Anyone use index puts as "insurance" for long stock positions?

[imaptone]

With the recent run up we have had, I am interested in purchasing some S&P puts as "insurance" against my longs in case of some short term retracement. Does anyone buy puts in the indexes for this purpose, rut or spx say? If so how far out and how many strikes below the current level is do you go? What percentage of your total portfolio do you buy contracts for? Say I had $100000 and wanted some hedge but still remained bullish. I could buy the SPX 1500 Sept puts for $2100 per contract. How many would you buy?

[mrbaseball]

I use SPY puts and I usually buy them at least a year out at the money. I'm currently due for a rollup. How many I buy depends on my current feel and relative expense (volatility). I also sometimes finance them with shorter term out of the money call sales.

[Korch]

you should decide what you're looking for. If you want to take money off the table (closer to locking in profits) then pick higher delta options. If you simply want insurance against a big drop, buy more out of the money puts. The delta of the puts, versus how much you want to "take off the table" or "protect" should determing how many contracts you buy. You'll need to realize that if you buy the puts now to get "flat" on a big market move (either up or down) your overall delta will change.