What Is Insurance?

You may not realize it, but every day of your life there is some sort of risk involved. Usually, we don't have the option of whether or not to take these risks. Consider these questions:

• What if your house burns down or floods?
• What if you get into an accident?
• What if you suddenly become very ill?

The chances of these things happening seem low, but they do happen. That's why people purchase insurance. With insurance, a large group of people pay a company a little bit of money on a regular basis, so that if something unexpected happens to one of the people, the company will financially compensate the person for their loss. In this way, insurance is just a risk management strategy- much like putting on a helmet when riding a bike or buckling your seatbelt in a car.

Essential Question

• What types of insurance do you really need?