 Poster: A snowHead
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All insurance is a waste of money. The house always wins, as with a casino. You never see a poorly-heeled insurance salesman.
The total money you will spend on insurance your life outweighs the total returned to you in the form of claims, almost certainly.
So whenever offered insurance for anything that isn't legally mandatory, say no.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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you have a point but your first sentence is inaccurate. For a large enough group of people, over a long enough time frame, insurance will be a waste of money. But it's a game where the losers pay the winners (or the other way round, depending on your point of view).
You should certainly not pay to insure against any eventuality which you could comfortably pay for yourself. An extra few years "insurance" on the likes of a microwave is a huge con.
I couldn't afford to replace my house, if it burnt down, so I insure against that. I could replace my skis if they were stolen, so they are uninsured and spend much of their time during the ski season sitting out on my terrace where any passing person could nick them, should they choose. Though not at the moment as there's a two metre wall of snow hiding them from view.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Self insure.
When they try to fob you off with "extended warranty", ask how much it'll be, say "no, ta!", then go pay that amount into savings a/c
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HMG self-insures as a matter of policy. For most of us, doing so entirely would be an unacceptable risk. But at the other end of the scale, paying for two years extended warranty on a microwave is for mugs.
People who equip themselves properly to ski off piste haven't "wasted their money", in any normal sense of that expression, if they end up not being buried.
I insured my income when I was bread-winner for a family of 5. When I thought ruefully of the amount I'd spent on it I told myself to be thankful I'd never got ill. My brother in law, who got very ill, and hadn't insured his income is in a much worse position.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I think sometimes it depends on the person...
Mobile phones are a good example... I've carried a mobile phone around with me every day for about the last 12 years probably, I've never once lost/broken/had one stolen, and I've never paid for insurance - if one day I do break my phone I'm going to go out the next day and buy a new one straight away - I'll be quids in over the cost of 12 years worth of mobile phone insurance at £10 a month or whatever it is they charge these days...
On the other had I know people who lose/break 3 mobile phones a year... for them insurance is well worth it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I agree with paulio, the house always wins despite having to pay for all their staff, property, heating, lighting etc.
The only time when it is prudent to insure is if the loss would be too painful - eg. your house burns down, you injure yourself in the US, you injure someone else!
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Collectively the house always tries to win by offsetting its risk and insuring lots of people on the basis that not all of them will suffer the insured event.
However, individually you are merely insuring against a particular event happening and thus you can win or lose depending on whether or not that event happens.
But I wasn't going to rise to this one 
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I definitely won with my insurance last season...
3 nights in hospital, private ambulance transfers to Chambery and from Bristol, private flight (me, a doctor and 2 pilots), door to door in 5 hours!! Definitely couldn't have afforded that myself...
I think it'll take me many, many years of insurance payments to balance that out...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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bobmcstuff,
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I definitely won with my insurance last season...
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Me too and twice. Not quite as traumatic but a cat scan and splints in Aspen (£3.5k) and an extra weeks holiday thanks to Ash Cloud (£1k). Now dropped the otherwise wonderful insurer (Amex) as they've quietly changed the T&Cs to required guides off-piste.
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Life insurance is taking a bet with a company and if you die, you win. Mmm.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Life insurance is taking a bet with a company and if you die, you win
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if you die your old lady wins and lives happily ever after 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm of much the same opinion as pam w, I insure the stuff I can't afford to replace such as, car, house, bike. I also have income replacement insurance as I can't pay my mortgage if I'm off work due to accident or sickness. I have travel insurance with my bank account which is adequate for my needs and basic pet insurance. That's it, no life insurance necessary. Mobile phones are usually covered on a house insurance policy so should not need separate insurance.
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You know it makes sense.
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paulio, I assume you've never had to help a widow with dependant children who suddenly loses her husband because if you had you wouldn't come out with such crap.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I'm in debt to my holiday insurance for about the next 1,000 years.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Listen to the ladies, pam w and queen bodecia have it right.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Boris,
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paulio, is getting a big wooden spoon out and stirring
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No, he's just prone to exaggeration!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| RUGBY PETER wrote: |
| paulio, I assume you've never had to help a widow with dependant children who suddenly loses her husband because if you had you wouldn't come out with such crap. |
I assume you're an insurance salesman.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My attitude is insure what you can't easily afford to replace. I would say travel insurance with good medical cover is vital for a ski trip. Travel insurance that covers you if you lose your phone or ipod is less so.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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gingerpaul,
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insure what you can't easily afford to replace
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Exactly. Equally, while you are young enough, it's a good idea to put some money aside regularly for, say, medical bills - ie to self-insure by saving, rather than by paying insurance premiums.
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I don't even have car insurance. I simply choose never to crash into things.
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paulio, stop being prattish. You have to have 3rd party insurance by law.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I... I do?
*gulp*
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| Pedantica wrote: |
| paulio, stop being prattish. You have to have 3rd party insurance by law. |
Not if you are.... Not old enought to drive, cant afford a car, or just steal them. In this case the jury is out as to which one applies.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I pay for insurance and would be quite happy if I never have to claim on it!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Pedantica wrote: |
gingerpaul,
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insure what you can't easily afford to replace
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Exactly. Equally, while you are young enough, it's a good idea to put some money aside regularly for, say, medical bills - ie to self-insure by saving, rather than by paying insurance premiums. |
The thing with that is if you had a serious medical issue like a broken back or neck then that £25 you saved each year won't really make a dent in the £x0,000 bill incurred scraping you up, gluing you back together and getting you home again.
I'm completely with you that insuring baggage, phones, computers etc is going to be a waste of money in the long run and paying extra money for increased cover is probably throwing good money after bad, but for one off large bills then having insurance behind you is a good thing.
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gingerpaul, erm, I was thinking of a bit more than £25 per year!
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You know it makes sense.
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What a daft opening post. Of course the "house wins". If the insurance company didn't make a profit it couldn't exist. The leap from the understanding that the company will end up making money to the assertion that therefore insurance is a waste of money is breathtakingly absurd.
Go learn how to reason as well as you wind folk up, paulio.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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paulio, it only works if at any given moment in time you can guarantee to have enough spare cash to cover every eventuality. Good luck with that one next time you ski into a tree and end up paralysed.
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