NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
How to Get Ready for a Recession and Choose Enough Car Insurance
27 Mar 2025
Learn how to prepare for a possible recession and make sure your car insurance coverage is enough to protect your finances. What should you do to get ready for a recession? How much car insurance coverage do you really need? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss recession risks and car insurance basics to help you understand how to protect your finances. Joined by NerdWallet senior news writer Anna Helhoski, they begin with a discussion of recession warnings, with tips and tricks on budgeting with the 50/30/20 rule, building an emergency fund, and prepping your credit and savings. Then, insurance Nerd Lisa Green joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss how to choose the right amount of car insurance. They discuss the difference between liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, what minimum insurance limits really protect you from (and what they don’t), and how umbrella policies and uninsured motorist coverage can add extra protection. You’ll also hear ways to lower your car insurance bill by shopping around, raising your deductible, and finding overlooked discounts. Compare auto insurance rates in 2 minutes with NerdWallet’s auto insurance finder: https://www.nerdwallet.com/insurance/l/auto-insurance-finder In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: how to prepare for a recession, signs of a recession, what happens during a recession, 50/30/20 budget rule, building an emergency fund, credit during a recession, umbrella insurance, what is umbrella insurance, car insurance basics, collision vs comprehensive coverage, liability car insurance explained, full coverage car insurance, what is full coverage insurance, auto insurance deductible, underinsured motorist coverage, car insurance tiers, how to save on car insurance, shopping for car insurance, car insurance comparison tips, high liability coverage, car insurance for old cars, what is property damage liability, what is bodily injury liability, best car insurance coverage, understanding insurance limits, home and auto umbrella policy, recession impact on prices, recession and interest rates, how long recessions last, economic indicators of recession, consumer sentiment recession, car insurance for risky drivers, and auto insurance discounts. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
Well, Elizabeth, there's a word out there that we haven't heard bandied about for a while now. It's not a word we like, but it's a word we need to address.
Is this the R word, Sean?
It is. Recession. It's cropping up in discussions of the economy, so today we're going to talk about the likelihood of one and how to prepare for it. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles.
And I'm Elizabeth Ayola.
This episode, we're answering a listener's question about car insurance.
Car Insurance 101.
What's the difference between collision and comprehensive? We'll ask our nerdy expert for some definitions and best practices. But first, some definitions of another kind in our weekly Money News Roundup, where we break down the latest in the world of finance to help you be smarter with your money.
Today, our news colleague, Anahil Hoski, is here to talk with us about recessions. So, Anna, are we in a recession right now? Are we in danger of entering one? Should people be preparing?
Hey, so the short version is no, maybe, and it's not a bad idea.
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