While I Was Sleeping

We had a visitor yesterday evening here on the mountain. It was a young man that I had invited to come by and tell us what he had to offer in the way of a cancer insurance policy. We had one that we have been paying on since 2002, but the premiums had jumped from $53 a month to $136 in five years. That price hike didn't reflect any claims from us, because there were none. How ever being a survivor myself of cervical cancer and memories of my mothers death from cancer still pretty fresh in my mind, I truly feel the need for a cancer policy.

Our young insurance representative assured us that he would not sell us anything that we did not need and commented that a person can be insurance poor. If that isn't an understatement, I really don't know what is. That very thought has been rolling around in my mind for quite some time now. It started in October when we received notice from our insurance company in Louisiana that they could no longer write the type of policy that JD had for the house that he co-owns with my ex-wife-in-law. As a result they would have to write a different sort of policy that was going to end up costing us a little over 3 times as much as what we were already paying.

"COME ON PEOPLE...... WE ARE RETIRED HERE AND TRYING TO LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME!"

I went to work on that one right away and found that the wonderful people at The Hartford (through AARP) were more than happy to take care of our insurance woes not only at an acceptable premium, but offering more bang for the buck. It was at this point when I had them run quotes for our little home on the mountain, as well as for our vehicles. Again they were able to offer us more benefits for less money on everything. Right about now, I would be thumbing my nose at Allstate.

Okey Dokey, I need to get back on track with this story. I started thinking about how insurance has taken over our lives, not to mention our incomes. We no longer have just life insurance, stay with me here because I am going to start a list of the many kinds of insurances that I can think of and there will probably be many that I don't think of:

• Life


• Burial


• Dental


• Eye


• Health


• Prescription


• Cancer


• Stroke


• Heart Attack


• Home Owners


• Renters


• Accident


• Automobile


• Malpractice


• Valuable processions


• Don't forget those valuable body parts (Hands and Legs)

They even have Pet Health Insurance and Pet Accident Insurance now to take care of Fido and Fluffy's needs!

When did this happen? I remember when I was small, my mother taking me to the Dr. and before we left she would open her purse and take out a few dollars and pay for the office call. We seldom went to the drug store because the Dr. usually dispensed his own medication. At what point in time did it become necessary to have insurance to pay for the Dr. and medications that he or she prescribes? One thing is certain, without the insurance, the days of opening your purse and paying a few dollars for the office call and medication is a thing of the past. Even with the insurance coverage it is getting more and more difficult to afford health care. The cost of the premiums are increasing on an annual basis, while the benefits are decreasing. I for one, see something seriously wrong with this picture.

I ask again when did this happen? As I sit here drinking my morning coffee I will continue to ponder that question and see if I can come up with the answer. For right now though I would just have to say it must have happened while I was sleeping!

Mental note to Jo: Sleep with one eye open in the future.