Editor’s note: This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.
Okay. Strictly speaking neither Batman, nor Jabba the Hutt need to have life insurance.
It is not what you think: they don’t need life insurance not because they are fictional charters: this only making me feel a bit weird discussing this.
Batman doesn’t need life insurance because he is wealthy enough so that if something goes wrong all his affairs can be put in order.
Jabba the Hutt may not be as obviously wealthy as Batman. In Jabba’s case, the important matter is that he has no apparent dependents. (Thinking about it, I’m not sure Batman did have dependents either.)
So, here is the thing:
To decide whether or not you need to take out life insurance, ask these two questions (in order).
Question 1: Do you have any dependents that will outlive you?
If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, you’d need to tackle the next one. If, on the other hand, your answer is ‘no’ you can ignore the next question – you don’t need to bother with life insurance.
Question 2: Are you wealthy enough so that all your liabilities (and responsibilities) can be covered if something is to happen to you?
If your answer to this question is ‘yes’, you can continue living your life. If you answer ‘no’, please do me a favour and take out life insurance promptly.
Simples!
Let’s, for the sake of argument, assume that both Batman and Jabba the Hutt have five children and a wife each, and have enough money to survive till the next pay day but not much more.
This means, they’d need to take out life insurance. Who will get a better one: Batman or Jabba?
If you thought ‘Jabba’ you got this really wrong.
Jabba the Hutt doesn’t take as much risk as Batman, this is true. While Batman fights for good and justice, Jabba does little but sit around; he eats, drinks, pull on the chain of his latest slave and enjoys rough entertainment.
Still Batman is likely to be able to get much better insurance than Jabba because the premium you pay doesn’t so much depend on the external risks you are exposed to as on the condition you are in.
Batman takes risks but he is lean, fit and physically competent. He exercises to maintain his strength, agility and focus. Jabba, on the other hand, is an overblown, undefined mass of flash. And with all the drinking, smoking and other indulgencies his blood pressure is unlikely to be very healthy.
Have felt like Jabba when taking out life insurance?
I have. I remember when the insurance company send a nurse to take my blood pressure and she said:
“Ummm; it’s rather high.”
Short sentence, right? This sentence on the report form almost doubled my insurance premium.
Probably many of us have been penalised because of conditions that can be remedied with change of lifestyle. After all, many of us, including me, over-eat, over-drink and under-exercise.
Thing is, the penalty – increase of premium – did little to make me change my life style. I just accepted, I suppose.
Lately, insurance companies have started rewarding people for adopting healthier lifestyles. I’d tell you to go and play around with the Vitality Age Calculator, except that I just had the shock of my day – according to this, I’m over 60 years old.
And I’m not than ancient by any stretch of imagination but have reached ab age where this estimate stops being ridiculous: it was painful. I suppose, I could bring this down by losing a bit of weight and gaining a bit of muscle.
In other words, I’ll need to become less like Jabba the Hutt and a bit more like Batman. Or even Catwoman, if you prefer but the message is clear: if I wish to save on life insurance by reducing my premium I should start doing exactly the opposite to what I do now.
Instead of over-eating and under-exercising, I should start eating less, eating right and exercising again.
Confession time: Are you Batman or Jabba the Hutt? Do you think that being rewarded for adopting a healthier life style by insurance companies can make you change?
Editor’s note: I received compensation in exchange for writing this blog article. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.
photo credit: Andy Kuhn Batman via photopin (license)