Insurance

Just a light topic I thought would make for good discussion.

These days you can insure almost anything from the obvious like your house or car; to your phone and laptop; central heating/boiler; appliances like washing machine, fridge or oven; and even clothes and shoes.

I am wondering what sort of things people choose to insure and why?

I am of the opinion that insurance companies exist to make money, so on average, you will lose out by buying insurance and are better off putting the money into an emergency savings account and using that money to get things repaired or replaced.

Exceptions to the rule are the car - a legal requirement, and the house, as we couldn’t afford to replace that!! I think if I was in work I would also have some sort of insurance for my salary against getting injured or long term sick, especially if I was self employed or in certain jobs. Again this is because I couldn’t afford to “replace” that (I don’t have several weeks/months of earnings saved up).

I think the general rule for me is: if I can afford to replace it, it doesn’t get insured. If I couldn’t afford to replace it, I insure it.

However that is just my opinion and I am wondering what others do and why.