What kind of insurance do you need as a young professional?

As you begin to settle into professional life, you’ll find that every new freedom tends to be met with an equal obligation or responsibility (isn’t being grown up fun!). Among these newfound responsibilities you will find the need to pay for insurance for many of the things you own or do, from cars to holidays. We’ve put together a quick list of some of the most important insurance products you should consider as you start to make your way in the world. A lot of these will have different types within them, to help you understand what you need, we have put together this simple list different types of insurance and what they entail.

Car Insurance

It’s safe to say that if you own a car this one is a pretty good idea, if your caught in an accident and don’t have any insurance you can be liable for a maximum £5000 and 6 points on your license. The question is though what kind of car insurance do you need, there are generally three different types.

Third party insurance

This is the basic minimum requirement for car drivers, if you crash into someone else it covers the damage to the car you crashed into, but not your own.

Third party fire and theft

Essentially an upgrade from third party, except any instances of fire damage or having your car stolen are covered.

Comprehensive

This will be the insurers most expensive policy, and will cover you for most instances of damage to your car as well as any damage you cause to another’s vehicle or property Which one you choose is purely circumstantial, if you’ve just promoted and decided to treat yourself to a brand-new beamer, then maybe comprehensive is on the cards. If your trying to save for a deposit and still trundling around in your dad’s old banger however, maybe the third-party insurance will suit you fine.

Travel Insurance

There are certain things to take into consideration when picking travel insurance. Firstly, it depends where you’re going, if it’s a short city break then travel insurance might not be wholly necessary, though it’s still recommended. However, if you’re going backpacking around Asia for example then travel insurance is an absolute must. Hospitals in a lot of countries will put you in their most expensive rooms as a westerner. If you have insurance this won’t be a problem, but if you don’t you could rack up bills worth thousands of pounds if you’re in hospital for a few days with an illness or an injury. You will want to check what level of insurance you are getting as well. If you’re bringing your camera to an area known to have a high level of crime, a policy that covers all your contents and has no excess will be worth the slightly higher upfront cost.

Home Insurance

This one will depend entirely on whether you are renting or have bought house/flat. If you’re renting, it’s worth taking out contents insurance to cover your own valuable possessions, but you shouldn’t be responsible for covering the building itself, or the landlord’s possessions. One thing some people fall foul of is assuming that your landlord’s insurance will cover any of your belongings in case of a robbery or fire. Most of the time however it will only cover any damage to the property itself or for any items in the dwelling that the landlord owns, such as furniture. If you have just bought your own property then home insurance without a doubt something you should invest in. Most people save for years to buy a house and an investment like that will no doubt need a bit of protecting. Luckily most people will not have to deal with having their house robbed or burnt down, but you will want to feel protected, and it will provide a huge amount of peace of mind regarding your investment. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Multiple child insurance

Now once you’ve bought your first house and settled down, it’s natural to assume that your first child could be on the way. However, many young couples may not be able to handle the financial strain of having twins in the relatively early years of their career. There is no need for concern for however, as you can now take out a multiple child policy. This will mean taking out a making an enquiry before your first scan and after you have been accepted you receive a cheque for a lump sum if you have twins. It might seem strange but consider the fact that the average cost of raising a child to the age of 21 in the UK is around £230,000. So, if you have a history of multiple births in your family just have a hunch twins are on the way, this might be something you might want to think about.