10.22.15 -- $8,447. That’s what I’m paying for home, car and health insurance this year. And I've got no choice. You need insurance to register a car, you need it for your home if you have a mortgage, and you need it for healthcare because it’s the law.

Hurricane Wilma aftermath

But when Hurricane Wilma damaged my roof in 2005, it took four years and arbitration for the state-run “insurer of last resort,” Citizens to finally pay up. My car insurer, Geico, just raised my rates 10 percent for no apparent reason, seeing how I haven’t had a claim in 30 years.  And with healthcare, you wind up paying for insurance and then paying for the service, too. My wife Nora went to an ophthalmologist recently after experiencing floaters in her eyes. The doc charged $500 to run two tests and tell her it was a harmless part of aging. A Blue Cross provider strong-armed him into offering a $254.86 discount and

Such a deal!

paid off $132.65 of it, sticking us with the other $112.49. Then they had the audacity to proclaim on the statement: “You saved $387.51.”
    Truth is, there is no insurance in life. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. You can't safeguard what you have. It could all be gone tomorrow, with or without insurance. The industry taps into our fears, stacking the odds to convince us to bet against ourselves. But all we're buying is a false sense of security. Life simply isn't designed to be insured. It's designed to be a trial-and-error process, a series of peaks and valleys that fashion the strongest, most adaptable individual possible. The best insurance, I believe, is taking good care of your body. That's why I eat sensibly, exercise regularly and do whatever else it takes to avoid dealing with insurance companies. But it still costs me $8,447 a year!