Planning a wedding can be fun.
There are cake tastings and dress fittings. Bridal showers and gift registries.
But couples often forget to plan for their life after saying, "I do."
Newlyweds need to discuss how they want to handle their assets. One discussion that needs to take place is what to do about home and life insurance, says Leah Wiggins of Leah Wiggins Agency of Farmers Insurance in Birmingham.
"If you are really concerned about your financial future, it's just something you have to start with. It's another way of expressing your love," Wiggins says. "If you want to be properly protected and something happens to you, you want to make sure your spouse will be able to go on with life as much as possible."
"This is targeting newlyweds but anyone can use this information."
She offers these tips:
*Insure your rings. Most home insurance policies have a limit for all jewelry. Coverage usually does not exceed $1,000 to $1,200. But if you have a ring or a nice watch that's been appraised at $5,000, for example, you should talk to your agent about additional coverage. You need to properly asses the value of your property.
*Hold onto receipts, especially for rings and other expensive items such as furs, jewelry and art work. You need to give your agent appraisals or recent receipts for each item. In most, appraisals that are less than three yeas old are OK. Appraisals that are older than three years old may require a more recent appraisal. Every insurance company is different in what they accept as "recent," so you need to ask you insurance agent about the limits and what is deemed acceptable. If your receipt is older than three years old, you'll need to get the item appraised.
*Get expensive gift items appraised, too. If you received a valuable heirloom, get it appraised.
*Invest in a safe deposit box to hold your insurance papers and an inventory of all household goods. Wiggins said Farmers offers a household inventory booklet, where clients can record serial numbers, the value and purchase dates on items. They also have a digital home organizer.
*Review titles and deeds to a home, rental properties, vehicles and recreational vehicles. Consult an attorney to legally add your spouse's name to property.
*Check to see which insurance companies you and your spouse are using. Is his company different from your company? Have you considered having one company to insure all of your properties? Consolidation with one insurance could yield deep discounts.
*Discuss the liability coverage you have. As you acquire property as you get older your assets could increase. Liability for a young person just out of college and living in an apartment. for example, could be lower compared to a person who is 36, married and owns a home. As you acquire more property and income in life, your liability can increase. Therefore, you need to protect your assets with the proper insurance liability limits.
*Review your auto coverage and make sure the appropriate people and car or cars are covered. Do your parents still cover the car you drive because they own it? It's possible your parents may cover the car but not you. Maybe they don't cover you because of your driving history. You need to know what's covered. You may also want to consider if you are going to keep the car that your parents are paying for. If so, you need to find out if your parents transfer the title to you.
* Consider using one insurance company for all of your cars.You will get multi-car discounts by having more than one car on a policy.
*Remember that driving history, claims history and credit history will affect the cost of car insurance.
*Do you have life insurance? When was the last time your reviewed it? Look for proper limits. Ask yourself: do you have children, step children or a spouse who may depend on your income if there is a tragedy? If so, you may want to have more coverage.
*Review life insurance paperwork policies. Now that you are married, have you added your spouse as a beneficiary to your life insurance? Have you discussed what will happen if one of you dies?
*Be open to looking at everything with your agent. If you have a blended family or if this is a second marriage, for example, more in-depth conversations will be necessary.
Follow Chanda Temple on Twitter.
Follow Leah Holder Wiggins on Twitter.
Have a story idea for Wedding Wednesday? Send them to Chanda Temple at ctemple@bhamnews.com. Wedding Wednesday looks at trends in the wedding industry.
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