Laura interviews Tony Steuer about disaster preparedness and maintaining your financial first aid kit.
Laura interviews Tony Steuer about disaster preparedness and maintaining your financial first aid kit.
Money Girl is hosted by Laura Adams. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hey friends, welcome back to episode 884 of the Money Girl Podcast! I'm your host, Laura Adams. Today, I’m excited to be joined by a special guest and friend, Tony Steuer, CLU, LA, CPFFE. He’s an award-winning author, podcaster, insurance analyst, and financial preparedness advocate who is passionate about changing the way we think about money.
Tony has written multiple financial books and workbooks, including Questions and Answers on Life Insurance: The Life Insurance Toolbook (Fifth Edition) and Get Ready!: A Step-by-Step Planner for Maintaining Your Financial First Aid Kit. And he’s the host of The Get Ready Money Podcast–you can learn more at TonySteuer.com.
As you’ll hear in today’s interview, Tony has deep knowledge in insurance and finances. We talk about:
So here's my interview with Tony.
Laura Adams
Tony, I'm super excited to have you on the Money Girl podcast. We've known each other a long time, but I have been wanting to get you on the show and talk about insurance and disaster preparedness and all that good stuff for a while. So I appreciate you being here.
Tony Steuer
Yeah, excited to be here, Laura. You know, I've always appreciated the way you make things understandable for people and how you make complex subjects simple. So we're completely aligned on how we approach things.
Laura Adams
Absolutely. Yeah, you and I met quite a while ago. I was working in the insurance space as a spokesperson and doing a lot of research into various types of insurance and rates and what affects rates. And so I got really deep into the insurance world. And I think you were a resource many times when we were publishing content, looking at different studies that we were doing and that sort of thing.
So I'm curious how you got into insurance. How did you become such an expert in the field?
Tony Steuer
Well, like every kid, I grew up dreaming of going into the world of insurance.
Laura Adams
Not!
Tony Steuer
Yeah, exactly. So I started in insurance as a life insurance agent, which is how most people come into business. And pretty quickly I met somebody who was a fee-based insurance consultant and I was really interested in how things worked, how the marketing worked and everything. So I got involved as a fee-based insurance consultant and I discovered that even advisors, financial planners, attorneys, trust officers, that everybody, you know, had a surface level understanding of insurance, but there were a lot of misconceptions.
So I started writing about insurance, which is where we met. You know, I started doing some, well, they were really podcasts but was more written interviews at the time. And so I just got really into talking about it and advocating for it. spent a little time at a nonprofit. I volunteered with the California Department of Insurance curriculum board. So, it's really become a passion of mine helping people understand their insurance and the value it can provide.
Laura Adams
Yeah, I do think on the surface it does seem like a dry topic, but when you dig into insurance, it is really broad. There's just so much that goes into protecting ourselves and protecting our finances. And whether we're talking about property or we're talking about liability or business insurance, life insurance, there's just so much to it. And most people, as you said, you know, they just don't really have that much of an interest in it, of course, until you need it. And I always say insurance is the only product we buy that we hope we never need to use. But when we have it, we're awfully glad that we have it. Of course, most of us are going to have health insurance. That's typically what I think most people are most familiar with and car insurance, of course.
But beyond that, the home insurance or the renter's insurance might just be something we have because we sort of have to have it. We don't really know what it's all about until we actually have to use it. So what I'm hoping you can help us understand today is how do we protect ourselves in terms of just sort of a broad base of, as you call it, a kit. It's sort of a personal finance protection kit that we need to think about as just an individual and just kind of the basics on what we should have to protect ourselves. A lot of us have insurance gaps, we're missing some things that make us vulnerable. I'm kind of looking to you for advice on what people should know on how to fill those gaps.
I'd say, of course, we all need health insurance, but there are probably some people listening that maybe are uninsured. So let's just talk a little bit about that. We're in open enrollment right now. So what tips can you give people if they're shopping for coverage or should be shopping for coverage, either on their own or in the workplace?
Tony Steuer
Well, I think that we need to reframe how we think about insurance. At its base, as you mentioned, it's risk protection. Whether you get it through an insurance policy or not, you are self-insuring. So for example, you know, we talk about emergency funds, but that's self-insuring against a potential event. So once we start thinking about that, we can start thinking about the risks that we have.
So when it comes to open enrollment, it can be pretty intimidating. You know, I do open enrollment for my wife. She works for a large company. So she has a pretty long list of things and coverages to go through. So when you go through the things is you have to consider, you know, if it's disability insurance, health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, life insurance is whether you have a need for that type of insurance, whether you need to protect against that risk and, or do you want to self-insure? That's a decision that you make.
