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10 Nov 2008

What's the Big Deal about Insurance?


Since I started living abroad, my bank or other marketers have tried to sell insurance to me and each time I refuse to buy. Just today I received a call from my bank trying to sell me an accident insurance policy. The lady went on and on about how if I was involved in an accident, they will cover my hospital bill blah blah. She listed so many benefits. All I had to do was sign up and pay £9.95 monthly. As she was talking of different kinds of accidents and disabilities that might happen as a result of the accidents, I began to bind and cast. In my head I kept saying "I rebuke it in Jesus name". Now to be sincere, am not quiet sure if it was an act of fear or faith. Can I say it was a combination of both. Is that possible?? But you know how we Nigerians/Africans are quick to bind and cast.


In the UK, it is compulsory to insure your car. I doubt that a lot of Nigerians at home have insurance for their cars. Makes me wonder how the insurance companies in Nigeria survive. We were not brought up to pay ahead against any ill fates that might occur. Isn't that what insurance is about. Pay upfront such that if anything bad happens you are covered ? Instead we see prayer has our insurance. Even if accidents or theft happen, we see it as part of life and move on.

After today's call with the lady marketer (we spent 12 minutes on the call going back and forth on top this insurance, she try sha), I asked myself why I refused to be accident insured. The only answer I could come up with was to quote the scripture that the Lord is watching over me and that no harm will befall me. Besides parting with £9.95 monthly?? Kilode, but why?



So share with us, what do you think about getting insurance. Is there a type of insurance you can take but some you won't e.g home insurance such that you are covered in the case of theft, but not accident insurance? What about Life Insurance? Do you see insurance as an investment? Do you think it is foolish not to be insured or should we continue quoting scriptures and pleading the blood of Jesus to protect us from all evil?


I leave the floor open to you...


*picture taken from static.seekingalpha.com/.../thumb-Insurance.jpg

42 comments:

  1. the regular car insurance is enough for me.
    if you're married with kids, its a good idea to get life insurance. apart from that, ..oh, and health insurance too!

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  2. ....but, for the compulsion of car insurance; 'tis a no-no for me. A rip-off i see it rather than an investment.

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  3. Hmm...It depends on one's attitude to risk I guess.

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  4. bumight- health insurance yah, i think some companies do provide that which is good enuff! yah i think life insurance is good especially like u said when one is married with kids

    rethots- rip off abi? LOL...make una collect life insurance when u marry o..lol

    naijalines- hmm thats another angle i didn't think of...so for people like me that are risk averse, insurance no no?

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  5. Reminds me I have this insurance with AIG but I heard they went down a while back I wonder what becomes of my insurance,

    They are just withdrawing money each month.

    Like you said it;s a Naija thing not to think of insurance but it is good especially when you have family dependants

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  6. Guess there's no right or wrong answer -- had this economics prof who's pet peeve is analyzing ppl's risk tolerance..

    I had a really serious car crash way back and i got a substantial sum back -- only because I had comprehensive insurance.. Guess for me its more a case of looking at what the costs of insurance are versus the do-nothing case and then asking the question can i afford the insurance.....

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  7. Hmmm two of my friends had their car stolen in naija...thankfully both of them had the stolen cars insured...they were able to get a substantial amount off the insurance coys as down payment for their new cars... personally,If I can afford to take the money out of my account monthly without it creating a dent in my account, why not...but the policy/deal has to be tight o! cos I'll squeeze every benefit out of it...I can't shout!!!

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  8. Nigeria requires you to have at least some kind of Insurance. If you get stopped by the police and you don't have insurance it can be wahala. But i guess the police hardly asks for insurance. I know when my parents and I do road trips, within Nigeria or to neighboring countries, my dad makes sure our insurance is updated.

    Now all types of Insurance is necessary (except pet health insurance which is just silly ,)because of the unseen, to be binding and casting without insuring is just plain silly i think....no offense. Now do i have Life insurance...no...i don't make enough to have life insurance but when i do have a family and children, i would

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  9. I heard JLO has her butt insured. I don't know if it's true...or how the insurance works. R they gonna replace her butt if something happens 2 it???

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  10. Insurance...i think you'd be wrong to think that insurance is not a big issue here at home...okay, not just 'insurance'...CAR INSURANCE. The 'government' is a little strict on that. If you ever are bold to drive out without your insurance papers, then you are thinking of tipping LASMA or the POLICE or the FRSC.
    In fact, they've made it so easy to get a vehicle insurance by registering online autoreg dot something.

    Anyways, I have spent pretty much of my life in Nigeria, I could be wrong about my opinions but I think the whole idea of insurance is nice and all, but I think about the subtlety of which insurance companies use to chop your money.
    LIFE INSURANCE...AH! That's robbery. lol

    But well, I think I leave some things to the spiritual. Accident insurance... against what? What's God's protection for? These are some of the things that make mixing 'living' and 'faith' challenging. I mean, following Kingdom principles, 'INSURANCE' is 'DOUBTING'...but on the other hand... one could be thoughtful about giving to Caesar what is his.
    No, I mean, why should I 'donate' money monthly...waiting for the day my house will burn...so that my money will make sense?

    well...

