The international economic state is still on relative tender hooks which can wreak havoc on people’s finances as they simply don’t know how or even what to prioritise. Different financial ‘gurus’ are recommending different ways with which you can save a penny here by spending it there, while others are stating that the only way forward is to cut back in all spending, downgrade your quality of living in specific areas such as food shopping. One major way people can save money is to look at the various forms of protection they have invested in that comes in the form of insurance.

Insurance is always being hurled in the consumers direction, whether it is the offer to take out an extended 3 year warranty when buying an electrical product only to get home and find out the manufacturer has already included a 5 year warranty as standard. The question thus arises; what policies can stand to be torn up and which ones need to be preserved at all cost?

In an ideal world we would insure ourselves for everything, in essence protecting ourselves against any and all potentially adverse situations. Unfortunately monetary limitations force our hands to compromise what we do pay to protect, one area we shouldn’t compromise on however is home insurance. A good mobile phone salesman will be able to highlight the benefits of purchasing phone protection in the way of insurance, at a cost between £5 and £10 a month, however if you have home insurance your mobile mate will most likely be protected against theft and to a certain extent damage, rendering the need for separate mobile cover unnecessary.

Another pricey protecting policy that may prove to be unnecessary is that of life insurance. As a single person with no dependants this form of cover may not prove beneficial, the majority of people are caught out by having their policy sold as a bundled product alongside their mortgage when they didn’t in fact need it. Jason Witcombe from Evolve Financial Planning commented that for these individuals, “if they die, the house will just be sold by the mortgage lender”, so if the thought of leaving something to a brother or sister is appealing a little bit of research may unveil other mediums with which this can be done. A majority of “employers offer death-in-service benefits” that can amount to “four times’ salary”, thus “saving you the bother of life cover”.

The knowledge that there are potential pitfalls in the arena of insurance policies may leave you with some questions and queries as to where to turn for valuable and trust worthy information and advice, the reality is only you can find the answers. Carrying out informed research by firstly taking the time to assess your actual needs and then following that up with some net scouring, looking up only the products you have found to reflect your requirements you will be in a better position to not waste money on products that will only strip you of pounds without the offering of protection.

Home insurance is an area that many make mistakes, being sold building insurance and getting contents insurance for free may sound like a great way to protect yourself and your belongings, however if you are a tenant you need not worry about the building and need only protect your contents, potentially saving you a small pot of money each month. In the event of theft, accident or natural disaster the only way you can protect your prized possessions or at least replace them is via home insurance, hence this is one policy you should never cut out when budgeting and prioritising.