So if you have something like disability insurance, and I know we're going to talk about it a little more, if you don't buy disability insurance, you're self-insured, which means you're protecting risk on your own. I mean, that's why we buy health insurance because we know that the cost of healthcare can become crazy if we have, you know, like a heart attack or we need, you know, a transplant. It can get really expensive. So when you're going through your open enrollment, employee benefits, you know, is with each coverage, look up and see what that coverage is and whether you need it or not.
Laura Adams
That's a really good point. It's, you know, whether you think about it or not, if you're denying certain coverages, you are saying I'm self-insuring. And basically, that means you better have the money and savings to pay for that, that, that risk, that vulnerability, whether it's losing your job after you get into an accident and you can't work or whether, like you said, you need to go into the hospital or whether you die and what happens to your family and your loved ones after you're gone.
So yeah, those three, health, life, and disability are definitely the three main ones. You might also have some additives in there, cancer, insurance, or some specific types of medical risk. People have probably heard of Aflac, that type of coverage is sort of above and beyond your regular health plan. So people, yeah, they may have a lot of options, or you may be somebody who's self-employed and you have to create that benefits package on your own. So yeah, that's a great place to start. It's saying, what is my risk?
If you keep a lot of money in savings, okay, maybe you could weather being out of work for some time. But for most people, I think those coverages, especially through work, are pretty affordable. And so they typically are gonna pay off because your employer is subsidizing, in many cases, a portion of that premium, right? So they can be a little less expensive when you're buying them through work with a group plan.
But if you're not buying them through a group plan, you're on your own, you really do have to do a lot of shopping. And I'm in that situation. I'm self-employed, so every year I'm really comparing policies and looking at what I need and what I don't need. But let's talk about that. How do you really make the choice in terms of specifically choosing a health plan? Should you go high deductible, should you go lower deductible? How do you think people should approach the actual type of policy that they choose for health coverage?
Tony Steuer
Boy, we could spend a whole episode on each type of coverage and still not get all the way there. But I think the basic rules again are to really, one is when you think about the coverage and we'll pick health insurance because that's the big one. Everybody's going to get some form of health insurance when they have an employee benefits program. You know, usually you can't even opt out of it. So the big question always is, like, okay, what deductible do I get? You know, which one is the best? So you take a look and you think about what your needs are going to be. If you're someone who's 25 years old, you have zero health issues.
You know, you see a doctor once a year for your annual physical, if that, and you've got a pretty clear medical history in your family, well, then you can probably get a high deductible plan because you're not going to need to access your health insurance. Now, if you're somebody who's 55 years old, you have a couple of medical issues, you're going to the doctor, you know, once a quarter or whatever, you have a lot of medications that you're taking, well, then you're probably going to want a lower deductible plan because each of those things is going to be cheaper.
So with a higher deductible plan, you're going to be paying more with what's called your co-payment every time you go to see your doctor. So if you're going to see your doctor a lot, then you know you need a lower co-pay because you don't want to pay that much each time. you can, I have a spreadsheet you can download for my website that kind of walks you through it, or you can just do it yourself and calculate out how much you think you spend each year on your medical expenses and then project how much you think you're going to spend next year. Usually it's the same for most people from year to year.
And if you have a pretty high outflow, then you may want a lower deductible to help offset that. Now finding that optimal deductible can be a little tricky, but you can still estimate your total cost. So how it would work is real quick, just the total cost would be your premiums and then the sum of your co-pays and deductibles. And that's your total cost. So you can play around with it and see, okay, if I take a higher deductible, I'm paying more in co-pays. So how much does that work out to you for the estimated number of visits? So hopefully that follows for people and gives them a good overview.
Laura Adams
Yeah, that's great. I mean, I think, like you said, the younger, the healthier you are--we never know for sure what the future brings. It's kind of like trying to estimate what taxes are going to be down the road. We don't know. have to make our best guess based on our health history, maybe our family health history, and just knowing your lifestyle. Do you do a lot of risky things? Do you like to go snowboarding and you're really a high-risk type of sports person? You might need some medical care.
If you're younger and healthier, think the higher deductible plans can make sense for most people. So what about when we talk about life insurance? In the workplace, we typically only see term life policies being offered. How should people think about choosing that, choosing an amount? And then maybe also, when does it also make sense to buy coverage outside of work?
