When Jim died, and I was transferring all the insurance to my name, I got sticker shock. Three cars. A dual-engine Tesla, a Mercedes AMG convertible and a Subaru Outback. Talking to the insurance guy, I said, “I don’t drive my car 9000 miles a year; I can’t possibly do three cars at 9000 each.” He reduced the mileage. That reduced my cost. I took the AARP driving course. That took another $84 dollars off, every six months. But the big saving? I put software on my phone that monitors whenever I drive and gives me “infractions” for hands-free phone calls, harsh braking, phone handling, and phone calls. At first I uninstalled it as too intrusive. In another call, the insurance guy said I could save $300 every six months, so I reinstalled it. Then, I found out that I can save up to 30 percent. Every six months. That is a savings of more than $900, every six months. So, you want to be on the road with me. No phone calls. Not ever. I listen to my book and stream through my phone, but do not respond to texts or calls unless I pull over and put the car in park.
But that is not my point. Sorry. Read on.
I’m listening to this book #Outlive by Peter Attia, M.D. The author talks about medicine 2.0 which we largely deal with now. We get sick and it’s treated. He’s advocating medicine 3.0, which focuses on disease prevention. To do this he focuses on metabolism management. The book is excellent and I wish I’d had it two years ago, I would have handled Jim’s dietary stuff substantially differently. Still, the info in the book is great and I encourage you to read or listen to it.
But that’s not my point, either. My point is this:
Insurance companies have figured out that with cars, anyway, they can be profitable while reducing consumer costs by positively encouraging best practices while driving. It’s cheaper for them to reduce my cost by $1800 annually than it is to deal with the cost of a wreck because of distracted driving. How long is it going to take the medical industry to figure out that prevention is less costly than disease treatment? Yes, there are a lot of businesses that make money from disease, but in a shift, there will be an equal number of businesses that make money from health. We’ll all be better off for it.
That’s my point.
