Review Your Insurance Risk
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Saving for retirement isn't enough. Protecting your nest egg is essential to secure your financial future over the long-term. Financial planners advise retirees and pre-retirees to look closely at their insurance coverage -- to make sure there are no gaps -- to protect assets they've spent a lifetime building.
Yet many baby boomers, particularly the most affluent, are likely to be under-insured where it counts the most.
According to a recent survey by ACE Private Risk Services, a division of the global insurer ACE Group, nearly all of the insurance agents and brokers surveyed said wealthy consumers were likely to be under-insured in at least one form of liability coverage, such as "umbrella liability coverage," which guards against the threat of multimillion dollar lawsuits.
About 86 percent of agents reported affluent clients had inadequate coverage to rebuild homes, which often represent a significant part of a retirees' net worth.
Also, 83 percent of agents note that pre-retirees were likely to under-insure valuable collections -- such as art, jewelry and wine -- assets that are increasingly used as a way to diversify retirement holdings.
Yet the biggest financial dangers may not always be so obvious -- or tangible. Barry Gillman of Longevity Financial Consulting says not having comprehensive insurance on your home or car is not going to bankrupt you, but not having good long-term health coverage can wipe out your savings.
"About 20 percent of claims may go past six years and if there's no coverage, the individual will have to pay for that themselves," Gillman says.
That can be certainly financially crippling, but financial advisers and consultants like Gillman say there are many life insurance, annuity and healthcare insurance products that can offer substantial protection.