Tony Steuer
So two parts to that question is with life insurance, it should always come back to the question of do you need life insurance? There's an impression in our society, you know, because the life insurance industry is very good at marketing this, that everybody has a need for life insurance. And that's not necessarily true. Now you may have a need for a small amount of insurance for your final expenses, but if you don't have anybody who's financially dependent upon you, you don't have a need for life insurance.
And the old adages like, well, you need to buy it in case you're uninsurable later on. Well, that's the same thing if you think about it this way. It's buying car insurance for a car you might buy later on at some point. You wouldn't do it until you actually have that need. So with life insurance, always comes back to, is somebody financially dependent upon you? And then in terms of the type of insurance, the question is, how long would you need the insurance coverage for?
So if you're buying it to take care of your kids, that they have money to finish school, whatever, then that's a defined period. You know, let's say 20 years, 25 years, depending on whether you want to help them through college. So that would be term insurance because it's a defined period. And that's what term insurance is. It's not temporary insurance. It's insurance that stays in force for a specific period of years.
And then as to whether it's better to buy it outside the employer, if you're healthy, it's almost always better to buy it outside your employer for a couple of reasons. One is coverage with your employer is usually not portable for life insurance. What that means is if you leave your employer, you can continue it. So if you're buying coverage for, let's say 20 years, you know, are you going to be at your employer for 20 years? Probably not. In today's world, most people don't stay at their employers for long periods of time. And if you're healthy, keep in mind that for your employer, they're doing more of a universal rate because they have to ensure people who are less healthy and people who are healthier. So if you're super healthy in the private insurance market, you're going to get a lower premium if you are healthy. Those are the things to start to weigh.
Laura Adams
Yeah, that's great advice. And tell me a little bit about who you think is a good candidate just in general for permanent life insurance and what that is, just an overview?
Tony Steuer
That's an excellent question. And this is something I talk about all the time. Most people are not candidates for permanent life insurance. You don't need it unless you have a permanent need for life insurance. That's where the name permanent comes in from. Life insurance is not an investment. It has an investment component, but you can't buy it for an investment. You buy it if you have a need that's gonna last foreseeably for the rest of your life. Now, let's say that could be a special needs child who you're always gonna need to financially support. So that would be one need.
If you're pre-funding estate taxes, that might be a permanent need. Let's say you want to make sure that there's always some liquidity. Let's say you're investing mostly in real estate. You've bought a couple apartments, you bought a couple houses, there's not a lot of liquidity in your investments. So you might buy a permanent life insurance policy. So there's always some liquidity for your partner or for your kids, whoever your heirs are gonna be. So that's really the question. Is there somebody who's gonna be financially dependent upon you for a longer period than a term policy?
Laura Adams
Yeah, that's great. I do think that's real confusion for people because like you said, life insurance companies have a lot of money. They advertise very well. They want to convince people that you need to buy life insurance as an investment. And as you said, in most cases, it does have an investment component, but it should not be thought of as an investment in the purest sense. If you buy life insurance, it needs to be because you need life insurance.
Yeah, that's great. And so what about disability? I think a lot of people have some choice in the workplace, whether it's short term or long term disability. What are some tips in choosing that and thinking about that inside the workplace as well as buying it outside of the workplace?
Tony Steuer
Well, I think disability insurance is one of the most overlooked types of insurance. I think if you are working, then you have a need for disability insurance. If you are financially independent, then you don't have a need for disability insurance. So think of it this way, it's protecting your future income. So it's income that you're going to earn in the future. So if you don't work, let's say even if it's a short-term disability where maybe you're out for a year, you're recovering from a heart attack and you're out for a year.
Let's say something happens to you and you can only work 80 % of your regular hours, you're still facing a 20 % reduction in income. And that's not only the reduction in income, but when you don't have that income, you don't have money to put inside for your retirement savings. So you're also impacting your long-term future financial independence. That's really the question that you should ask in my mind is, am I dependent upon my income?
If you're financially independent or if your partner makes a lot of money and they won't need your income, well, then you don't need disability insurance. But for most of us, if we're still in our working years, we need our income. So you need disability insurance to replace that income. And it's just like with our house. So if you take a look at your home, you buy homeowners insurance because, well, in California it might cost you a million dollars to buy another home.
Most of us don't have a spare million sitting in our bank accounts ready to go if something happens to our home. So it's the same thing is, you know, are you going to earn 2 million over the rest of your career? And, you know, you have to think about that, multiply your income by the number of years that you plan to work. And you'll be surprised at how large that number is. And if you have that much money in the bank, that's great. But most of us won't. So most of us do have that need for disability insurance.
