[PLUG-TALK] Insurance (was: Mad SCO Disease)

gepr at tempusdictum.com gepr at tempusdictum.com
Fri Jul 2 19:49:52 UTC 2004


Brent Rieck writes:
 > I think insurance is primarily a tool to lower financial risk in 
 > exchange for a monthly fee, at least that's how I and people I know use 
 > it..  It's often impossible to have the amount of cash required for the 
 > kinds of things you get insurance for in emergency savings, and wiping 
 > people out financially does not help society in any way.  In a future 
 > where the term "personal wealth" is meaningless that won't be so, but in 
 >   the place we live right now it's a problem to have no money.

For things like life, medical, and flood insurance, I agree with you.

But, what about the little things like dental insurance? or eye coverage?
Maybe i'm an oddball; but, I've been paying (indirectly through my 
employers) for these for years even though I rarely have ever needed
the coverage.  Sure, some people use it and some don't.  But, my guess
is that alot of people are over insured.

So, the justification that it's mostly used as a mitigation for
"financial risk" over estimates most (tv watching ;-) people's 
ability to judge their own financial needs.

And the error between what they pay and what they _need_, I claim, is
more damaging to our society than guns and gun-related crimes are.
The damage done by insurance is a sureptitious, nefarious, secret,
rotting-from-the-inside, damage that can go undetected for long
periods of time like gout, cancer, or heart disease, eating away at
our financial stability.  Or, you could just go pay one of our modern
day priests, The Accountant, to find out what should be done... at 
which point, you're giving over your personal relationship with your
finances to a finance mediator...who is, of course, more likely to 
be heard by the Almighty Greenspan or the occupants of Mount G8.

-- 
glen e. p. ropella              =><=                           Hail Eris!
H: 503.630.4505                              http://www.ropella.net/~gepr
M: 971.219.3846                               http://www.tempusdictum.com





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