Insurance is a health hazard.
I’m deeply opposed to insurance (apart from home and car).
Life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, income protection insurance… the list is endless.
The culture of insurance quashes people’s innovation, resilience, creativity and self-reliance. It gives people an illusion of safety and certainty. It stops people thinking. And risk taking. It stops people living their lives. It makes people believe money can solve everything. Well, everything that’s important. So you just work. Make the money and pay the insurance and everything will be okay. You don’t have to look after your health, your relationships, your emotional well-being or your career. You don’t have to continuingly ask yourself the hard questions ‘what do I want now?’, ‘what do I need now?’, ‘what it best for me?’ or act on the responses.
I have no safety net. I just assume I’ll be able to adapt my spending, accommodation and expenses to line up with my needs. Because that’s what I have always done.
And maybe I won’t but living my life with that assumption I’m constantly collecting skills, ideas and different perspectives. I am expecting my life to be a cross-country marathon/obstacle course with periods of bushwalking over a long period of time. Not a short sprint and then walking around doubled over for a bit while I catch my breath before retiring with an injury.
If you believe the commercials “Money can fix everything, It’s all you need and if you can’t insure against it it’s not that bad, it won’t happen or it only happens to you if you have done something wrong.”
Peace of mind they call it. Or piece of mind.
How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans.
No one’s life goes to plan. The point where people realise that it doesn’t and they don’t have to be perfect is the time they really begin to live. When they stop trying to convince others and themselves they are the perfect wife, favorite son, greatest mother, crew member of the month, most devout Catholic, loyal supporter, died in the wool fan, true believer… When they ask themselves ‘If I had six months to live what would I do? And what’s stopping me?’ That’s when life begins.
There are also the illusions of the insurance of private schools, marriage, job security, mum will sort everything, dad will fix everything and God will give me a happy ending in the sky with angels. I have seen many adults coast along through life just waiting for their parents to die so they’ll get the money. And waiting to die themselves so they get their magic party in the sky with their imaginary friend who’ll look after them forever. And when things don’t go to plan they have no ability to cope.
Is that actually a life? Not for me.
People constrained by these expectations, institutions and false economies never forge their own career, speak with their own voice or sing from their own heart. They never live their own lives. They are merely a spectator.
It’s the people who have never had a safety net, no money buffer, no family backing, no old school tie connections who are living their lives. Personally, socially, creatively, intellectually, emotionally and financially because they have had no other choice than to slog away to pay their rent and on the way carving out a custom made life that fits them like a glove. Not constrained by expectations, institutions or false economies. No illusion of safety. These people are still living their Plan A. Which was ‘roll with the punches and live and live big’.
The true cost of the ‘peace of mind’ is a stunted life without adventure and no ability or incentive to grow, adapt or expand. Some people just pay the insurance and the superannuation as if it guarantees them health, happiness and pain free security. It doesn’t.
These people stop growing.
You cannot insure against pain.
You cannot insure against having a disease or injury.
You cannot insure against feeling like a failure.
You cannot insure against disappointing children. Or parents.
You cannot insure against a broken heart, substance abuse or mental illness.
You cannot insure against a relationship breakdown or a spiteful or detonating partner or ex.
You cannot insure against being retrenched.
You cannot insure against being sucked in to believe a boring job, an unsatisfying relationship or following a religion or set of social critiques will guarantee you a happy ending.
You cannot insure against the illusion of security turning on you and leaving you stranded without the hunter gather skills of innovation, flexibility and resilience that could now save you and you would have had if you had the courage to chosen the live you lived and live it.
You cannot insure against loneliness.
You cannot insure against bitterness, resentment or envy.
You cannot insure against grief.
You cannot insure against being sad feeling sucked in or ripped off.
But you can try these things. Cultivate being brave, optimistic, flexible, resilient and creative.
Have low overheads and focus on your health, pleasure and satisfaction. This will impact on your happiness, stress and choices. You will do more things, be offered more opportunity because you are fun, fit, available and relish new challenges and you will bounce back quicker when things don’t work out.
My career is my income protection insurance.
Looking after myself is my health insurance.
Living is my life insurance.