Even Luck Needs a Little Help

With St. Patrick’s Day not far off, the notion of luck comes up in conversation quite a bit.

There are two types of people: The superstitious, and the ones who say “I don’t need luck. I’ve got [whatever secret weapon they put their confidence in] on my side!”

When it comes to insurance, it seems that many people are the other way around. They say “I don’t need insurance. Nothing is going to happen to me. In other words, “I’ve got luck on my side!” While we wish you a lot of luck, we also know that insurance is based on probability and statistical analysis.

I know. Boring.

But it is important to understand that while the risks we encounter every day are quantifiable, they are not quite as predictable as we would like to think they are. Maybe a claims adjuster can tell you the likelihood of this or that calamity from taking place given a set of variables. It’s just that we simply don’t know when they will occur.

Until they do.

This is what is meant by “you don’t need insurance until you do.” If we knew when calamities were going to occur, we’d bottle and sell that! Nor is insurance a talisman against misfortune, but if it were, even luck needs a little help. A common definition of luck is “When opportunity meets preparation” or some variation on that theme. More often than not though, when you find yourself needing a little luck, it is probably because that “opportunity” that has come your way is not something you were looking for.

And yet, there it is.

But were you prepared?

You can probably think of a time when you felt “luck” intervened on your behalf. The only reason it had to do so in the first place was likely because:

a) you were in no way prepared for whatever occurred
b) you were, but it did not make a difference, or
c) no amount of preparation could have made a difference

Years ago on ESPN during the highlight reel, when Michael Jordan would drain a three-pointer, the anchor would shout “You can’t stop him! You can only hope to contain him!” Life is kind of like Michael Jordan. Or maybe James Harden or Steph Curry now. In any case, you can’t stop him from doing what he came to do, but you can minimize his effect. Insurance, then, is whatever method of containment one employs to defend against a one-man wrecking crew on the court to keep the game from getting out of hand.

Be that as it may, Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Should future events catch you unprepared, we know you will feel lucky you decided to get insurance. If you have chosen to be insured through Horihan Insurance, it is our profound luck and great fortune.

Thank you.

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