If you can afford extra coverage, having disability insurance is highly desirable. Long-term care insurance becomes more important as you approach fifty. Carrying life insurance on your children may be proposed to you as a viable savings plan, but it is, in fact, usually a luxury.

Disability Insurance

While you may be entitled to short-term state and long-term federal disability protection, if your employer offers additional disability insurance, it's wise to take advantage of it. State disability generally covers up to one year. Federal disability extends coverage beyond a year, but it is extremely restrictive and difficult to obtain. Typically, disability insurance pays approximately 60 percent of your pretax income.

If you pay for the policy, you won't owe any taxes, but if your employer pays for the policy, you will owe taxes on the income. If you are solely responsible for your children, or if you earn a high salary, disability insurance is a worthy expense. Although it's essential for anyone in a high-risk profession, anyone can quite suddenly become disabled — approximately one in eight people will suffer a serious disability. If you can afford it, buy it.

Long-Term Care

Long-term care insurance is purchased to cover the expense of full-time nursing or nursing home care. If you're young and in good health, long-term care insurance can wait, but if you have the money, the younger you are when you purchase one, the better chance you have of keeping premiums lower. In general, you need to address this when you are approaching 50.

Children's Life Insurance

Some people purchase life insurance for their children as a savings plan. Unless the policy pays a substantial interest rate, it's better to consider placing the same amount into a savings or money market account instead.