If you work for a company with 20 or more employees and you lose your job, a federal law called COBRA (for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) requires your ex-employer to let you stay on the group policy for at least 18 months, at your own expense. If you have generous coverage paid mostly by your employer, the full premium (plus 2% for administrative costs) could be quite a shock. Still, it's wise to hang on to your old coverage until you're covered at a new job or find more affordable insurance elsewhere.

The Health Insurance Portability and Affordability Act (HIPAA) goes COBRA one better. It says that as long as you've been covered under a group policy within the previous 63 days, no insurer can turn you down for coverage, even if you're seriously ill. Unfortunately, HIPAA doesn't regulate premium costs so there's no guarantee that you can afford the insurance you're legally entitled to.

As the number of uninsured continues to rise, states have become increasingly active in helping individuals get insurance, though price continues to be a problem. Thirty states have so-called "high-risk pools," which guarantee insurance to applicants whose health histories make them undesirable to insurers.

The last thing you want to happen after you die is for your beneficiaries to be unable to locate and submit a claim on your life insurance. To prevent this, you should have copies of your life insurance records in at least two places. This is to make it less likely that you’ll lose them (to fire, flood, accidental discarding, etc.) and more likely that, after your death, your beneficiaries will find them.

What information should I keep?

For each individual life insurance policy on your life, you should record the following information:

• The full name of the life insurance company that issued the policy
  

• The city and state of the home office of the company that issued the policy
  

• The name and U.S. headquarters of the group, if the issuing company belongs to a group of companies
  

• The policy number
  

• The date the policy was issued
  

• The amount of the death benefit
  

• The name and address of the agent/broker who sold you the policy
  

• The type of policy (e.g., term, whole life, etc.)
  

• The location of the original life insurance policy

If unexpected expenses come up and you can’t pay your life insurance premium, you should know the possible consequences. The effect depends on the type of policy and coverage you have and the policy terms and conditions.

Term: If you stop paying premiums, your coverage lapses.

Permanent: If you have this type of policy, you will have the following choices:

• Cash out the policy.
  This means that you can stop paying the premium and collect the available cash savings. You will no longer be covered by life insurance, but you will at least save some of the proceeds of the policy. You may, however, have to pay taxes on some of the cash value if the sum exceeds what you have paid in premiums.
  

• Non-forfeiture options
  There may be a “reduced paid-up” option. This means that you can stop paying premiums completely in return for a reduced death benefit and no cash saving. You may also be able to convert the permanent policy to an extended term policy for a time period based on the accumulated cash savings in the policy.
  
  Policy will lapse
  If this happens, see if the policy can be reinstated. Some insurers may allow this if you do it within five years of lapsing. You will most likely have to pass a physical examination for the reinstated policy and pay back the premiums you would have paid plus interest. Annual premiums for the reinstated policy may be lower than those for a new, comparable policy.

© Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

If unexpected expenses come up and you can’t pay your life insurance premium, you should know the possible consequences. The effect depends on the type of policy and coverage you have and the policy terms and conditions.

Term: If you stop paying premiums, your coverage lapses.

Permanent: If you have this type of policy, you will have the following choices:

• Cash out the policy.
  This means that you can stop paying the premium and collect the available cash savings. You will no longer be covered by life insurance, but you will at least save some of the proceeds of the policy. You may, however, have to pay taxes on some of the cash value if the sum exceeds what you have paid in premiums.
  

• Non-forfeiture options
  There may be a “reduced paid-up” option. This means that you can stop paying premiums completely in return for a reduced death benefit and no cash saving. You may also be able to convert the permanent policy to an extended term policy for a time period based on the accumulated cash savings in the policy.
  
  Policy will lapse
  If this happens, see if the policy can be reinstated. Some insurers may allow this if you do it within five years of lapsing. You will most likely have to pass a physical examination for the reinstated policy and pay back the premiums you would have paid plus interest. Annual premiums for the reinstated policy may be lower than those for a new, comparable policy.

© Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

If unexpected expenses come up and you can’t pay your life insurance premium, you should know the possible consequences. The effect depends on the type of policy and coverage you have and the policy terms and conditions.

Term: If you stop paying premiums, your coverage lapses.

Permanent: If you have this type of policy, you will have the following choices:

• Cash out the policy.
  This means that you can stop paying the premium and collect the available cash savings. You will no longer be covered by life insurance, but you will at least save some of the proceeds of the policy. You may, however, have to pay taxes on some of the cash value if the sum exceeds what you have paid in premiums.
  

• Non-forfeiture options
  There may be a “reduced paid-up” option. This means that you can stop paying premiums completely in return for a reduced death benefit and no cash saving. You may also be able to convert the permanent policy to an extended term policy for a time period based on the accumulated cash savings in the policy.
  
  Policy will lapse
  If this happens, see if the policy can be reinstated. Some insurers may allow this if you do it within five years of lapsing. You will most likely have to pass a physical examination for the reinstated policy and pay back the premiums you would have paid plus interest. Annual premiums for the reinstated policy may be lower than those for a new, comparable policy.

© Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

First, check what's out there. Get quotes from at least four carriers.

Find a free database such as InsWeb, which offers quotes from up to 8 insurers.

Try these options.

Companies like State Farm and USAA that deal directly with consumers without using independent agents are called "direct writers". In theory, they can pass on their savings by eliminating the middleman.

Direct marketers like Geico, AIG, eSurance and Answer Financial save on overhead -- and pass on the savings -- by marketing by phone, mail, or the Internet (via sites like this).

Let your state be your guide. Most state insurance departments offer on-line shopping guides for homeowner's insurance. Your state's guide may identify little-known companies with competitive rates. Insure.com can link you to your state guide.

You need enough insurance to cover the following:

1. The structure of your home.
   

2. Your personal possessions.
   

3. The cost of additional living expenses if your home is damaged and you have to live elsewhere during repairs.
   

4. Your liability to others.

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Air bags save thousands of lives each year, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In frontal crashes, air bags reduce deaths among drivers by about 30 percent and among passengers by 27 percent.

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If you’re like most people shopping for a new car, safety ranks high among things you're looking for. Every new car must meet certain federal safety standards, but that doesn’t mean that all cars are equally safe. There are still important safety differences, and some vehicles are safer than others. Many automakers offer safety features beyond the required federal minimums. The following safety features should be considered when purchasing a car: