I have been paying for insurance my entire life. I pay for health insurance, homeowners insurance, car insurance and even life insurance. And, I pay a lot of money for these alleged protections. Insurance is such a scam. The winner in an insurance deal is the insurance company. Every time.
Health
In some states, you are required to have health insurance. But, with skyrocketing healthcare costs, pretty much everybody is stuck having some form of health insurance. A good health insurance policy costs about one thousand dollars a month. And, that’s before deductibles and out of pocket expenses. Then, only certain doctors take your insurance. So, you pay $1000 a month and they tell you what doctors you can see.
Then you pay a deductible when you see the doctor that they tell you to see. They don’t even pay the doctor the visit fee unless you have a “Cadillac” plan. When the doctor prescribes a medicine, most people have to pay part of the amount for the prescription.
If you need to go to the hospital, you end up paying at least a portion of the fees. And, it is like a small mortgage. The average cost of a one night stay in the hospital is about $3000. And, the hospital wants you out of there as soon as possible so they can poach the next victim.
I failed to mention that a health insurance provider gives you a hassle every time you request some kind of service. The bottom line is they don’t want to pay anything or the bare minimum. They don’t care about your health. They care about their bottom line and investors.
Automobile
And then we come to automobile insurance. Where to begin? First of all, you are required to have automobile insurance to drive a car. It is nice for the insurance companies to have steady customers regardless of how they treat you. The average annual cost for automobile insurance is $2294 for full coverage and $615 for minimum coverage.
Here are the kickers. Every time you get a ticket for a moving violation, your insurance premium increases. Wait. Let me get this straight. I pay for the ticket and then I pay more for my car insurance. You got it! Suppose you get in an accident. You got rear ended, and it wasn’t your fault. Your insurance company will be happy to help you. But, they will also raise your premium in the spirit that they are making a payout. So, they pay to help you and then they recoup the money through a premium increase.
The car insurance companies also have pricing that is based on the age of a driver. If you are a male driver less than 25 years old, you pay super high premiums. And, they also price premiums based on your driving record. So, if you have multiple driving offenses, you pay super high premiums. And, I won’t even begin on drunk driving. Let’s just say you will need a second mortgage on your home.
Homeowner
Here is the problem with homeowner insurance. There are a ton of stipulations because the insurance companies don’t want to pay. As an example, lets say your house gets struck by lightning. The company will send out an inspector to review the damage. Then, the inspector will start asking a bunch of strange questions. Do you have a lightning rod? How about lightning repellent roof tiles? Have any of your neighbors homes been struck by lightning? It looks like you live in a designated lightning zone.
Then, they’ll tell you they can’t cover your loss. And, it will be for some reason like “you don’t have lightning repellent roof tiles.” And, they’ll point to a statement on page 935 of your contract in the tiniest print possible as proof of denying your claim. And, that is how homeowner insurance works a lot of the time.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, insurance is a necessary evil. But, it is in need of major reform. Health insurance and automobile insurance are out of control. I was priced out of my company-provided health insurance, and it won’t be long until most people are priced out. I guess my feelings boil down to one question. Has it hit the point where insurance fees cost more than an insurance event?