Insurance or assurance?

The other day, I listened to a man on the radio go on and on about the importance of getting disability insurance. He said it's the responsible thing to do, so you won't have to rely on taxpayers money one day in case something bad happens.

Meanwhile, my insurance agent keeps insisting that we need to up our life insurance policy, again, just in case those "what ifs" happen in life.

When I got a new digital camera, the salesboy went on and on about how we should get a six-month policy on it, just in case I accidentally drop it or scratch the lens.

Then I got a letter from my power company, offering me insurance in case my sewage line bursts or gets clogged. For supposedly $10 a month, I could potentially save thousands.

I'm always seeing commericals on TV, commercials that insist I need long-term care insurance, insurance in case I get sued one day, and even insurance for my dogs.

Of course, then there are the policies that I have to have like my car insurance, health insurance and homeowners insurance. I found out the hard way last year that insurance doesn't always work the way I'd like. I used my homeowners insurance and then got dropped by the company, simply because I'd used my policy. But isn't that why I have insurance?

I realized that if I got all the insurance people recommended I get that I'd have no money left to actually live.

Yet, insurance is so tempting. It helps us to handle the "what if" questions in life. In a certain sense, it helps ease our paranoia.

I began thinking about how life would ideally work. I dreamed about a society where instead of paying insurance, we could save that money and use it to help others when bad stuff happens. Then, hopefully, they'd return the favor should circumstances change. Probably not realistic, but nice to think about.

I finally came to the conclusion that part of the human experience is simply living on faith that if something bad does happen, but life will work itself out one way or another. That God will honor his assurances that he'll give us nothing in life that we can't handle.

Yes, that's what I'd take. I'll God's assurances as opposed to man's insurances.

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Christy Barritt is the author of HAZARDOUS DUTY and SUSPICIOUS MINDS, chick-lit mysteries about a flip-flop wearing, music-quoting crime scene cleaner who sticks her nose into police investigations. For more information, visit: www.christybarritt.com or http://myblog4fun.com/cbarritt.

Comments

[life insurance Canada]

"where instead of paying insurance, we could save that money and use it to help others when bad stuff happens" - but that's how it works. If something happens, insurance company uses not only your money you paid in premiums, but money from the pool. Yes, they make profit (or try at least), but can you imagine somebody would do it for free?
I admit insurance business is competitive and marketing aggressive, but if you chose the right person to deal with, you can feel safe without spending thousands. For example - you have young family? Go for term life. Children have their own career? Maybe you can drop life and take disability, and so. Insurance products are fine, but you don't need all of the right now.
Take care
Lorne