Are My Insurance Policies Protecting Me Enough?

Speaker A00:00:00

You've got your insurance policies, check. But are they truly safeguarding everything you've worked so hard for? Or could an unexpected crisis leave you financially devastated?What if a checkup on your coverage could prevent future financial heartache? Well, stick with me today and let's talk about how to be truly protected. That's what I'm going to talk about on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with Confidence. Hey there and welcome back to Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph, I'm your guy and I'm so happy you chose to join me today.This show is all about answering that question. How can I become a financially confident Christian?And we're in the fork week of our series Smart Money for Back to school and beyond, all about equipping your family for a thriving school year. Now if you missed yesterday's show, we talked about getting ahead for fall by pre planning expenses like school and the holidays.Yeah, we covered a great deal the last couple days. If you missed it, I'm going to encourage you to go check it out. You can find all of our back catalog of episodes at our website.That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com now today we're going to change the topic completely. We're going to be talking about another financial thing. We're going to talk about reviewing your insurance needs this fall.And I want to answer this question so a lot of people overlook this. This question is very, so critical today. Are my insurance policies protecting me enough? Hey, you know the feeling.You signed up for that auto policy, maybe that home policy or maybe health insurance. Maybe you did it last year or years ago. So many people just set it and forget it when it comes to insurance. But then like most people, life happens.The kids go off to college, you got a kid is just starting to drop away. I remember those days. Maybe you did a home renovation or maybe a storm came through. And here's the problem.If you don't pay attention to these things, that old policy, that policy that you set and forget years ago might not be fully protecting your new reality. And you've got this false sense of security from his outdated or inadequate insurance.Yeah, you're paying that premium every month, but are you really covered? And then all of a sudden you have a devastating loss and you get this financial consequence during something that you couldn't control.Maybe an accident, maybe you were in a car accident, wasn't your fault. But man, you Got the insurance, but then all of a sudden you find out it doesn't cover anything.Or maybe you've got an illness and you just always figured that your health insurance would cover this. Maybe you're fortunate to have long term disability or short term disability, but do you really understand what it covers?Or maybe, like so many people, you've got an unexpected disaster and you just weren't prepared for it. And the problem is, here's the burden of this whole thing. It's why I wanted to do this on today's show.Oftentimes you realize too late that your protection wasn't enough. And then what happens?You end up going into debt, triggers anxiety, and you work so hard to build this financial progress and you undo it all because you didn't have adequate insurance coverage. But here's the thing. A lot of people don't want to talk about this, but a wise part of stewardship is having insurance because.And a lot of people say, well, you just, you got to trust in God. God's going to handle it. Yes, he will. But, but I want you to hear this right now. Insurance protects what God has entrusted to you.And it's all about being prudent. I don't say live in fear. We're going to talk about some Bible verses right now about that.I'm not telling you to live in fear, but I am telling you to be prudent and make sure you've got the insurance coverage that's going to protect you. So let's jump right into our Bible verses. Today we're going to go right to Proverbs chapter 22, verse 3. And it says this again, Proverbs 22:3.The prudence, see danger and take refuge. But the simple keep going and suffer for it.So what we're talking about, when it comes to insurance, you see the potential dangers and you take refuge. You buy that insurance policy. If you don't guess what, you're being a simpleton and you're going to suffer for that.Just really need to focus on that biblical context today. Be prudent, see the danger and take refuge. Let's look at the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 12.It tells us this again, Ecclesiastes 7, verse 12. For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense. But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.Well, think about that for a second. The excellence of knowledge, what you know, what you understand, is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. See, wisdom is a defense.We've got to arm ourselves with this and review on our insurance. Having insurance is a diligent act of stewardship. Guess what? It insures our family. It ensures our stuff that we work so hard for is covered.And it prevents. Listen to me on this one. If you don't hear anything else I say today. It prevents financial ruin from things that are beyond your control.Yes, some things happen. It's within your control. But oftentimes people get to the point of financial ruin because of things that they had no control over.And I don't want that for you. I want you to live in peace. I want you to live in peace with preparedness and handle your resources wisely. So now you're asking, Ralph?Now you've got me scared, Ralph. I'm not even sure what insurances I have. How do I do this? How do I move from just paying those premiums, Ralph, to.To confidently knowing insurance protects enough for my. For this fall? Hey, this is the season we're in. But beyond that. Well, here's my solution for you today.And I encourage every single person I meet with to do this. This is the time to conduct a brief, targeted review of your key insurance policies. Now, let me just take a little sidetrack.I'm gonna tell you what I think your key ones are. That's your auto policy, your homeowner's policy, if your rent, a renter's policy. A lot of people don't think about that one, but go get it.It's not expensive. Your health policy and life insurance. And you want to ask this big question.You gotta make sure that they adequately cover your current needs and those potential risks and compare the rates because you might have said it. And maybe you could make some. You get some better benefits now, it might even cost you less. And being proactive will give you peace of mind.So here's your action step for today with the goal to review your insurance needs for the fall. And we're going to look a little bit beyond the fall.First thing I want you to do, and this is something you should be able to put your hands on right away. So this could be an action step that would be beneficial. Anyway.Gather your key policies, get the most recent statements, get those documents for your primary insurances, those health, those auto, the renters, the health and the life insurance. And put those into a folder and put those aside. Know