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Insurance is meant to protect consumers and their peace of mind, but while there are some policies that people absolutely need or are required to have, with other kinds the cost may outweigh the benefit.

Consumer Reports recently named a few people may want to forego, starting with credit insurance, which promises to pay off a large loan should the policy holder become disabled.

"Which sounds very nice, but generally speaking we've found that it tends to be more expensive, maybe three times or more expensive, than just a simple term-life product," says Money Advisor Senior Project Editor Mandy Walker. "So we suggest people get a term-life product instead."

Walker offers that same advice when it comes to flight insurance.

"If the flight goes down, it will pay a certain cash benefit to your heirs. Again, we think the term-life is a much better deal," she says.

Consumers definitely want to have health insurance for their families, but the family pet is another matter. Vet bills can certainly add up, but usually still cost less than pet insurance.

"We looked at nine different policies for a relatively healthy beagle, and we found that they all cost more than we paid in vet bills over the course of 10 years," says Walker. "We added in a bunch of different really serious conditions, still about half of them weren't cost-effective."

Walker's advises pet owners build pet bills into the yearly budget, earmarking $300 a year per pet to cover the cost of care.

Those who have dropped a few hundred on a smartphone may wince when they drop the mobile device. However, that is not justification to shell out extra money for cellphone insurance. The monthly fees may only be a few dollars but there is also a deductible.

"That deductable can be pretty steep, about $200 for a smartphone," says Walker.

Smartphone users should hold onto an old phone, which can be activated in the event of accident.

Some types of policies, like health insurance, are necessities.

"If you have dependents, you want to have life insurance, you also want to have disability insurance and your auto insurance," says Walker.