The cost of Insurance is high, but never as high as the money wasted on Insurance. Imagine how much you might be worth today if you'd saved or invested the many thousands of dollars you frittered away on Insurance.
"But, but . . . I had to buy Insurance".
"What if . . . or what if . . . or what if . . . Then what would I do? You never know what troubles might come. You never know how much those troubles might cost. If I didn't have Insurance I'd be ruined. It costs a lot, but
at least I'm protected".
Wouldn't you also be protected by savings, investments, and the ever-accumulating benefit of compound interest?
"Oh, I'm not too good at saving, I don't make enough to save and I don't know anything about investment or compound interest". That's why I have to buy Insurance".
That's what most people think.
Newly arrived immigrants, particularly those from Asian and mid-European countries think differently. Their pay is usually poor, yet they manage to save. Typically, after a decade or so of scrimping, they save enough pennies and dollars to start a business.
Anyone could do the same.
There is no correlation between whether you save - or not - except attitude.
Insurance is a gamble. You bet that in an emergency you'll win back the money you put in the Insurance pot. The Insurance company bets they'll keep most of it. Actuarial tables and small print ensures that the Insurance company will always win.
Ironically, the money guaranteed by Insurance companies pushes ever-increasing costs. People who pay out-of-pocket pay attention to price. People who have Insurance, don't.
This allows service providers to charge more with little complaint; no more so than in the medical profession.
If Insurance companies were banned, prices would be forced to reasonable levels.
You can't charge more than the market can bear.
Insurance companies won't be banned. People will continue to buy Insurance. People will continue to buy all sorts of things. Very few will commit to saving instead
of buying. Truth usually remains academic; I never expect
it to prevail.
Mom was big on Insurance. Dad wasn't. He often grumbled, "We're Insurance poor"!
So are we all.