Insurance is a necessity of modern life. Face it, there is, as yet, no way to guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to you or that you will live forever. Oftentimes, though, people forget that simple fact and discover all too late that they did not adequately protect themselves.

The good news is that getting proper insurance coverage does not have to be expensive. Even the most pricey insurance is a pittance compared with the costs that could be incurred if you lack sufficient protection. Below are 10 types of policies that are worth the money:

Life insurance
This is especially important if people count on your salary to pay the bills, whether it's your spouse or your kids. "Many people put off getting life insurance," said Jeanne Heisler, a New Jersey agent. "It's very inexpensive, especially if you are young." Single people may not need the coverage if they have enough money to cover their funeral expenses and pay off their debts.

Homeowner's insurance
Banks require that people get this coverage before they agree to underwrite a mortgage, since it protects homeowners from damages caused on their property to other people. The key for homeowner's insurance is to make sure that there is enough to cover the replacement value of the home, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Personal items such as furniture, sports equipment or clothes are also protected under these policies from "insured disasters" such as a fire or hurricane.

A former legal secretary in Massachusetts demonstrates for us what not to do: lie about being disabled. Teresa Brooks sued her employer, law firm Peabody & Arnold, saying they fired her because of her disability, a disabling spinal condition. The law firm said she wasn't disabled at all, and they fired her for lying about it.

The firm knew Brooks had back problems and had provided her with a special chair and with time off for physical therapy. But she claimed she was disabled and couldn't work at all. Brooks had received some disciplinary notes in her personnel file, and her disability claim came shortly after that. The firm became suspicious after hearing rumors of a trip to Disney World, in spite of her claimed total disability.

So they sent out a private detective, and guess what they found? Brooks was videotaped doing physical things that contradicted her disability claims. She was doing yard work, driving forty minutes, and sitting for hours in front of slot machines, when she had claimed that she couldn't work because she wasn't able to sit at her desk. The firm quickly fired Brooks.