Ascent of Money 4 - Insurance - JM

John Mazziotti

Mr. Roddy

GPHC

April 28th, 2020

AOM 4 Insurance Blog

The fourth episode of ‘The Ascent of Money’ discussed the creation and rise of insurance. The main example of insurance in America that was shown in this episode is New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina. During Hurricane Katrina, many private insurers had coverage for floods caused by rain, but not for the storm surge and flood that was a result of the levee system. The result of this catastrophe not only destroyed many homes, but it also allowed the insurance companies to jump through a loophole that in this case caused many individuals to become financially unstable or even bankrupt. Furthermore, parts of New Orleans and coastal Mississippi that were hit hard by Katrina, are now considered by most insurance companies as “uninsurable”.

Insurance in my life whether it be health or car insurance is something that I’m very grateful to have. There’s a lot of ‘insurance inequality’ throughout the United States, and that’s mostly dependent on a person's financial situation. With my Dad being a surgeon and all, the hospital he works at provides very generous health insurance. If I were to go to a pharmacy to get some antibiotics for an ailment, I would only pay a fraction of what the average middle class citizen pays (which is slightly disturbing). However, as someone who is under 18, my car insurance has a very different story. The average monthly payment for my car insurance is ~$300, but it will drop to about half of what it costs now for when I turn 18 in May. Finally, my current residence is now Galveston, and ever since the coronavirus outbreak spiked in Texas, the rates are stunningly now only one quarter of what they cost previously.

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