My Morning WalkNew day, uninterrupted thoughts

The insurance business has been around for decades. Clients, prospects and internet “experts” all imply that it’s a necessary evil of life. We learned about insurance as children, oddly enough when the board game “LIFE” used to force us to buy it when we landed on the wrong square. In the real game of life, mortgage lenders require homeowners insurance to cover their financial interest. Banks lending money for auto loans will assess a monthly insurance charge for physical damage coverage ONLY, sometimes more than five times the amount for a “full coverage” policy from an insurer, and most states require auto liability insurance, although the minimum likely couldn’t pay the gas bill for the ambulance. Health insurance is a hotly-contested issue and has been for years. Life insurance is something no one ever wants to think about…at least until their diagnosis makes them ineligible…THEN they want it.

This post isn’t about any company or competitor…it’s about an economic concept. How many people out there have unlimited disposable income? How many just write checks for new cars and houses without the need for a loan? Would you say a majority or a minority? How many families have to sit down at the kitchen counter or dining room table to figure out their bills every month? How many have to actually FIND money from one or more accounts to afford groceries? How many families with children have to say “it’s either dance, piano, or baseball, but not all three”, and one, two or three children can’t play a sport or take lessons to learn a favorite activity? How many people in this country are in any or all of these situations? What about you…is money even a LITTLE tight? If so, here’s something that’s truly beyond comprehension:

If you can’t afford your own wants and needs, where do you find the resources to handle the unexpected occurrences in life? Yes, emergency savings is a good thing WHEN YOU HAVE SOME. This isn’t about the benefit of having emergency savings…This is about having to spend the money in the first place for something you never expected. What if you tapped into your savings and bought a “new” used car for $4000, insured it with liability coverage only, and a month later hit a deer and totaled it. You’re out four grand, right? What would you have done with all or part of that money if the incident never happened? Would you have bought a few more groceries, maybe hamburger instead of peanut butter? Would you have allowed your son or daughter to sign up for an activity they really enjoy? Would you have gone out to dinner or bought your significant other a nice gift for Valentine’s Day? What IS the opportunity cost to the economy when a person has to spend their disposable income or emergency savings on an unexpected occurrence?

Sorry, insurance shouldn’t be just a commodity any longer. It should be considered economic stimulus NOT funded by the federal government. Time for a large-scale paradigm shift.