Insurance Rant

Insurance.  On the face of it, this cooperative method to share the costs of accidents and illness seems a good idea.  Get 1,000 people to pay into a pool and use the group funds to pay the bills of those unfortunate few who will surely suffer a fire or car wreck or heart attack.  Communism in its finest expression.


As it turns out, capitalists shouldn't run communistic endeavors.  The money we 'donate' to the pool has become payments to huge corporations dedicated to never giving any back.  'Local agents' are shills without influence or use beyond passing our money up the pyramid.  'Friendly service' is only friendly as long as the customer doesn't need service.


The natural disaster that causes the most monetary loss each year is flood.  As it turns out, most insurance companies won't insure against flood.  Live on the coast?  They don't offer hurricane insurance, either.  Should we get really sick, medical insurance will will cry 'catastrophic limit.'  If we lose our car to an accident, car insurance won't pay enough to replace it.  Insurance in all it's myriad forms has become a scam, a con game, a gamble only the house can win.


Insurance companies are quite aware of their crimes.  They spend huge amounts of our money to influence and downright buy politicians to protect themselves.  The best example is our President's 2009 attempt to bring health care to every American, giving citizens an option for private medical insurance.  Insurance and medical companies spent about half a billion dollars that year to influence congress and other politicos to stop public health care.  


Is there a need for insurance?  Yes.  Do we need insurance companies?  No.  Insurance is a socialist concept, allowing people to share their daily risks so that bad luck won't completely ruin victims.  The idea needs reengineering.  For instance, a national acturial database should allow nationwide rates instead of the confusing array of rates insurance companies use now.  Perhaps, since humans can't avoid living near water (farming, shipping, fishing, etc.), flood and hurricane insurance should be automatic (if a little extra cost) and the payouts spread nationally.


Will insurance reform come anytime soon?  I wouldn't bet on it.