A New Path A New Way
In the coming days weeks and months, Insurance companies are going to pay dearly for Hurricane Harvey. Although they are not going to pay as much as they might have in the past. As the years have passed Insurance companies, underwriters have removed a lot of the things that used to be covered in the early days of the insurance industry. Flooding may have been covered “back in the day,” but nowadays if you don’t have a separate flood policy, you for certain won’t be covered if the water comes up from the ground as opposed to down from the sky. In some cases, you may not even be insured if it comes down from the heavens either. Goodness forbid your sewer backs up because you won’t be covered for that. As something became a too big liability, it was removed from coverage. I shudder to think what happened for them not to cover damage from a backed up septic system.
At some point, it becomes reasonable to consider what it takes for an insurance industry to go bankrupt. No system is 100% safe. Too many claims could bleed the industry dry. Then what? Everyone will be on their own. How we started out back in the day. Exactly where I see us headed.
Rather than worrying about what might happen the healthier thing to consider is how to become immune to the whims of the insurance industry. How might you do that?
First of all, the easiest thing you can do to make a difference is to change your thinking. Insurance is an industry that “covers” for mistakes or events that people can’t pay for. That’s a very simple way to put it and doesn’t cover all the circumstances, but it covers most. Consider the driver who is drunk and hits someone or the drunk Doctor. Insurance pays for the drunk having done something they shouldn’t have and likely don’t have the money to pay for themselves. Similarly, insurance pays for the house that burns down through no fault of the owners, who likely can’t pay for it to be rebuilt. The storm that destroys, the fire, the Doctor that screws up through fault or not. If there is an insurance policy in place then things get paid for. People can receive money for their damages but also for their hurt feelings.
I remember many years ago I had a pipe break in a bathroom wall. It was broken for a long time, spraying water inside the wall every time the shower was used. I began to smell something every time I went into that bathroom. Once I ruled out my stepson (humor) I called a plumber who found the problem. The damage was significant, having to rip out several sections of the wall due to mold.
Our homeowner’s policy covered all the repairs minus our deductible. It was unbelievable because the repairs were over $10,000 as I recall.
There are really only two ways to avoid the insurance industry. Don’t do or experience anything that requires insurance or have enough resources, money, etc. yourself to sustain a disaster.
How do you do that?
You become “self-insured.” I first heard the term self-insured when I moved to the Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska. This Borough which is 16,075 square miles and has a population of about 60,000 people is a self-insured public agency,. What this means is if they are sued, they have the resources to defend themselves, if there is a disaster they hope to have the resources to take care of the response themselves. On a day to day basis, it means that their employee health care claims are paid directly by the borough instead of through a third-party agency or insurer.
I first heard the term self-insured when I moved to the Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska. This Borough which is 16,075 square miles and has a population of about 60,000 people is a self-insured public agency,. What this means is if they are sued, they have the resources to defend themselves, if there is a disaster they hope to have the resources to take care of it themselves. On a day to day basis, it means that their employee health care claims are paid directly by the borough instead of through a third-party agency or insurer. Can you imagine, writing the checks to pay for your employee health care? Those are some deep pockets.
How would it work for you to be self-insured? Many people are likely to find out soon because they will be unable to purchase insurance. Some people already have a problem with health care industry and can’t afford that insurance. I decided several years ago that rather than worrying about if I could afford health insurance or be covered, that I would just work on becoming extraordinarily healthy.
There is a group of people, they tend to be the more pioneering kind who have always been self-reliant and self-insured if you will. For example, if you live in a house and you can’t get homeowner’s insurance to cover the house because it is a non-traditional build, you are in essence choosing a “self-insured” lifestyle. If something extraordinary happens, there won’t be anyone to pay for rebuilding the house unless you can do that yourself, or get help yourself. l lost my first cabin in Alaska to fire because I couldn’t’ get insurance for it while it was under construction. I know what it is like to have to start from zero. Whenever that happens, we are basically self-insured by default through our resilience.
Perhaps this is why it’s easy for me to talk about these things. I have experienced the devastation of a fire with no insurance. I know that we survive. Having faith in oneself’s ability to survive is really key.
A lot of people have it twisted around and think they need to see a miracle in order to believe in a higher purpose or mind, God if you will. In truth, in order to see and speak with the mind of the All That Is, one must believe first and foremost and then go within.
Once you come to the knowledge that there is something much larger happening here than our individual lives, that there is something connecting all of us, that there is a purpose to all of this, you come to a believing and once you do that, everything gets easier.
Let the learning begin! Let the believing begin! Let the healing begin.
To anyone who is suffering, I suggest going within and connecting with your spirit and your purpose for being here. You have a reason for being here, you have a gift. Isn’t it time to find out what your gift is? Isn’t it time now to step into your power and become all that you came here to be?
Isn’t it time to share your gift with the rest of us? Don’t let the mundane parts of life get in the way of your brilliance because you are brilliant and you merely to let your light shine. Self-assurance will lead you to be self-insured.
As always thank you for reading!
Don’t forget to #InsistOnLove first from yourself for yourself, then from yourself for others. Then ask others to join you.
