Risk--From Podcast #1

Risk

by Lewis Gillham aka "The Harley Dude"

The first chapter in the MSF handbook is about risk – making the point that every human activity involves it, and that awareness of it is the first step in managing it.When I read that, I wasn’t sure if the point was “watch out,” or “don’t worry.” It’s probably somewhere between the two. Calculating risks is what insurance companies do – at the level of high science.That’s the difference, someone once explained to me, between insurance and socialism. The later says, “whatever happens, we’ll take care of you.” Maybe at the cost of some freedom, some choice, some quality – but always and everywhere. The former says, “freedom involves risk; risk is a gamble; gambling involves odds; we know the odds,” and so should you.As I listened to Diane __________ talk about the scenario in which a customer expects a level of coverage he didn’t pay for, this came to mind.Ever notice how seldom people talk about “buying” insurance? Instead we hear people say they “take it out,” like a loan, I guess, or maybe like a date. Or that they “have” insurance, which makes it sound like a vital sign. Or that they’re “covered,” as if by a warm blanket. A security blanket.And there is a sense of security that comes with the policy. But it’s not therapy. It’s a product.When you buy it, you enter the game of chance of weighing the odds you’ll need it against the odds you won’t.And there are, let’s be honest, some people at one extreme who decide that the best way to play these odds is not to ante up at all. It’s the “catch-me-if-you-can” mentality that says, “well, I haven’t had a crash yet.” Not all these people take that stance because of being unlicensed or undocumented.A few years ago, I was rear-ended by a native-born citizen who got out of his car, produced his license, admitted fault, and then said, “But I don’t have any insurance.” I called the police, reported the accident and the statement. The dispatcher asked if anybody was hurt. Not really. So she told me to officers would be out to the scene. So much, I thought, for the threats in the DMV manual about all that can happen if you don’t carry liability insurance.I had, and still have, the insured motorist coverage we talked about earlier in the show. I used it, of course. No deductible. End of story.I don’t know what happened to the guy who clipped me. To be honest, I really don’t care. Is it a major social justice issue that he didn’t pay out that $1200 a year, and I did – including, probably, ten or twenty bucks to cover an incident with a guy like him? Not to me.Having bought the coverage, I made my gamble, and that one paid off. Just like the gamble I take that, sooner or later, a rock will hit my windshield, so comprehensive coverage is worth paying out for.Just like the gamble I take that, sooner or later, a rock will hit my face shield, so I flip it down on when riding on country roads. One did yesterday.We all talk about the inherent sense of freedom that comes with riding. But is it freedom to, or freedom from?For me, it’s freedom to. To feel the wind, the road, the magic/scientific forces of the gyroscope and the centrifuge. Freedom from is a slippery slope. “Freedom from” always seems followed by some word or other that ends up meaning responsibility.And if I wanted freedom from responsibility, I wouldn’t ride at all. Nor would I want insurance; I’d want socialism. If I wanted socialism, I’d be opting out of freedom. As the old saying goes, ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer choice.