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I am convinced that insurance is one of the most misunderstood things both by Christian's and non Christians alike that we deal with.

For one thing it is possible to have insurance of almost all kinds for very unselfish reasons. In fact you can not have insurance coverage for very selfish reasons. In some cases not to have insurance coverage could be considered just plain irresponsible and not really caring about those you may be responsible for and to.

Appleman, you're right. While I do lean toward the "no insurance" position, I'm convinced that many of our people don't give as much thought as they should to minimizing risk of liability in our everyday lives. It's like we think "God will take care of us" and so we disregard basic proven safety precautions in order to "get more done."
If we are going to fore-go insurance, we should give some thought to the potential liability of the businesses we engage in, etc. and have at least a basic idea how we intent to fairly compensate others who may be harmed by our activities.

What about a person who has no dependents? I have no one who looks to me for support financially.

Do you have anyone that would come to your aid if a serious situation arose?

Joy wrote:What about a person who has no dependents? I have no one who looks to me for support financially.

Having no direct dependents certainly limits some of the unselfish reasons there may be for having insurance. Also not having any loans or mortgages especially those where the value of your possession might just barely cover the amount of the loan. Outside of just having bought a house or having a business or car loan that is rare these days.

The only other form of insurance that it may be necessary for you to have that I can think of right now is some form of liability insurance. BTW liability insurance is something that I think many mutual church plans have really dropped the ball on.

Someone earlier mentioned the need for being extra cautious in all your activities if you are uninsured. I think this is a good practice for Christians whether you are insured or not. Taking reckless chances that put other people at risk is never a good idea. But let us be honest. Even the most careful and cautious among us at times makes mistakes. The thing is that 95 % of the time and maybe even oftener we get away with it and no one gets hurt.

But think about it. If you caused an accident that made it impossible for a father of six to support his family. Are you in a position to pay the millions of dollars it would take to ensure that that family's lifestyle does not have to change because of your one time carelessness. And millions is not out of line at all in today's economy.

I know of a few cases where people have caused accidents like this where there was no liability coverage. In one case the person's pay cheque will be reduced for life and a portion will go to the hurting party but it would of still been much less than the person would of really received or earned and now somebody out there is dependent on a person he does not know at all for a good portion of their income for the rest of his life. Situations like this leave a very poor testimony to society at large IMO. Obviously what you do makes a big difference as to your need for this type of insurance. If you own property it should perhaps be considered and of course if you drive it may be law.

To insure or not to insure Some of this has been taken out of our hands by government. Last count, 48 out of 50 states legally require vehicle insurance. Wisconsin and New Hampshire have a different set of legal requirements but it's tantamount to the same thing.

Can we trust in God alone while "rendering into Caesar"? Personally I think we can but that's just my opinion. I don't think we need to carry as much insurance as is promoted by the industry because their motive is for higher commissions.

At the end of the day, our days are numbered: we're all mortal. Planes still crash, cars still crash, space debris still crashes and falls in populated areas. The elements of unpredictability will always be with us. Only God is unchanging and all knowing. We still need to have the reflexes to duck when something goes awry.

MaxPC wrote:To insure or not to insure Some of this has been taken out of our hands by government. Last count, 48 out of 50 states legally require vehicle insurance. Wisconsin and New Hampshire have a different set of legal requirements but it's tantamount to the same thing.

A number of other states, PA included, allow for alternatives. The officials in Delaware have kindly explained to some of our conservative brethren that there is one religious group in the state who are not required to carry insurance on their vehicles. They say they do not require liability insurance for horse-drawn vehicles.

And that is fine. However I know of a few cases in our area where people were severely insured from hitting a run away horse. In one case it changed the life of a good friend of mine very significantly forever. In her case she was fortunate to have a very good insurance policy that has supported her and the on going treatment she has needed for years.
Insurance coverage for severe car accidents has really changed here in Ontario since that time and today if something like that were to happen it would probably fall back on the horse's owner to be responsible for paying. In this case if you add up all the medical costs as well as her on going living expenses it would of already been in the millions with no end in sight for possibly years to come.

appleman2006 wrote:

Joy wrote:What about a person who has no dependents? I have no one who looks to me for support financially.

Having no direct dependents certainly limits some of the unselfish reasons there may be for having insurance. Also not having any loans or mortgages especially those where the value of your possession might just barely cover the amount of the loan. Outside of just having bought a house or having a business or car loan that is rare these days.

The only other form of insurance that it may be necessary for you to have that I can think of right now is some form of liability insurance. BTW liability insurance is something that I think many mutual church plans have really dropped the ball on.

Someone earlier mentioned the need for being extra cautious in all your activities if you are uninsured. I think this is a good practice for Christians whether you are insured or not. Taking reckless chances that put other people at risk is never a good idea. But let us be honest. Even the most careful and cautious among us at times makes mistakes. The thing is that 95 % of the time and maybe even oftener we get away with it and no one gets hurt.

But think about it. If you caused an accident that made it impossible for a father of six to support his family. Are you in a position to pay the millions of dollars it would take to ensure that that family's lifestyle does not have to change because of your one time carelessness. And millions is not out of line at all in today's economy.

I know of a few cases where people have caused accidents like this where there was no liability coverage. In one case the person's pay cheque will be reduced for life and a portion will go to the hurting party but it would of still been much less than the person would of really received or earned and now somebody out there is dependent on a person he does not know at all for a good portion of their income for the rest of his life. Situations like this leave a very poor testimony to society at large IMO. Obviously what you do makes a big difference as to your need for this type of insurance. If you own property it should perhaps be considered and of course if you drive it may be law.

No, I have no children, own no property [real estate], owe no loans. Of course I have car insurance--liability, etc.
It helps that my dad taught by example to pray before every car trip, as well as other types. God has blessed this example. "Cover ... in prayer" was an oft-repeated maxim around our house. So it's automatic to pray that I will drive carefully and keep all the laws, and that He keep me safe, and those around me.

We have auto insurance as required by law, and use the congregational health assistance group to satisfy the legal requirement for health insurance here in the USA. (While we were members of Wycliffe Bible Translators, we were required to participate in the mission health sharing fund, and never had any qualms about doing that, either.) What I have always stayed away from is life insurance. But at the same time, I do not criticize those who have chosen to participate.