Articles that seemingly have nothing to do with asset protection might still provide valuable asset protection reminders. A recent article by Teresa Dixon Murray in the Cleveland Plain Dealer is a good example. The article discusses an individual who keeps more than $100,000 hidden at home!
That reminds me of at least two asset protection considerations. First of all, hiding assets is rarely an effective asset protection plan. You could hide cash at home, but homeowners insurance generally covers only about $200 in cash in the event of a fire or robbery. So while hiding cash may seem like a good idea, it probably is not for many reasons — including the fact that is uninsured.
The article also reminds me that most of us rarely conduct a periodic view of all of our life, auto, casualty and other insurance policies. That periodic review could be worthwhile because it may identify significant assets that are not properly insured.
There are many asset protection strategies that are worth considering. Some of them can be fairly complex. An offshore trust arrangement, domestic asset protection trust or one or more LLCs could be a reasonable choice for certain individuals in certain circumstances. But as I have mentioned many times before, you should not overlook the most basic forms of asset protection. And one of those items is insurance. It is a very worthwhile exercise to periodically review your biggest risks and ask whether they are (or could be) insured.