海角大神

By聽Kathryn Hauer, CFP, EA

Learn more about Kathryn on NerdWallet鈥檚聽Ask an Advisor

Most of us know about聽鈥� and pay for 鈥� common types of insurance that protect us from financial risk. These include聽health insurance,聽auto insurance,聽life insurance, and聽homeowners or renters insurance.

However, we often forget聽that we have other types of insurance waiting in the background. You probably don鈥檛 pay monthly premiums for these policies, but they鈥檙e聽available when you need them.

Workers鈥� compensation

If you get hurt on the job, you鈥檙e automatically protected by workers鈥� compensation insurance. You鈥檒l generally receive help with medical expenses and聽two-thirds of your聽average weekly wages up to a state maximum, which is $784.03 per week in 2016 in South Carolina, the state where I live. Other benefits are available depending on your injury and ability to return to work.

These benefits are funded by your employer聽and kept in place by the聽government. Federal workers are covered by a聽program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.聽Most other workers are covered by workers鈥� compensation agencies run by the state in which they live. In South Carolina, for example, this program is run by the聽South Carolina Workers鈥� Compensation Commission.

If you鈥檙e hurt at work, your聽employer must聽provide immediate medical attention and file a report with the state workers鈥� comp commission. If your employer doesn鈥檛 file, you can do it yourself. Then your state commission will make聽sure that your employer pays your benefits聽as directed by law.

Disability insurance聽

Workers鈥� comp only covers you when you鈥檝e been hurt on the job. But if you can鈥檛 work because you鈥檙e sick or were injured under other circumstances,聽disability insurance聽protects you from financial hardship by paying a portion of your wages. This can help you replace聽lost income and pay medical expenses.

Short-term disability pays partial wages for a short time. Long-term disability pays wages or partial wages indefinitely.

Many employers offer company-paid or low-cost group short-term and long-term disability. If your company offers this benefit, it鈥檚 probably worth opting in, even if it means paying a little bit each month. You can also buy your own plan if your employer doesn鈥檛 offer coverage or the benefits you want.

Unemployment insurance

Unemployment insurance聽is another benefit you might not know you have. You鈥檒l qualify if you become unemployed through no fault of your聽own and meet certain other eligibility requirements.聽The program is administered by the Department of Labor, in conjunction with the states.

The maximum length of time for which聽you can receive unemployment benefits depends on your state, but in 2016, it鈥檚 no more than 26 weeks. In South Carolina, the maximum is 20 weeks, and you can receive聽no more than $326 per week, no matter how much you were making before聽you were laid off.

You need to apply for benefits through your state unemployment office, and you usually need to show evidence that you鈥檙e searching for a new job in order to continue to collect. Keep in mind that you don鈥檛 need to be unemployed for a long period of time to qualify, and you can聽start and stop benefits if you pick up short-term work one week and have none the next. As soon as you get your layoff slip, go to your state unemployment office鈥檚 website and聽start the process.

Note that employees who are fired for cause generally don鈥檛 qualify for unemployment benefits. If you feel you were fired unfairly, provide聽your unemployment office with聽documentation to support your claim.

Bank account insurance

If you keep money in a bank or credit union, it鈥檚 insured by the聽Federal Depository Insurance Corporation, an office of the Inspector General. This benefit insures up to $250,000 per owner, per FDIC-insured bank聽and per ownership category, against fraud, default or bankruptcy by the bank.

Stocks and money market accounts aren鈥檛 FDIC-insured. They鈥檙e generally聽insured by the聽Securities Investor Protection Corporation聽for聽up to $500,000聽should your investment house go bankrupt or commit fraud. It doesn鈥檛 insure against losses you incur because of investment choices or bad advice from a broker. Note that the SIPC isn鈥檛 a government agency; it鈥檚 a nonprofit membership corporation funded by mandatory assessments on broker-dealer member firms.

Social Security

The payments and benefits you receive聽from Social Security retirement insurance can form an important part of your financial protection system as you age.聽As you well know, Social Security is a federal program funded by聽taxes on聽your paycheck.聽When you decide to claim your benefits 鈥� often around the time you retire 鈥� you鈥檒l get a monthly payment until you die.

You have likely paid into Social Security your entire working life, and the聽benefits you鈥檒l receive聽will be based on your highest-paid 35 years of work. Those earnings are adjusted or 鈥渋ndexed鈥� to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. This adjustment makes sense because inflation makes a $20,000 salary earned in 1965 equivalent to a much higher salary in 2016.

If you delay starting your benefits 鈥� up to age 70 at the latest 鈥� you鈥檒l receive a higher monthly amount. For example, a person who is entitled to a Social Security retirement benefit of $750 per month at age 62聽could receive $1,000 per month by waiting to collect until age 66聽and $1,320 per month by waiting until age 70.

You never know how many years you鈥檒l collect benefits, so聽deciding when to start Social Security payments is a gamble. If you don鈥檛 claim until 70 and die six months later, you鈥檒l have missed out on benefits 鈥� but if you claim at 62 and live until 100, you might wish you鈥檇 held out for a higher amount. Consider working with an advisor to choose a claiming strategy.

To check your projected聽Social Security retirement benefits, view your earnings history and research claiming strategies, set up an account on the聽Social Security Administration聽website. Simply enter personal information about yourself, including answers to questions that only you are likely to know.

Other benefits

It鈥檚 easy to factor benefits that you pay for each month聽into your financial planning. But don鈥檛 forget聽benefits you don鈥檛 directly pay for; they聽can still help you stay on track financially.

Other benefits you might receive聽鈥� pensions, union benefits, military benefits, welfare and food stamps 鈥� aren鈥檛 technically insurance, but they function as such because they protect you financially, minimizing your risk and increasing your monthly cash inflow.

No amount of insurance can protect us from all harm, but it鈥檚 good to know that we can rely on help if we need it.

Kathryn Hauer聽is a certified financial planner and fee-only investment advisor with聽Wilson David Investment Advisors聽in Aiken, South Carolina.

This article originally appeared on NerdWallet.