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Insurance, fraud, lawsuits, estate documents, and your rights as a consumer. Guard what you have against loss.
Scammers can clone a loved one’s voice from a short clip posted online, so a familiar voice asking for money proves nothing. Agree on a family code word in person, and ask for it on any urgent request for money. If the caller can’t give it, hang up and call your relative’s own number.
Standard homeowners and renters policies don’t cover flood damage. A new policy from the federal flood insurance program doesn’t take effect until 30 days after purchase, unless you buy it while taking out or refinancing a mortgage. Get a flood quote this week, so the policy is already in force when the next big storm arrives.
When you search for a company to pay a bill, the top result can be a paid ad for an impostor’s site. That site can tack on a fee and deliver your payment late. Skip the search and go straight to the website listed on your bill or the company’s own app.
Many credit cards include purchase protection, which typically covers new items against theft and accidental damage for 90 to 120 days after you buy them. When something new breaks or gets stolen, check your card’s guide to benefits before paying to replace it, and file quickly, since claim deadlines are short.
The beneficiary form on your 401(k), IRA, or life insurance decides who gets that money, no matter what your will says. Pull up every form this week, confirm each primary and backup name, and set a reminder to check them again every few years and after any marriage, divorce, or birth.
The basic life insurance that comes with a typical job pays about one year’s salary or a flat $20,000, and it usually ends when the job does. If anyone depends on your income, work out what they would need without it and buy your own term policy to cover that amount.
Hire your own home inspector before closing, even if the seller offers a report or a hot market tempts you to skip it. Keep the inspection contingency in your offer. Until it expires, it lets you renegotiate or walk away with your deposit if the inspector finds a problem.
For parents, a will is less about money than about people. It’s where you name who would raise your children and who would manage anything they inherit. If anyone depends on you, write a will this month, however little you own.
For most families, life insurance does one job, replacing your income while others depend on it. Term life covers those years for a small fraction of what whole life charges for the same death benefit. Buy a term policy that runs until your kids are grown or the mortgage is paid, and invest what you save.
Debit card fraud pulls money straight from your checking account, and your bank can take 10 business days to return it. A fraudulent credit card charge is the issuer’s money while you dispute it, and federal law caps your loss at $50. Pay with a credit card you clear each month, and keep debit for the ATM.
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