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  11. I hate to hear that word 'insure' in d naija context cos it makes me sick. its just an avenue of making money jo. What r u insuring in naija where d system doesnt work. You'll hav to pray hard to get your claims sorted out after their arbitrary depreciation calculation.

    abegi, am not interested!

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  12. @aloted
    You don come again with your funny storie. I couldn't stop laughing. In jesus name, I rebuke accident and all that palava. I love that strategy.

    Getting a car insurance is a must in the states.

    I would recommend you get health isurance. The cost of healthcare could be expensive. Insure your phone, incase you loose one or it falls into the toilet/bath as Oyinbo would say.

    Insuring your house abroad is hight reasonable. What if? God forbid you have a fire emergency. I know, I know ...God forbid.

    Don't worry about all the other useless insurance.

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  13. It was in those days that Nigerians don't have insurance, these days a lot of educated Nigerians especially the ones with very expensive cars have car insurance and a lot of people also have health insurance...i would buy the two, they make sense. What puts one off is when the insurance company refuses to pay claims...e.g we had a car stolen and it looks like we will never be paid..not all of them are like that though!

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  14. Majority of nigerians do not have insurance nd most couldnt care less.my mum insures all her properties(wonder if the companies r still functioning). she also has life insurance.i think u shud go for health insurance tho.

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  15. I agree with the insurance thing. I tok a course in insurance in my first yr. INS 101 and i got to learn a lot abt how necessary it is. It guarantees peace of mind. It's like a necessary gamble in which u might win (if you actually have the accident and get paid) or lose (if u keep paying the premium and never get involved in accidents and the likes). Anyway sha, it's worth it. Just bone make u pay the $9.95. U're covered in Jesus name.

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  16. I think it's important in that part of the world, at home, we can get away with a lot of things, BUT, my family friend insured his brand new car, and it got rammed by a horse! anyways, Insurance covered the fixing and it was as good as buying a new car........So i say, read btw the fine lines, because they'll tell you anything just to sell it to you and get insured.

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  17. As she was talking of different kinds of accidents and disabilities that might happen as a result of the accidents, I began to bind and cast. In my head I kept saying "I rebuke it in Jesus name".

    Couldn't help laughing as I read this part. Have no fear Psalm 121: 5-8 has you covered. The power that we have over all things lie in our faith and walk with God.

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  18. Aww thanks guys for all your comments... was going to reply to every comment but work has been CRAZY this week.

    Ehn hen, I loved all your comments.. my eyes are opened now o...need to check with my hubby with insurance we get o...lol. I think i have some health insurance with the office though..It is well!

    Can somebody please answer Vera's questions cuz me i dunno o!

    YNB and ~Sirus~- you dey laff at me abi..lol...
    ~Sirus~ thanks for that bible verse..I am covered indeed!!!

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  19. We just has to choose insurance that we feel we need.

    Car insurance, health insurance, if theres on 4 Optical stuff... those r my picks. & home insurance whem I have my own house.

    Its now compulsory to have car insurance in 9ja.
    My company has health insurance 4 all their staff.

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  20. seyi say una two get appointment dis sunday o'
    BTW na only mii get d insurance wey fit cover u 4rm her 'hands' :p

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  21. hehehehe madam LG!!!! abeg o..make una tell Seyi make she no vex o...hehehehe..i no fit...

    and if necessary..i go beg and collect that insurance from u...

    meanwhile...wetin do your comment page sef??

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  22. i think car insurance, health and life insurance are very important...depending on where u live, flood insurance might also be useful. if the insurance companies paid people on time and stopped asking for ridiculous deductibles maybe people would be more open to homeowners, pet, rental and all the other fancy types of insurance we have these days...
    as a typical nigerian though, the only things i ever insured was my car and health.

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  23. If u can afford to let go of the premium whenever its due..then it doesn't hurt,cos u get ur money at the end of the run..got a life insurance running and each time i pay the premium..i tell myself..am saving...i suppose thats cos am too optimistic to think i might need it before its due..lol

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  24. I can't say I have a personal interest insurance just yet because most of the time I seem to agree with the "Nigerian" mindset. And it could be because I'm in still in school, dependent and have no assets of huge value to protect. So you can go for insurance but not for petty stuff. The idea of life insurance just seems crazy though, SO if you die they have money to bury you? Naive, I know... but just thinking

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  25. actually, car insurance is compulsory in naija. wen d police @ check-points demand 4 d insurance papers 4rm motorists. d thing is dat most do third-party insurance cos it's cheapest. life insurance is d one dat is very unpopular in naija. wen i mentioned it 2 MM, he was like 'whatever for', & believe me my husband isn't ur typical naija man so i was a lot surprised. i did take out d life assurance sha, but dat was cos it was going to reduce d amt i paid in tax. wen we start having children, am really going to insist MM gets a life assurance - 4 d sake of d kids. it's not dat we r praying 4 something bad 2 happen, but u just want to sure u r protected against d future n case something does happen

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  26. insurance is good i guess :) we're christians with wisdom :) we walk in faith and nothing will happen to us :) but i guess there's nothin wrong with taking out insurance, i dont know haven't really thought about it.

    i know i walk in perfect health though and so does my family and my kids that are to come..that i know for sure. His Words are Life to my bones.

