[jowea]

> This is only useful for a consumer if they cannot access cash or a credit line to pay for a sudden large expense.

Isn't that the main point of insurance?

Insurance can also socially redistribute bad things. Which fair enough it is in practice a result of insurance but I don't think that's what it was invented for. And indeed the better the insurer's crystal ball the smaller this effect is.

Although in practice I don't think there ever will be a crystal ball good enough to make insurance a bad deal for everyone like that. You always have to insure against another driver being bad or just plain bad luck.

[garaetjjte]

>Isn't that the main point of insurance?

No, insurance claim can be larger than sum of lifetime premiums, contrary to credit.

[brewdad]

Again, that’s the point of insurance. Most of us will pay more in premiums than we ever get paid in claims. A few of us will avoid bankruptcy because insurance will pay out a claim we can’t otherwise afford either through cash or any line of credit we could get.

The trick is no one can know which side of the ledger we’ll fall on. You can be the world’s safest and best driver and still get t-boned by a driver with no assets and no insurance.