Insurance – Mutual Aid Or Gambling
Update: Here’s an example of the truth that half of personal bankruptcies are caused by medical bills, and of that half, three-quarters of the people have insurance. A single mother with health insurance driven into bankruptcy by the bills for cancer treatment.
In a post about Nancy Pelosi coming to Mississippi, Ana Maria noted that in the House: “A subcommittee of and the full Finance Committee have passed the bill that would expand the federal flood insurance program to include wind.”
I’ve been meaning to get back to the insurance industry and this is a good point of entry.
One of the things that early guilds and service organizations provided was a form of social insurance. If you were a member in good standing and fell on hard times, the group offered support. Many of these groups have continued this tradition. This was an extension of family support where one generation supported the next.
The same concept of coming together for mutual support was behind many of the original insurance companies. The premiums were used to pay the losses of members and the funds not needed were invested, often eliminating the need for further premiums. You still see the word “mutual” as part of the name of many of these early companies.
August 14, 2007 7 Comments
