Insurance prevents people from hoarding money that they would need in case of a (personal) disaster to rebuild/repair/re-purchase their losses. If you know insurance will cover your house if it ever burns down, you spend the money, which helps the economy.
Some are mandated, like auto insurance. Some are because your relative loss from buying insurance is waaaaaaaay less than your loss from an actual disaster. I for one don’t mind paying (and this is an example, lol, like I can afford a home in my area) $200k over 40 years when the cost to rebuild my home after a fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or godzilla would be >$400k.
Health insurance is the real head scratcher. It’s almost a guarantee that you’ll need it at some point. Pet insurance falls under this as well. A friend was telling me that it was a no brainer unless you’re the type to shoot the dog as soon as it gets mildly sick. It’s something along the lines of $40 a month, which means you’re paying $480 a year, or maybe $4,800-$9,600 over the 10-20 year lifespan of the dog (it’s a dog in this example because my fingers like the d more than the c). You know how much a single emergency with a dog can cost? Probably the entire amount you’d pay over a 10 year life span. If it is a longer problem, it balloons even more. And, importantly, right now pet insurance is where health insurance was at years ago, where they didn’t scratch out your eyeballs over every payment. It may take that turn here soon, once the industry is more established. That’s what my buddy actually wants to do, is review cases for pet insurance companies. I might have to toss him out of the car one day if it gets to the point of our human health insurance.
I struggle to understand what modern insurance companies actually exist for, apart from money people donating money to them for nothing in return.
Insurance prevents people from hoarding money that they would need in case of a (personal) disaster to rebuild/repair/re-purchase their losses. If you know insurance will cover your house if it ever burns down, you spend the money, which helps the economy.
Even if someone worked very diligently to save money, it would take a whole lot to save enough to be able to afford an entire second house.
Some are mandated, like auto insurance. Some are because your relative loss from buying insurance is waaaaaaaay less than your loss from an actual disaster. I for one don’t mind paying (and this is an example, lol, like I can afford a home in my area) $200k over 40 years when the cost to rebuild my home after a fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or godzilla would be >$400k.
Health insurance is the real head scratcher. It’s almost a guarantee that you’ll need it at some point. Pet insurance falls under this as well. A friend was telling me that it was a no brainer unless you’re the type to shoot the dog as soon as it gets mildly sick. It’s something along the lines of $40 a month, which means you’re paying $480 a year, or maybe $4,800-$9,600 over the 10-20 year lifespan of the dog (it’s a dog in this example because my fingers like the d more than the c). You know how much a single emergency with a dog can cost? Probably the entire amount you’d pay over a 10 year life span. If it is a longer problem, it balloons even more. And, importantly, right now pet insurance is where health insurance was at years ago, where they didn’t scratch out your eyeballs over every payment. It may take that turn here soon, once the industry is more established. That’s what my buddy actually wants to do, is review cases for pet insurance companies. I might have to toss him out of the car one day if it gets to the point of our human health insurance.
Just take him for a walk…
His spouse might have a problem with that, or I’d already have the leash ready.
It is reverse gambling.
Except when you need the insurance it is gambling whether you get it.