Risk and the Necessity of Instant Term Life Insurance

Modern life is a risky proposition. Risk is a key facet of modernity. In contrast with fatalism or the concept of chance in traditional societies, the concept of risk is a calculable and discrete concept. We measure risk by comparing it with measurable and calculable returns – which make the risks acceptable or “good.” When risks are enormous, threatening the security of expected returns, we establish the grounds for “good risk” and approximate as well as calculate to the nearest margin our optimal gains and our minimal loss from the risk.

An insurance policy is one of the mechanisms that are usually availed of to secure risky propositions. In this case, if we lose, the insurance policy covers the value that has been lost to risk plus earnings. It is just that in a life insurance, it is our very life and limb that have been risked. The loss, if only to mention it, would be incalculable and, thus, uncoverable since in truth and in fact, we have risked not only ourselves but the lives and futures of each and everyone of our family members. But the insurance policy would cover what would have been planned financially for your family and your loved ones had you survived the risk.

If life would be totally predictable and subject to planning, then there would be no need for an insurance policy – or the insurance system itself, there being absolutely very minimal risk involved in life. But life especially in these modern times is subject to rapid and very highly unpredictable dangers. Our society, therefore, as a philosopher once said, is a high risk society. And in high risk societies, the insurance system is a necessity. A high risk society creates a very highly competitive market for risk-undertakers, the insurance companies and the intense competition establishes the conditions for cheap life insurance offers, and options. Agents fill the air with their options of cheap life insurance rates and quotes, providing a rich variety of choices for the risk-taker.

Of these offers in the market, there is one which offers minimal opportunity costs for the same risk-coverage. This is the instant term life insurance option where the risk-taker could take out a policy virtually at the same time it is applied for. There is no physical or medical exam to be undergone as a prerequisite. There are no interminable line of questions about current and past illnesses and complaints to go through. And best of all, there is a minimal number of forms to fill out – and never in quadruplicate, as many companies require as though the more forms you fill out, the better would be your insurance coverage. The life insurance no exam option is an example of the instant term life insurance as the medical exam is really the one tedious and burdensome requirement in most insurance application procedures. This sometimes takes a few days, with the tests being done on one day, the results retrieved the next day, and the interpretations and recommendations to the insurance company submitted by the accredited physician within the next few days. The time involved almost always pushes the high-risk business person away from any plans of coverage even if he may have entertained getting one initially – the risk of missing out on a lucrative transaction while on medical exam sometimes is too much.

The business risk taker, thus, tries to go for the instant policy because opportunity-costs considered, it would be the cheapest option on the table. If he loses his proposition, the future of his family is covered financially. If he wins, he gains big by cashing in on the insurance policy at the end of the period of coverage, collecting accumulated premiums and earnings on the policy. A person who doesn’t cover his risks by taking out an insurance policy is a fool indeed. He is a mere chance taker, unrealistically testing his propositions in an uncertain world. He does not calculate the odds. He does not measure costs against benefits. He jumps into the sea without the protection of a life jacket. And he ultimately becomes the victim of his own lack of preparation, blown by the winds hither and thither without the lifeline that is a life insurance policy.