where those things are when I talk to people. Oftentimes, yeah. You know, I do have insurance.I just can't put my hand on it right now. Well, guess what?When you have an accident or some natural disaster happens, you need to be able to put your hands on those right away so that you can move quickly and protect yourself. So that's the first thing. Gather those policies. Second thing, I want you to really think about some life changes that you've been through.I don't know how many times I've worked with people and they're like, Ralph, you don't have insurance. But I never even thought about this. My kids are away at college. Well, guess what?If your kids are away at college and I'm not an insurance agent, you might be able to save on your auto policy because you don't need to have the same coverage if there's so many miles from home. Again, talk to your insurance agent about that. Maybe you've got a new driver.You're thinking, Ralph, I just remembered I didn't even add my new driver to it. Maybe you've done some renovations to your home and all of a sudden your homeowner's policy is woefully inadequate. Maybe there's some risk coming up.Maybe you're in an area that floods, or maybe you're in an area that gets bad storms. Maybe you need to be prepared for that.Or maybe, just maybe, you've had some health changes and you really need to take a deep look and say, does this health policy truly meet my needs anymore? Or other options I really should explore. So second thing, like I said, identify one or two of those life changes.And then I don't want you to be burdened by this.I want you to just take one policy, maybe one a week, maybe this week, pick your auto policy or pick your homeowner's policy and read it from COVID to cover. Now, you might get lost in the legal because there's a lot of that there. It's one of the other things.I'm going to encourage you to pick up the phone and call your agent and say, explain this policy to me. I want you to explain to me what I'm covered by, what I'm covered for, what I'm not covered for.Understand the limits, understand any recent changes and talk that out with your insurge agent. Listen, this is what your insurance agents are earning a premium for. It's like the best deal in town.These insurance agents, and I'm not bad mouthing insurance agents, they've got a great business, they sell the policy and then you just keep renewing it and they're just getting paid every year. But ask them questions like given My current life, my assets, my.The upcoming season that we're going through, does this still adequately protect me if something major happened? This is a very fair question to ask your insurance agent. And if they don't have an answer, guess what? Time to shop around.Time to maybe get a new agent. So that's the second thing. Just review one policy for coverage. Maybe pick one every week so you can get through these.Make sure you've got the coverage that you need. And. And finally, hey, this is an optional thing, but it might be time to consider getting a new quote.I know with my homeowner's insurance, I know with my auto insurance, there were years that went by, just kept it in the same place. I never really shopped there. You know, it's one of those things that. Out of sight, out of mind, I'm not worried about. I pay the premium.I'm in compliance with the DMV and all that sort of thing, but I never really looked at the rates.This might be a great time to go get an online quote from a comparable website or go talk to another agent, say, hey, look, I've got this book of business. Here's what I need to cover for. Can you help me with this? Maybe you can find better coverage. Maybe you can find something. Hey, listen to this idea.Maybe you can get it for less money. Because so many of us struggle with the stress of feeling exposed that, what if something happens? It's so scary. You've worked so hard.You've put these plans together. Maybe you're a daily listener of the show and you're following all the directions that I put out there for you, like Ralph. But. But what happens if.Well, that's where insurance can really help you. And it replaces that false sense of security because so many of us have this false sense of security. Well, I've got insurance for that.But have you read the policy? Do you understand what it covers? Because I want you to be confident and I want you to be informed about the protection.And I want you to be in a place that your valuables and your family are adequately covered. Hey, sometimes you might free up some money to potentially find some better rates. And all this leads to peace of mind.Go and check out those insurance policies today and make sure they're what you think you have. And maybe look and see if you need something else. Well, let's pray together right now.Father God, we just thank you for the protection and the wisdom that you give us, Lord. And we don't live in fear, but we do live being proactive and planning.And we confess that sometimes we neglect to review our insurance, Lord, and we leave ourselves vulnerable to unexpected financial setbacks. Please grant us diligence and discernment as we review these policies. Help us to understand our needs and choose adequate coverage.And Lord, we just ask that you protect our families and protect the things that you've given unto us to even trusted to us to take care of, Lord, and guide us in all of our financial decisions. And Lord, we finally ask that our stewardship will bring you glory and bring us lasting peace. And we ask this in confidence. In Jesus name, Amen.Listen, don't think of this as a choreography. Reviewing your insurance isn't just a chore. It's a vital act of stewardship that protects your peace. So take that step today.Listen, you don't have to be overwhelmed by this. Just review one of your policies to ensure that your coverage is enough. Because I want you to move towards financial freedom.And maybe right now you're listening to this, you're like, oh, you know what, A lot of people could benefit from this. I wonder how many people thought about checking out their insurance. You know, I'm going to share this to somebody. That'd be great.Send them a text, send them an email. Hey, pick up the phone and call them. Mention it in your Bible study or your small group.You can point them right to our website at financiallyconfidentchristian.com because, hey, we all need to make sure we've got adequate insurance. We need to make sure we've got the right coverage that we need. And hey, let's save some money while we're doing it.Now, tomorrow we're going to move on to another topic. As we get organized for the fall season, we're going to be talking about how to make the most of that summer job income.Maybe you're just wrapping up the summer and whether you're a student or maybe you've done some seasonal work to help you boost your financial goals, that's a show you don't want to miss. So make sure you join me on tomorrow's show. Now, let's all go out there today and live like financially confident Christians. You can do this.I have confidence in you. Have some confidence in yourself. Stay financially savvy, make sure your insurances are in order. God bless you. And you have a great day.