From life insurance to motor insurance, many people try to avoid them for as long as possible to save money, often only acquiring the cover they need later in life. At this point you've already lost a great deal of the advantages you could have enjoyed if you'd gotten there sooner. To add to this a lot of people only make the move after things have already gone wrong.  You may think that you're saving money each month by not having to pay premiums, but a single incident can undo a decade of saving in that manner - and any more than that could put you back years in financial development.

In the U.S, the different benefits of signing up for insurance may be better understood than they are currently in South Africa. Many people feel a deep and abiding fear of researching car and life insurance premiums and packages - intimidated by the fine print, legal jargon and the maths. If that's you then remember that communicating directly with an insurance consultant and getting the straightforward English answers is easier than ever. Most of the time you don't even need to go into their offices anymore.

Car Insurance

Car and life insurance work completely the opposite way around when it comes to age related premiums. The older you are (up till around the age of 60) the lighter your motor insurance premiums. One fact that is relatively well known in South Africa is that the insurance premiums for under 25's are pretty steep but there is light at the end of the tunnel. After the age of 25 you've gotten some experience on the road and most companies decrease your premiums substantially.

If you're recently passed the 25 year mark then you can already get an excellent deal by simply taking a few other things into account, such as:

∙       The safety stats of your vehicle

∙       The colour of your vehicle

∙       Additional security features (immobilizer, alarms and gear locks)

∙       Ensure your car sleeps in a garage at night

∙       Your incident track record

If you do your homework (or chat to a consultant and let them do it for you) you can get a reasonable rate which will protect you from major loss for decades.

Life Insurance

Is a different basket. The earlier you attain it the better. Once again the lower awareness level in SA compared to the US often prevents people from understanding the exceptional benefits of attaining health/life insurance before you physically need it. Although it's unlikely that your health is failing at the age of 25, if you wait any longer you might end up unable to get a competitive premium rate. With every birthday that passes your health insurance rate increases. If you get it while you're young you'll receive a very low rate which is often possible to lock in, ensuring a stable and reduced premium rate throughout your life.

Before you make a concrete decision, weigh up your options by looking at different quotes.