Laura Adams
Yeah, I do agree. It is definitely an often-overlooked policy. While, you know, prices, I think have definitely gone up for disability. Would you say that locking in a disability policy younger rather than, you know, maybe waiting until middle age is a wise move? How should people think about getting the best possible price on a policy?
Tony Steuer
Well, it's always cheaper the younger you buy it. But the offset is that you pay premiums more years if you buy it younger. But if you're 22 years old starting out in the workforce and you're going to have to work for 40 years, you still have the same need for disability insurance because you're still going to be dependent upon your income. And when you look at the statistics, which are really boring and everything else, young people do get disabled. It does happen. Disability doesn't happen to people who are just 45 and up or whatever age you want to throw out there. Now, younger people may get disabled at a slightly lower rate, but it's still a possibility. And that's the whole point of insurance. You're insuring against potential risks. If you knew exactly when that risk was going to happen, you wouldn't be buying insurance.
Home insurance, again, is a good example. If your home is on fire, no insurance company is going to write you an insurance. And we all know that. We all know that an insurance company is going to say, great, your house is on fire. Let me write you a million dollars of insurance for $500 in premium. That's not the way it works. Insurance companies are in business to be profitable. And what they do is they do a risk assessment. They call it underwriting, but they take a look and they say, okay, basically like, okay, is this person risky? Are we going to make a profit off them? And you have to understand that with insurance companies, it's nothing personal.
It's about the numbers to an insurance company and they're taking a look and they're deciding like, okay, if we're giving this person a million dollars of risk protection, whether it's life insurance, homeowners insurance, disability insurance, whatever, how much premium do we have to charge them so that, you know, we can make a profit. And it's important for insurance companies to make a profit because again, if we go back to disability insurance for somebody who's 22 years old, and you get disabled at age 60 and you've paid in premiums for 40 years, you hope that insurance company is still around in 40 years to be able to pay the claim. And that's the thing when you look at the insurance companies, financial stability is super important because you want to make sure that insurance company is going to be around a long time from now in order to pay your claim.
Laura Adams
That's right. So we've talked about health, disability and life kind of being part of our protection in our kit. Let's talk about property insurance. We all know we need auto insurance if we're a driver. We have to have at least the minimum coverage in our state. That's probably kind of what most people are well aware of in terms of property coverage. But homeowners, we have to have that if we have a mortgage because the lender does not want us to own a property that is not insured, that is very risky for them. So that's why they require homeowners insurance.
Talk to us a little bit, Tony, about what's actually covered in the homeowners insurance and what's not. I think a lot of people get very surprised after some unforeseen natural disaster happens and then, oops, something isn't covered that they thought would be covered. Only a small portion of that disaster is covered. What do we need to be aware of with our homeowners policies?
Tony Steuer
Well, the two big things that are not covered are floods and earthquakes. In Florida, floods are, it's really expensive to buy flood insurance. I know in California, so I'll use California as an example, because I know the premiums because I'm paying them.
We pay more for our earthquake insurance than we do for our homeowners insurance. And again, that goes back to what the insurance company is thinking about. The insurance company is thinking about like, okay, what happens if we have to pay out after an earthquake? It's going to cost a fortune. So they have to price it accordingly and flood insurance works the same way. And that's why it may not be covered or it's not covered under the standard homeowners insurance policy because it's really expensive.
And what's happened with flood insurance and earthquake insurance is it's become so expensive to cover that with flood insurance, there's something called the National Flood Insurance Program. And that's where the flood, it's partially offset by the government. They help offset the risk pool. So the insurance companies can afford to provide flood insurance. That's why it's expensive. So anybody who's purchased a flood insurance policy knows that it's really expensive compared to your homeowners and that it's not even offered in some places. And that's why it's not part of the standard insurance policy, because if we go back to it for an insurance company, if the house floods, that's pretty expensive. So, you know, for the insurance company, they have to think about like, okay, how can we price this? And I think something that's also important is this has become much more common in Florida and California and other areas of the U.S.
It's hard to get homeowners insurance sometimes. And that's what's happening is the insurance companies are saying, okay, well, if you're building your home, and again, I'm speaking a little bit more about California, because I'm more familiar with the market, is if you're building your home in a place that's prone to wildfires, we're not going to write you insurance, because that is too risky.
