Risk Tolerance
When you drop behind the wheel of an automobile, invariably, one of the first steps you take is to fasten your seat belt. Besides obeying the laws, have you ever stopped for a moment to consider what you are actually doing with the brief action of buckling yourself into a car?
In short, it's merely just the action of clicking two mechanical devices together. But it's those mechanical devices you are entrusting with your physical safety and potentially your life. This is a voluntary action you are performing to add protection to your own welfare.
Consider what insurance does for us, using this same concept? In the case of insuring a product, we're using the forethought of spending a small sum of money to protect a possession we consider of greater value to us than that sum. Whether it's a hearing aid, a house, or a cellphone, simply put, insurance is a way for us to moderate or even tolerate the risk of losing a possession.
As we sit behind the wheel of an automobile, we are showing our confidence in our ability to operate an automobile; each time we willingly strap ourselves behind the wheel, we are re-establishing trust in the protective device and, in turn, protecting ourselves from risk. We are then more tolerant of the potential "worst-case scenarios."
Risk tolerance is all about trust. Can we trust the uncontrollable outcome of life any less than we trust the stability of our financial resources or our capacity to manage any unforeseen circumstances?
We rise each morning with the hope that our lives have changed only as much as we can realign with.
Just this idea shows how vulnerable we really are to trust, especially while so many of us are witnessing profound and dynamic changes to our lives each day. Good or bad, all change requires a new way to trust that the outcome will be within our capacity to withstand both financially and emotionally.
Ensuring our houses, cars, and cellphones are protected against loss helps us focus our attention on those things we can't protect with insurance. It's as simple as that.