Credit Card Insurance Benefits That You Probably Don’t Need

Consumer Reports released an article about insurance plans that you can really do without.  Lo and behold, among the 10 listed are three insurance benefits you can usually find on credit cards.  While they aren’t scams, per se, Consumer Reports decrees that there are better alternatives that you can easily find elsewhere.

Credit Card Loss Protection

This protection plan pays off losses if your card is stolen and charges are made from it.  According to Consumer Reports, this can cost you between $7 to $15 a month.  However, it only insures up to $50 worth of losses.  The best “credit card loss protection”, as it turns out, is to just keep it safe in your person to begin with!

Credit Life Insurance

Under this plan, the insurance will cover your debt in case you die - a noble undertaking that should spare your loved ones of the headache of dealing with money you owe.  It is, however, extremely expensive, costing an average of 50 cents for every $100 of coverage.  Instead of taking this, Consumer Reports recommend to put the money towards better term life insurance instead.

Identity Theft Insurance

This is an odd insurance I’m actually not familiar with.  Under the plan, the insurance company will cover the cost of repairing your credit in the event of identity theft, with up to $25,000 in coverage.  However, that amount will not cover unauthorized charges or money stolen from your account.  Basically, it sounds like you’ll get up to $25,000 as your legal fund while you sort out the mess a thief created.  Instead of relying on this (arguably confusing) safety net, exercise due diligence instead by regularly checking your credit reports.