Generations columnists Justine Davies, Bruce Brammall, Mark Bouris and Kerrin Falconer. INSURANCE: Most of us need some, but what and how much? Where do you start? Gen Ys - Justine Davies The type and amount you need will depend on your personal circumstances, but use the below info as a rough guide: Car Insurance. If you have a vehicle, it must be insured for compulsory third party (CTP) cover. From there you can also add third party property, third party fire and theft or comprehensive. With more than half a million reportable car accidents in Australia each year, have the best cover you can afford! Home & Contents. If you own a property you need home insurance; if you're renting you at least need contents insurance. Be realistic about your replacement costs - Australian Securities and Investments Commission estimates that the majority of home owners are underinsured. Health insurance. No health insurance? Good luck getting an elective procedure done quickly at hospital without forking out big to go private. Based on the most recent government statistics, you'll wait between 3-12 months to have your tonsils out, 6-12 months for a knee replacement. Don't even ask about dental services. Life, TPD, income protection. These insurances provide financial support in the event of your disablement, death, injury or illness. If you're in the workforce, you need income protection, no questions. If you've moved out of the parental home and have even some degree of independence, you need life and TPD insurance. The amount you need will depend on your level of debts, number of kids and lifestyle requirements. Justine Davies is finance editor and commentator with financial research and ratings firm Canstar. Gen Xs - Bruce Brammall MOST of us need? Seriously. All Gen Xers need it! Like we need air. And Sunnyboy iceblocks on a 40C day. Ask yourselves the following. Have you got a mortgage, kids, partner, debt or a job? Still breathing? The more of those you said "uh-huh" to, the more insurance you need. Unless you won lotto and still have the bundle, unlike the Taylor family in the devastatingly bad 90s show Chances. I'll ignore "general insurance," such as home, contents and cars. You generally understand and have them. The "life" insurances life, total and permanent disability (TPD), trauma and income protection are about protecting your family from financial Armageddon. Life insurance pays out if you're not breathing anymore. Often, when someone dies, the survivor loses the house as well. Cover it all and plenty more so your partner can continue to raise the kids as you'd planned. TPD covers major accidents, such as the loss of arms, legs or eyesight. If you can't work again, you want enough for an income stream. (or learn to survive on a disability pension). Trauma insurance is "illness" cover. For example, heart attack, cancer and stroke. It's designed to cover medical expenses, extended time off work and to make sure things are looked after while you recover. Income protection insurance is the most important of all to Xers. The bigger your commitments, the more life/TPD and trauma you need. Insure your income all the way through to age 65. Bruce Brammall is author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting. Boomers - Mark Bouris INSURANCE is a confusing necessity. All you have to do is turn on the TV - it seems like every other commercial is from an insurance company trying to illustrate the psychological and financial frustrations of dealing with an accident. They are not wrong - accidents do happen and Australia is one of the most underinsured countries in the world. Funnily enough, the majority of us opt to insure our cars and homes, but it stops there. This always frustrates me. We insure our "stuff" but we forget to insure our most import asset - ourselves. Every Australian needs to have some level of life insurance. Life insurance is crucial - it provides your family with some security. Life insurance can come in different forms: Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) is designed to protect you if you are permanently disabled due to an illness or accident, Trauma Insurance is helpful if you're diagnosed with a specified illness (e.g. heart attack, cancer or stroke) and have to take extended leaves of absence. Income Protection supplements your income if you are temporarily out of work due to illness or an accident. For Boomers, the policy you choose will depend on your age and personal needs. Boomers at or approaching retirement will generally not require income protection as they are likely very close to or have already exited the workforce. It's also worth mentioning that many people have some form of personal insurance through their super fund/s and don't even realise it. Unfortunately, insurance premiums tend to increase with age, and often people drop their cover to save some money. Mark Bouris is the executive chairman of wealth management firm Yellow Brick Road. Retirees - Kerrin Falconer THIS is a topic that most people don't want to know about. Money spent on insurance is often seen as 'dead' money forking out for something that will happen to everyone else. Insurance sales people have long had a reputation akin to that used by car sales people. Many people just don't see the need and that is reflected in the fact that Australia is one of the most under insured developed countries in the world. So what do retirees need, what, when and how much? Personal Insurance This means Life, Temporary and Permanent Disability (TPD) and Income Protection cover. Income Protection is only available to those who are working, so for most retirees this is irrelevant. Life and TPD cover can be expensive for those over 65. Most retirees don't need it. 'Accident' cover is a form of insurance that many people think will provide them with comprehensive life cover. It doesn't. It is what it says it is - accident cover. General Insurance This means car, house, boat, trailer etc insurance. Most Australians don't even think once about insuring these, but will think twice or thrice about insuring themselves and their ability to earn an income. Strange. Retirees however, may have taken out policies years ago and these are now for far less than what houses, cars, boats and trailers are worth. You need cover to provide enough funds to replace your house, car, boat. So a review is a must. The other insurance that retirees should consider very seriously is private health cover. With the increasing likelihood of knotty knees, prostates that aren't perfect as well as arthritis, tendinitis, cystitis, gastritis and every other itis, health costs aren't likely to decrease. Kerrin Falconer is a finance writer with 15 years of financial planning experience.