Chicken Little

We all heard the story of Chicken Little when we were young. The chicken running around exclaiming: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" It turned out not to be the case and Chicken Little was just creating unwarranted fear. Where is this going? Well, an insurance salesman came by today. It got me to thinking what a tough life that must be. Selling insurance which is essentially selling fear. They think and talk about every bad thing that could possibly happen to you and then try to develop a policy and a sales pitch that will get you to buy. Of course there are things they won't cover. Try buying a regular life insurance policy that would cover you for an act of war, declared or undeclared. Can't cover that, too many folks dying. Investors don't make money. Buy $100,000 dollars in life insurance and live 50 years paying premiums. In the 1950's that $10,000 policy seemed like plenty. Now, it gets you a funeral if you aren't too fancy about how you head off to your dirt nap. Today it was all about cancer. How much it costs and how high a percentage of the population get cancer. The treatments can be very expensive and the new drugs aren't covered by your standard health insurance policy because they are experimental. No need to fear cancer, we have a policy for that. Just give us $200 a month for the next twenty years and we will be sure you get the treatments you need. You must buy today because on September 1st we stop selling this policy because it pays to much in benefits and doesn't bring in enough in premiums. You will be okay because we will honor the policies we have written under the terms they were purchased. At the end of the 20 years we will return all your premiums you paid in even if you have claims. So figure in 20 years if I'm still around they will give me back my $48,000 in premiums paid. What will $48,000 buy in 20 years. A couple of happy meals at McDonald's and a weekend at Bernie's? Maybe I won't get cancer and won't need your policy. Maybe I will get cancer and I won't want treatment. We didn't buy.

It isn't about the number of years in you life it is about the amount of life in your years. They seem to think everyone wants quantity. I'm not afraid to die. I'm afraid to live beyond the time that I can enjoy life. That I go from being a useful citizen to being a burden on family and society. Would I do everything in my power to continue life even when it has no quality? My medical power of attorney says no. If I am unable to refuse treatment my designee's have the authority to do so for me when they determine based on my written directions that life does not have the quality needed for me to continue to participate in it. Chicken Little was right. The sky is falling. We don't know when or where or how and certainly why is far beyond our ability to comprehend. It will fall but it doesn't mean we have to run around in fear. There are thousands of ways to die and eventually one of them will befall each of us. So thanks Mr. Insurance, your policy is not necessary. Nothing to fear here.