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Overview of Insurance

To be protected, every family should have the following types of insurance:

Homeowners insurance, to cover fire and other damage to your residence, as well as some negligent acts committed by you and/or your family members

Renters insurance (if you rent). This is similar to homeowners insurance, but designed for renters.

Automobile Insurance, required by California law (unless you can post the appropriate bond)

Life insurance for, at least, the primary breadwinner, and preferably for both parents

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

In addition to the above, families would be well-advised to also have the following types of coverage:

Private disability insurance for the primary breadwinner

Umbrella or "excess" coverage, which applies once the other liability policy limits have been exceeded

Professional liability insurance, if required.

If you have liability coverage (for example, auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance which covers negligent acts towards others), and an accident occurs which you believe may lead to a claim or lawsuit against you, you should immediately notify your insurance carrier.

If your insurance carrier denies your claim (that is, refuses to cover you for the incident), or advises you it has "reserved its rights," you must immediately contact your own attorney. This means your insurance carrier believes you are not covered for the type of accident, which means you could be held personally liable for hiring an attorney and paying any judgment against you. Under some circumstances, you may need to file a "bad faith" lawsuit against your insurance carrier in these circumstances.

You should also be aware that, under some circumstances, even if your insurance company agrees to defend and cover you, you may still be held personally liable for the amount of any judgment which exceeds the limits on your policy.  An umbrella policy is typically used to give extra protection against this situation.