Are you an insurance junkie?

Rifle through my drawers (if you pardon the expression) and I’m pretty sure you will not find a single extended warranty. I have no critical illness cover, the most basic level of contents insurance possible, and only got round to sorting out some cheap life insurance last year after much nagging from Boyfriend.

I just don’t see the point.

I read once that the secret to insurance is to only insure for events that you couldn’t afford to cover yourself if they happened. Life insurance then makes sense – I couldn’t afford to leave enough money to take care of my children if I died, so I insure against it.

A toaster though? I’m pretty sure I could stretch to one of those if the worst happens. If I dropped my laptop and smashed it into a million pieces it would be terrible, but I could afford to buy another one, so I don’t need any fancy personal appliance protection.

I also resent the way more and more companies try to sneak ‘cheap’ insurance options onto purchases. £2 to insure a train ticket might not seem like a lot, but have you looked at the process and criteria you’d need to meet to claim back against it? Airlines are just as bad.

Breakdown cover from the AA mind you is a different matter. Ever since I first learnt to drive I have always had breakdown cover. I don’t think my Grandad would have let me on the road without it. (He was a very sensible man).

I was talking to a friend about it the other day and saying how of all the ‘extras’ that companies try to sell us, it’s the one thing I wouldn’t do without. When I was at university I drove a 100 mile round trip every day to lectures, leaving baby Bee at home with my family. I had an old B-reg VW Golf and had absolutely no money to maintain it. (Even if I had been able to afford it, can you imagine, knowing about the satsuma incident, that I would have been bothered?)

One year I called the AA out six times on my £39 a year (at the time) basic policy. Can you imagine how much that would have cost me otherwise? I basically wouldn’t have my degree now if it wasn’t for the AA.

Breakdown cover though isn’t just about the money, it’s about knowing that if you do find yourself stranded on the side of the motorway that there is someone on the other end of the phone ready to come and rescue you, that you won’t have to just sit on the embankment sobbing quietly to yourself, not knowing what to do. That thought for me is definitely worth paying for.

What’s your attitude to insurance? Are you a risk taker or do you insure against everything?