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  27. i guess its a personal take on this, also had those accident people call me and i was like 'I really pray not'...lol...

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  28. aloted i saw this pick and read accident insurance and remembered that i forgot to get some for skydiving in america...i cannot believe i took such a risk in a country with no national health care system

    in england you don't really need it...accident wise...we have the NHS...

    it comes down to risk...probability x consequence...if the product of that equation is high...mitigate it...if you cannot...then one's only option really is contingency... get insurance

    Insure things you that if they lost or broken...you'd like to replace with little addition outlay...

    but remember that the sentimental things...in life...like life...can never be replaced once gone...

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  29. i 2nd bumight - folks with kids should get life insurance...but don't tell your husband...(even take out some life insurance on him and still don't tell him!)

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  30. i got home, life/health, car insurance, etc, etc. it's good to be insured but like u said, it is not part of our culture back home. i believe that may be because the Nigerian system simply doesn't work - we have been brought up to cut corners every single way. so when u buy a car, u simply arrange some sort of one-off insurance document that you need in case olopa tries to bite u too much! casting and binding is okay, i mean it seems to work for us shey? still i believe if the Good Lord could speak to each and everyone of us, He would tell us to use verything he has placed at our disposal to help ourselves and these include - u gat it- insurance and other 'worldly' stuff we cringe from spending money on :)

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  31. shubby doo- i dont get o..lol...take life insurance and not tell hubby?? but why...lol

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  32. once again thank u all for your wonderful comments..so sorry i cant reply individually on this occasion. promise not to make a habit of this!

    :)

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  33. Lol @ the pic.

    @ vera..yup, her ass is insured..how that works, i have no freaking idea!

    @ aloted..well, after many opinions n thinking on ur part, what have u decided?

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  34. yeah...i'd insure everything sef...
    just need a really insurance guy to sell it to me

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  35. Having insurance doesnt mean you dont belive in God's power to keep you safe and free from trouble, its just the same as we go to work to earn money even though we know 'God always provides' that doesnt mean we dont trust him to provide.
    if you have a family life insurance is vital
    If you are a foreigner living abroad and you want to be buried in your home country, a funeral policy is a must, no one has the £5000 and above needed to transport your dead ass back to africa

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  36. before i start ..your post was quite funny..i think its good to have the insurance..u might park ur car and have someone ram it..it doesnt mean you dont trust God alot of things happen that are beyond our powers and knowledge so if putting aside some money for a while to take care of those instances will make life easier..why not.?
    hop u are good.? have afun weekend..peace...

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  37. Personally, i would take 3rd-party car ins cos its compulsory but because i also don't like to 'daran'; if it's my car, i'll spend my money to repair it which i figure should amount to about as much as i would have paid in insurance premiums but if the worst comes to the worst, i'll revert to leggedez and pt. health ins is alo good where there is no nhs. instead of life ins though, why not a trust fun for the kids and also let aprtner and kids know the assets u have and have a will that leaves them with the assets. at the end of the day, the possibility for any one individual is very low (especially so when they are covered by the blood of Jesus) which is the whole basis of the ins industry and how they are able to make profit. home ins not so nece in naija and as for contents, i can always buy back. abroad, where there are mostly 'ile pako', fire is a real risk so home ins makes sense too but as i'm renting, that's up to my landlor and as for the contents, i'm content to trust the care of them to God. if one starts insing everything, all ur sal will go.

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  38. men just reading all your comments definitely got me thinking...it's like a paradigm shift for me really..

    Bottom line..God has given us wisdom and we need to apply it on earth. I have learnt that insurance isn't soooo bad after all..

    thanks guys!

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  39. yeah insurance isn't bad, that's if the system works.

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  40. Insurance is important but my only hope is de pay it wen d time comes n not try to play d person.

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  41. Very funny...I have been musing about this for a while...Only my car is insured and dats becos its compulsory in the UK. I guess if I were living in the states, I will have health insurance but since I live in a welfare country, I have not bothered to go private although I have been adviced to get some private/BUPA kind of thing...Home, Life, anything else, girl, i keep saying no way/instant rebuke like urself! God help.
    When I'm married wt kids, I have a plan- save/invest the money for life insurance or anything else and if that thing never happens, spend the money if not, na my luck!

    This can change sha becos I went to the states for hols last week, 3days prior to that, I had persistent dreams about death, and in one dream, there was actually a plane crash so the nigerian/african/xtian religiousness in me started putting 2+2, like am travelling blah, blah, balh, so for whatever crazy thing, bought travel/accident insuarnce for £50, needless to say, turbulence happened on way back to london, but I got home safely (of course I had chantyed all the psalms in the bible at a speed and alacrity that must have made David proud).
    SO should I have paid that money or not? Thats how I see life insurance....until I know better

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I would love to know your thoughts :)