So, you know, and I think the same thing happens in Florida is people are building in areas where, you know, so if you're looking at buying a house, you can ask for a flood map and it will show if you are in a hot, an area that's prone to flooding. And if you're in an area that's prone to flooding, guess what? The insurance companies have access to that same map and they're going to say, well, you're in an area that's prone to flooding. We don't think that's a good idea. So we're not going to provide you insurance or we're going to charge you a lot of money because it's a risk to us. And we think we're going to have to pay out money.
The one thing insurance companies don't like to do, forget about all the commercials, they don't like to pay claims. So that's what they think about. Do we need to pay a claim or not?
Laura Adams
Yeah. So that helps a little bit. Yeah. So with all of that, you know, all of the increases that we've seen, as you mentioned in Florida, where I am, the rates of increase have been just phenomenal. I mean, it's just we've seen in some instances rates doubling and tripling.
And buying a home that has a roof that is older than 10 years, it's uninsurable. You literally have to, in some areas of Florida on the coast, you have to have a roof younger than 10 years old to even be insured. And so you can imagine the cost that that can add on a barrel tile Mediterranean style home.
You're talking $40, $50, even $80,000 to replace a roof that's in great shape, but it just happens to be 10 plus years old. So anyway, it is a big challenge. So with all of that kind of going against us as consumers, what can we do to save money and just make sure we're paying as little as we can while still getting good coverage?
Tony Steuer
Well, it goes back to what you were just talking about, is taking a look and seeing what your risk factors are. So if insurance companies are concerned about the type of roof, well, maybe you find out what kind of roof insurance companies are going to price your house low at. What did they consider less risky? So anything you can do to make yourself less risky to the insurance company, and that might be, know, insurance companies have discounts for different things. So they may have discounts if you have a burglar alarm.
They may have, you know, countless discounts for homeowners insurance. What they call is if you do certain remediation things. And basically what remediation things are is lowering the risk. I'm not sure exactly what you can do to lower your risk in a flood area, but in a wildfire area, that means that you clear brush around your home and you don't have big trees over your house.
So the insurance company will take a look at that and say, okay, you've done what you can to reduce the risk of a wildfire. And there's going to be certain things in flood areas where they're going to say it, like you mentioned, you know, because Florida is also prone to hurricanes is, know, if you've got a roof that's not in great condition, you know, we're not interested in writing it because we know that we're probably going to have to write a check, like you said, so.
If you don't pay it as a homeowner, the insurance company is saying, we don't want to write a check for $80,000 when you've paid a premium of $2,000. That's not a good deal for us. So that's what you need to look at is what discounts the insurance companies have available. The other thing that you need to do is you need to check with multiple insurance companies, because each insurance company has their own underwriting parameters. What that means is how they look at the risk and what they consider but they also have their own discounts. So you ask them, know, what, you know, what are, what do you consider risky and what discounts do you have available and what discounts can you qualify for? And some of them, like we've talked about putting in a burglar alarm, pretty easy, but it might give you a 5 % discount on your homeowners insurance. So it's, it's well worth it.
Laura Adams
Yeah. And I think there are a lot of discounts that consumers don't really know about. You really need to ask and make sure that you're getting everything you're entitled to. For instance, in some states, being married means you get a lower rate than being single. know, they're just being a non-smoker, you know, gives you a lower rate than being a smoker. So if something in your life has changed, even maybe your occupation, you may be able to get some kind of an affinity discount based on, you know, your profession or something like where you work, they may be able to give you some discounts, you've got to ask.
And as Tony mentioned, just shopping. I think that's our best defense as consumers. Shopping, comparing, asking questions, even reviewing your policies, I think, once a year with a professional, and just kind of checking in. Has anything changed? Are the rates different this year than they were last year? Maybe your credit is a little bit better now than it was last year. Most states can factor in credit to both auto and home insurance rates. There's a lot that goes into rates that I think a lot of people don't really think about until your rates start going up and then people panic and think, what am I going to do? So yeah, it's a good thing to revisit every year and just check in. So Tony, what else do we need to think about in our protection kit when it comes to insurance?
Tony Steuer
Well, I think, as you point out, the most important thing is to go back and review it. I think that's the most common thing that happens is people buy their insurance policies, whether it's life insurance, disability insurance, homeowners car insurance, and then they set it and forget it. And as you pointed out, things change, but also the policies change. And I know in California, I was a little nervous waiting for our homeowners insurance renewal. Were we going to get renewed?
You know, what was the premium going to be? So you need to check that. And sometimes the insurance company will say, well, we're making this change and we have to take a look. What does that impact my coverage? Is that something I can live with or do I want to shop around? And as you point out, there's different discounts. And so being aware of the discounts in property and casualty is important.
