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May the Odds Be in Your Favor


First of all, let us define insurance. It is the transfer of risk–from you to the insurance company. Insurance is there to help you lessen the burden of something catastrophic that you hope will never happen, but there is a chance.

I now hesitate to move on because the sheer mention of this phrase might cause some people to get on their political soapboxes, but it must be done. Health insurance–there, I said it.

This post is NOT about the right or wrong way to give everybody access to health care. This is about the importance of having health insurance and why YOU and YOUR FAMILY need it.

There are very, very few of us that will make it through life without getting sick or injured. In many cases, when we experience one of those misfortunes, we are able to wait out the problem and treat only the symptoms. However, there are times when we need the help of a trained physician (a doctor), and in some extreme cases, we need around-the-clock care (in a hospital). For reasons that we are not going to discuss here, both of these options can be very costly and can even totally financially devastate an individual or a family.

Author’s note so there are no surprises–I’m going to be using “financially devastating” in some form or other for the next few weeks. Be prepared.

Studies have shown that when faced with an illness or injury that needs expert attention, those who do not have health insurance do not seek help as early as they should. This results in MORE costs and MORE discomfort in the long run.

Having insurance makes sure that the insured–the person paying for the insurance–is not left to pay for the entire cost of a devastating event on his or her own. The most important assets you can insure are:

1. YOU, and
2. YOUR HEALTH.

You only get one YOU. Make sure your YOU is properly protected.

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