Wealth advisers and brokers see it all the time: The “Get Rich, Never Switch” syndrome.

I’m referring to adults, young and old, who have gathered a substantial amount of wealth or earnings power in life while failing to upgrade from a bare-bones personal-insurance program. They are, in effect, throwing away money on insurance while acting as if they still have little or nothing to protect from forces beyond their control, such as a bad accident, a damaging fire or storm, or perhaps worst of all in our litigious society, an aggressive lawyer.

Such forces can have a far greater impact on one’s finances than the fluctuations of interest rates and the stock market, and yet most people are much more focused on fine-tuning their investment portfolio than they are their homeowners and auto-insurance policies. These people can otherwise be making all the sophisticated investment and financial moves in the world, but by neglecting their personal-insurance coverage, they’re taking a big roll of the dice with their financial well-being for no good reason without even realizing it.

It’s easy to understand why the “Get Rich, Never Switch” syndrome is so prevalent. After all, people who make great improvements to their financial position are usually busy working on their craft, whatever it may be. They have more pressing, interesting and lucrative things to deal with than the specifics of an insurance contract.

And how are they supposed to know they’re wasting money and exposing themselves to financial catastrophe? They purchased their insurance from an agent or an online service when they bought their house or car. They pay the premiums every so often just like they pay their utility bills. It’s not complicated, right?

So it may seem. After all, customer satisfaction with the claims responses of property and casualty insurance companies has improved in recent years, according to groups like J.D. Power that track such things. The standard insurance policies sold to drivers and homeowners by the mass-market insurance supermarkets of the world, like Allstate Corp. ALL, -2.94% or Nationwide, respond well to common claims, like fender-benders and stolen electronics.

Large, life-altering loss scenarios, however, are another story. Fortunately, they rarely occur. That’s why sophisticated and profitable financial institutions are willing to mitigate many millions of dollars in liability risks for individuals they don’t really know in return for a few thousand bucks a year. Both sides of the transaction hope the disaster is never going to happen, and it probably won’t. But sometimes it does, and when large disasters strike, serious insurance-coverage deficiencies are often found to be widespread with devastating results.

The intelligent buyer of insurance acquires coverage for financial risks they can’t comfortably handle themselves. Therefore, wealthy or higher-income buyers of insurance should not be concerned with fender-benders and lost cameras. They should self-insure for such mishaps by taking on high deductibles to keep their premiums down and their claims history clean, while buying millions in cheaply priced excess liability, or umbrella, coverage for protection from a lawsuit that could otherwise chew up their income for years or liquidate their most precious assets overnight.

Wealthy or higher-income buyers of insurance also need a policy from a high-net-worth personal-insurance carrier, a market that is dominated by insurers like Chubb Corp. CB, -1.88% , Ace Ltd. US:ACE (which recently agreed to acquire Chubb), Pure Insurance and American International Group AIG, -3.32% . These carriers sell personal-insurance contracts with broader coverage than the standard policy that are typical of most insurers. The coverage enhancements are more relevant to individuals and families possessing assets of substantial value, including old or unique homes, fine arts and collectibles, valuable cars, etc.

Also, these carriers are well-known for a claims-response and service philosophy that is more efficient, generous and comprehensive than mass-market insurance companies. While most insurance companies risk losing a customer after a claim — even when the claim is paid in full without complication — the high-net-worth carriers often inspire greater loyalty after a claim by demonstrating the true value of their product to a client who has suffered a loss and going above and beyond expectations in helping their insured recover.

These superior insurance options are available to owners of higher-end homes and multiple homes throughout the country, and when a sophisticated insurance broker and adviser is used to package these services together into a properly constructed and comprehensive risk-management plan for an individual or family, they can often be acquired at surprisingly low prices.

All this explains why financial professionals and family investment offices have increasingly viewed property and casualty insurance as a crucial part of an overall investment portfolio and financial plan. So, if and when you get rich, don’t forget to switch.

Nat Worden is vice president with Ericson Insurance Advisors, a boutique insurance advisory and brokerage firm with offices in New York City, Boston and Connecticut. He is also a freelance journalist, and he was the winner of a New York Press Club award for investigative reporting. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, SmartMoney, Outside magazine and the Village Voice. Follow him on Twitter @NatWorden.