There's not discounts in the life and disability insurance area, but with life insurance, you may not need the life insurance anymore, or you may need more life insurance. You may have a change of beneficiary. That's like something that's super common. Somebody has a new kid, they're not added as a contingent beneficiary on a life insurance policy, or you have an ex-spouse. So it's like, as you mentioned, as your life changes, as you go through a life event, enter a new life stage, have an insurance policy renewal, those are all great times to think about the impact on your insurance.
Laura Adams
Yeah, love that. Any other tips or maybe just common mistakes to avoid when we're thinking about whether it's disasters or just making sure that our personal finances are protected? I do get asked a lot about liability and umbrella policies. What are your thoughts on those?
Tony Steuer
I think they're pretty important if you're a homeowner. For example, when we had kids, it's like if a kid slips because kids mess around, liability insurance will help offset any medical costs. If somebody slips on your property, you know, liability insurance will protect you. Again, it's understanding your risks. And I think this is a bigger thing with financial literacy is to be curious, to ask questions and think about your needs first.
People go, boy, I need to be my own banker and buy this huge life insurance policy instead of saying, wait a minute, all I need is term life insurance and maybe I could take that extra money and ensure my income. So consumers should ask questions like we've talked about with discounts, be curious and make sure you understand what you're buying and think about your goals first rather than the product.
Laura Adams
Awesome. Tony, that's really, really good advice. It does come down to what are your goals? What are you trying to accomplish? And thinking about your needs as a family, thinking about your beneficiaries' needs, all of that. And I do think a lot of people forget to change those beneficiaries on life insurance and retirement accounts as well. All of that kind of tends to get forgotten. So this is a good reminder, I think, every new year might be a good time just to think about making an appointment with a professional. If you need to sit down with an insurance professional or sit down with an estate attorney, put that on the calendar.
I'm curious what you learned working as a person within the industry. Is there anything that you would say from the other side of that table, being a licensed professional? What advice can you give people who are on the other end that are trying to compare policies and figure out who I can trust? Who's a good broker and person to work with? How do they figure that out?
Tony Steuer
Well, you know, the first thing I did when I was a litigation consultant, this is super easy, put in somebody's name into Google and add complaints, you know, whatever, you know, with their name. And that's a good way to start.
Professional designations are really important. That shows, you know, in the life insurance area, you have a chartered life underwriter and the property and casualty, which is auto and homeowners, have the CPCU. If you're seeing a financial planner, you have the CFP designation. Now, just because somebody doesn't have those designations, it doesn't mean that they're not a professional. And if somebody does have those designations, it doesn't mean that they're sterling and everything's okay, but it's a good starting point.
But it all goes back to asking questions. And when I saw, I did some litigation consulting and I saw some really scary things, but there were oftentimes warning signs where if somebody had asked a question and that's where you have to remember this is your money. These are your financial products. You have to take that power and not feel ashamed to ask questions because that's the biggest thing that I saw is the clients would say later on, you know, we were in litigation, it's like, well, I didn't feel comfortable asking, it's, kind of felt something was wrong, or I kind of felt, and this is especially true for women, is they'll feel intimidated, like they should know, and then they get rolled over by a financial predator.
So your power is the power to be curious, to ask questions. And then the big thing is like they say, if something doesn't make sense to you, you shouldn't do it. Don't be pressured into something. That's probably the biggest thing. Don't feel ashamed to ask a question. It's your money. Ask whatever questions you want. Ask as many questions as you need to to make sure you're comfortable.
Laura Adams
I love it. Tony, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. And I think this is just a great reminder for folks to dig into their insurance. Think a little bit more about it this year and make sure that you know what you're buying.
And as you said, understand what you're buying and that you truly need it. Maybe you need a little less, maybe you need more, but leaving things alone and kind of forgetting about it is the worst situation. So I really appreciate you sharing your expertise.
Tony Steuer
Well, appreciate the opportunity to be on the Money Girl. Love the show!
Laura Adams
Again, a big thanks to Tony for coming on Money Girl!
That's all for now. I'll talk to you soon. Until then, here's to living a richer life!
Money Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast, and I want to thank our fantastic team!
Steve Riekeberg audio-engineers the show. Brannan Goetschius is our director of podcasts, Holly Hutchings is our digital operations specialist, Morgan Christianson is our advertising operations specialist, Davina Tomlin is our marketing and publicity associate, and Nathaniel Hoopes is our marketing contractor.