Comments on: Day 13: Insurance

By: Simon

Simon — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:10:51 +0000

You don’t seem to have a good option for people with chronic, expensive conditions. I spend about 1500 per year on diabetes supplies and doctors visits, and that’s on top of my insurance. If I had to go without insurance I’d be completely bankrupt.

By: bigato

bigato — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:50:30 +0000

self-insurance all the way!

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:19:53 +0000

I agree with Jacob on the HSAs – they are a really good option, especially for healthy people that just want a catastrophic coverage plan. I had one with a $1,500 deductible for myself for awhile that was around $75 (early 30s). It got me the same network discounts to doctors & hospitals as any other insurance, except I paid the full amount up to the deductible. Which, in my case was $50 per office visit instead of the normal $25 copay. And I paid like $75 for the ER visit instead of $50 under current insurance I have at work.

I just wish my employer would realize this – currently our family plan costs around $700 a month, which is utterly ridiculous considering I am 33, wife is 27 and our son is nearly 1.5. I figure a family HSA would cost us $200 max per month – so we could fully fund an HSA account in about 10 months and keep the other $1,000 for other uses.

By: SimplicityinKansas

SimplicityinKansas — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:19:02 +0000

A simple life requires less insurance. While I always purchase liability and health insurance, to help my savings rate by driving a much older car, selling my house and reducing consumption of ‘things’ has reduced my need for insurance as a product. Also, the preventive aspect of my life from car, equipment, farm, health and life has reduced my need for insurance as I try to think out 10 years if this action or friction was continued in life or events and what happens as a result. As such, thinking ahead has made a difference for me over time.

By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:15:16 +0000

I like to think of insurance as when a whole lot of people contribute a little money so that when a few people get in trouble, they are taken care of. For example, high-deductible property insurance lets me pay relatively little, but if a tornado destroys the house, it lets me rebuild. If had had only that small amount I had been paying (plus interest/capital gains), it would not be enough to let me rebuild.

The same is true for high-deductible health insurance. That lets you self-insure for the affordable things (whatever your deductible is), but if you get in a horrible car wreck or are diagnosed with something expensive, you get to live without (hopefully) having to go bankrupt.

Other kinds of insurance, like vision insurance, doesn’t work that way, so I don’t get it.

People following your plan need a lot less insurance than I have. If you’re financially independent, you don’t need disability insurance. If you have no car, you don’t need auto insurance. And having enough savings to live off probably means you have enough for your dependents to live off, too, so you don’t need life insurance.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:46:37 +0000

I found my HSA on hsainsider.com Can’t say if it’s any good but it worked for me and it was fairly easy to set up. Then again, I have almost no medical record to speak of.

By: Seth Miller

Seth Miller — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:32:49 +0000

I’ve been thinking about insurance a lot in relation to your series as a whole. I think health insurance is one of the big things that would stop people from walking away from their job.
Do you have any good links with more information about HSA?

By: Spork

Spork — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:57:16 +0000

Really enjoying your series Jacob, sorry I’ve not commented on each of your posts, I’m on vacation and trying to avoid computers

I have good health insurance through my employer at $52/month and can’t beat it with a private policy. I have considered an HSA if I am able to retire next year. I really like that I can withdraw cash from the HSA when I’m older, essentially use it as another tax-deferred account.

My grandfather self-insured, he was self-employed most of his adult life and never bought health insurance. He believed that healthy living (good food and regular exercise) were the best insurance.

My car is not insured for replacement, I only carry enough to satisfy minimum state liability requirements.

My homeowners policy is more than I need, and I will be reviewing that when it comes up for renewal in January…my home is worth considerably less now than it was last year at this time. Still, it is tempting to drop the policy altogether (currently at $350/year). If I had a smaller house (or RV), something that did not require $120k to replace, I would not buy insurance.

By: AlexK

AlexK — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:44:34 +0000

I look at insurance this way: Insurance companies are experts at evaluating risk. If they think it’s a safe bet that the risk is less than the premium cost, shouldn’t I be inclined to agree with them and assume that risk myself?

Your idea that we have some influence upon our risk and therefore can reduce it further only strenghthens that argument.