include cancellation coverage. This defrays the costs of, say, cancelling your venue under certain circumstances. 

Your venue may require you to carry insurance on your event. Even if it's not required, you may want to if you'll have many guests and/or there are stairs to navigate.³⁸

24. Legal

Legal insurance provides access to a network of attorneys for questions as well as contract reviews, wills, estate planning, marriage, divorce, etc. The policy will define the services you get free of charge. If you need more than the stated coverage, you can buy time with a lawyer at a discounted rate. 

Legal plans cost about $300 annually.³⁹

25. General Liability

General liability insurance is a business liability policy that covers third-party injury, third-party property damage, reputation damage, and copyright infringement. It does not cover employee injuries, business property damage, or damages resulting from professional mistakes.⁴⁰ 

Depending on the type of business you run, general liability premiums can be as low as $300 annually. This may be a worthwhile business expense. Hartford Insurance reports that four of 10 small businesses face liability claims.

26. Mexico Auto

Your standard car insurance generally won't cover you once you cross the border into Mexico. Plus, driving in Mexico requires specialized coverage. For example, you probably want some form of legal protection and roadside assistance, alongside the usual liability and medical payments insurance. These features are available in Mexico auto policies. You can also add coverage for theft and collision.⁴¹ 

You can buy short-term or long-term Mexico auto insurance. If you're only traveling south of the border for a few days, customize the coverage for your trip. Or, if you live near the border, you can buy the insurance for up to a year.

Which insurance you want when ________

Everyone can benefit from health insurance. And all car owners should have car insurance. Beyond that, your insurance needs are heavily influenced by your lifestyle. Here's a look at five lifestyles and which types of coverage they need. 

Singles with salaries

You're young, healthy, single, and employed. Congratulations -- your insurance needs should be relatively low.

You need health insurance, which generally you can get from your employer or the Federal or State marketplaces. Vision and dental are optional. If they are available through work, the premiums are usually cheap enough to justify. If they're not, set aside some cash of your own every month and insure yourself for these services. 

If you have a pet, and you probably do (no judgement), coverage for their medical bills can come without too much cost via pet insurance.

Coverage for your shelter is also a smart investment -- whether home, condo, or renting, depending on your living situation. Set your deductible high if you have a cash emergency fund, and low if you don't. Lastly, car insurance is a must if you own a car. 

Self-employed

You're making money on your own, without the help of an employer. You have gumption, which is great -- you'll need it to build out your insurance coverages. 

Car and home, condo, mobile home, or renters coverage are easy enough to procure. Chances are, you have those taken care of already. If you have properties that you earn income from via rentals, you may need dwelling fire / landlord coverage instead. If you have a pet or two, consider providing pet protection for them too.

More challenging is locking down affordable health coverage. Unfortunately, it's too risky to do without. While health insurance isn't required at the federal level, your state may require it.⁴² You may be able to sidestep crippling medical bills (best of luck), but you can't avoid a state-imposed tax penalty. Fortunately, online marketplaces making shopping and comparing policies relatively easy. Healthcare.gov is a good resource to start your search.

You may also want a general liability policy plus legal coverage. The general liability coverage is critical if clients visit your business location -- but it may be useful even if they don't. If you don't have insurance, a slander, libel, or copyright infringement claim can wipe you out, personally and professionally. Some homeowners policies provide coverage for this as an added endorsement as well.

Legal coverage that includes business activities may also save you money in the long run. The lawyers in your network can review contracts and keep you from signing documents that don't protect your rights. 

Adventure-seekers

You're active with a healthy appetite for adventure. That could mean you drive fast -- in your motorcycle, snowmobile, boat, or full-suspension mountain bike. And maybe you travel far and wide every chance you get. Note: if you want to drive through Mexico, there's coverage for that too.

If you're on the socialite side of the spectrum, event insurance can be useful for mitigating risks of gathering a bunch of people in one place. If you have a bit of a reputation, identity theft coverage can mitigate the massive mushroom cloud that loss of identity can initiate.

Your lifestyle is both thrilling and titillating...and can be risky. Consider protecting yourself with health (look for PPOs for more travel flexibility), dental, vision, and full-coverage auto insurance. You may also want specialty coverage on any 'toys' such as ATVs and bikes. Prioritize this coverage by how often you're using those toys. In other words, if you're out on the bike every weekend, probably get the insurance. 

You also might look into disability insurance. A skiing or biking accident could easily prevent you from working. Disability insurance helps replace your income if that happens.

Family households 

As a family household, you may have the most extensive insurance needs. Of course, you can benefit from health insurance plus dental and vision for the kids. You also need car insurance and homeowners, condo, mobile home, or renters insurance. Depending where you live, flood insurance can reel you in from that pernicious peril. If you've recently moved in somewhere, having a home warranty can save you the trouble of worrying about whether any of the major appliances are on their last legs.

If your family is young, you are prime candidates for disability insurance and life insurance -- especially if one family member generates most of the household's income. Disability insurance can keep the bills paid after an accident. Life insurance does the same if the insured family member passes away.

Middle-aged couples should consider long-term care insurance as well. While long-term care becomes a more pressing need in your senior years, it's cheaper to buy when you're younger. And if you happen to collect older cars as a hobby, classic car insurance can save you a ton compared to regular auto insurance (with restrictions)

Risk-averse

If you prefer to avoid risk, you might save some cash by self-insuring in some areas, though that can backfire if multiple bad things outside your control happen at once. You still need health insurance, car insurance, and insurance on any home or condo you own. You could skip renters if you want since it's not required.

If you're good at saving, you could stash away funds monthly for any other emergencies that pop up. Those emergencies may include a sick dog or a short time away from work after an accident, and with a proper savings cushion, you can absorb the financial impact.

Protect yourself 

Insurance protects you against financial losses. But you obviously pay premiums in exchange for the protection. Balance that trade-off by insuring your most expensive and most critical assets. If your lifestyle puts you at risk for specific types of losses, find insurance to cover those outcomes as well.