Yes, disability insurance is pretty important as well. But for a lot of people, having insurance to cover everything is not a possibility, so I wanted to stick to the ones you definitely 100% had to have; and as I was discussing in some other comments above, if you have the extra money for cancer, disability, etc insurance, then by all means, get it.

Thanks for the comment, Luke, I should have mentioned disability at least!

I was wondering why you did not list disability insurance among your list of necessities? Statistically, especially with people in our age group, disability is much more likely than death. I would have been interested to see how some of the variable riders often found in disability policies stack up in a listing of insurance that is not needed. Any thoughts along these lines?

Mine, too…but dying of cancer and surviving after fighting it for a couple of years are two different things. My dad had great life insurance.

However many people survive–over 60% these days (as opposed to 20+ years ago when my father died of cancer). And medical costs of going through cancer can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars–and 10 percent of a really big number can be a pretty big number (if costs hit a million–not at all uncommon–that’s $100,000 that’s the patient is still responsible for) and if all that money works, life insurance isn’t there to pay those costs.

Plus, many people want to travel to specialists (Sloan Kettering, Johns Hopkins, MD Anderson, etc.) which means more time off work and travel, lodging, etc. Health insurance NEVER pays bills other than medical bills, so by itself it’s not enough.

Another way to go is self-insurance (simply having a large enough cushion saved up to take care of the unexpected) and that’s fine as long as nothing happens within about 15 years of when you start preparing for it.

Like I said, not for everyone, but for many it’s a smart move. I would say if someone WERE to get cancer insurance make sure:

* it covers all types of cancer (including skin)
* it has no lifetime limits on benefits
* it’s guaranteed renewable
* the rates are locked in
* it has riders for other catastrophic occurences (ICU, other illness, etc)
* it can cover a whole family for very little more than an individual.
* there is a very short waiting period before coverage begins (they can range from 30 days to several years).

By the way, sorry to focus on just that one…all of your other nine are right on the money.

Here’s a quick look at some of the personal finance articles that caught my eye over the past week:

Flexo is thinking about dumping NetFlix. My wife and I actually go ’round and ’round about this same thing. I don’t think we&#…

Just a quick question on number 9…

Do you know anyone who has gone through cancer before?

There’s a reason why it’s a focus. Statistically one of the most bankrupting events in the U.S. Even with health insurance there is typically a mountain of indirect costs (loss of income, travel, childcare, etc).

Caner has passed up heart disease as the leading killer, and even more important than that: while deaths from Cancer go DOWN, diagnoses and costs of treatment go WAY UP.

Not for everyone, but anyone with a family who has to work to support that family, the coverage is very cheap and makes a lot of sense if you pick the right company.