[Rhodes22-list] Coastal Living - Insurance

[Michael D. Weisner]

From: "Herb Parsons" <hparsons at parsonsys.com> Monday, February 25, 2008 
12:25 AM
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> As people discover that they, through the power of their vote, can
> require insurance companies to pay damages for coverage that they were
> not paid for, force them to do business where it is not economically
> viable, force you and I to pay for health care for those that are too
> unmotivated to find the means to do so themselves; I fear we are headed
> down that path.

This is nothin' new.  Just take a look at the rules for airline operations. 
In order to serve the lucrative markets, they are forced to run scheduled 
flights to markets that never earn money (not that I particularly agree with 
this regulation.)

You know, it seems that when I learned 'bout insurance in school, the 
concept was that the risk was spread over a large pool.  The definition of 
insurance went something like this "Insurance - a system to protect persons 
against the risks of financial loss by transferring the risks to a large 
group who share the financial losses."  Providing insurance where it is "not 
economically viable" was balanced by providing coverage to those whose risk 
was much lower but wanted insurance anyway.  That's why insurance needs to 
be "sold" to folks.  Really good salesmen can sell coverages that most 
consider uneeded (100 year floods in dry regions.)  If insurance was only 
offered where there was very low risk, there would be no life insurance 
coverage for anyone over 30!

Many of us coasties never get flooded and rarely experience disasterous wind 
or storm damage.  We purchase full homeowner coverages, albeit with a 5% 
deductible for storm related damage, at a reasonable rate.  We insure 
against losing everything, not to file a claim for a window broken during a 
storm.  People need to rethink why they buy insurance in the first place.

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY