Failing This Quiz Is Bad for Your Financial Health

I spend time visiting and reading various financial websites and blogs to see what's up in the world of personal finance. Most of the time I see good advice being offered on these sites and blogs, although from time to time I do run across bits of “wisdom” that make me go "Hmmm"...But on the whole, I think they serve an important service: They get people to think about their insurance and financial lives in a way they might not have done before. The following article is an example of a smart people sharing smart information:

Long-term financial health encompasses a lot more than just making sure you’re saving smartly for retirement. Decisions you make—or fail to make—about how you safeguard your future with proper amounts of financial protection are also important. The type and amount of insurance you have now—from life to health to disability to long-term care, and even auto—impacts the amount money you’ll have for retirement.

Imagine, for example, what a protracted illness would do to your finances over the long term if you didn’t have in place the right kind of health insurance or disability insurance coverage (if that illness left you unable to work). Here-and-now insurance decisions can make a lasting mark on your financial future—for good or bad.

A smart thing for you to do is take the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ online Insurance Intelligence Quiz and test your knowledge. Most who have taken the quiz have gotten a failing grade on it! See how you stack up.

Once you get your score, be sure to follow through and educate yourself on the questions you got wrong. Lifehappens.org has a wide range of information to help you make smart insurance decisions, and a great place to start is with the Insurance 101 videos. It’s easy: Just sit back, relax and let the experts explain it to you.

Insurance Fundamentals
Life Insurance 101
Auto Insurance 101
Homeowners Insurance 101
Health Insurance 101
Disability Insurance 101
Long-term Care Insurance 101

Put yourself ahead of the majority of Americans by making informed insurance decisions. It’s a smart thing to do for your financial future.

April 9th, 2010
by Maggie Leyes, Communications Consultant, LIFE Foundation