You get what you pay for.  Seems simple enough.  This concise yet powerful statement effectively conveys the idea that inexpensive means shoddy while expensive means top quality.

Is this always true?  Of course not.  But marketers expect us to believe it.  Why buy store brand Puffed Rice when, clearly, the more expensive Kellogg’s Rice Krispies are far superior?

In some instances inexpensive does mean low quality yet we price conscious Americans ignore this – often at our own peril.

Let’s focus on insurance.  According to the good folks at Merriam-Webster to insure is to guarantee against loss or harm – to make certain (especially) by taking necessary measures and precautions.  Note some key words in there.  Guarantee.  Make certain.  Nowhere in there is hope, guess, roll dice, etc.

Why the big deal?  Because we spend so much time focusing on building wealth that we spend little time protecting it.  Years of hard work can be wiped away in an instant if we don’t secure the proper coverage.

All too often we view insurance as a necessary evil.  As such we try to find the least expensive policies – to spend as little as possible believing it’s a commodity product.  The insurance industry isn’t blind to this.  There’s a very good reason that sandwiched between a beer and car commercial will be our bubbly friend Flo from Progressive or the cute Geico gecko telling us that 15 minutes can save us 15%, that “bundling” can save us money and lots of other similar nonsense.

But wait a minute.  Do I buy insurance to save money?  That wasn’t in the Merriam-Webster definition!  I buy insurance to guarantee against loss.  When I buy insurance my goal shouldn’t be to buy the cheapest policy but to buy the most effective policy.  Only then should price become a factor.

I know what you’re thinking.  That may be true but my parents had (insert favorite off-the-rack company here) and never had any problems.  Really?  Your parents also didn’t have McMansions and luxury cars or live in today’s overly litigious society.

Like it or not we live in an increasingly complex world where risks abound.  Whether we think of ourselves as wealthy or not the type of coverage we need simply can’t be provided by State Farm or Allstate or Geico or whomever.  These companies are so focused on selling the least expensive policy that they have no interest in doing what insurance is actually meant to do – to protect and guarantee.

Think I’m crazy?  Think I’m grandstanding?  This is what Progressive thinks insurance is all about.  Be outraged, be angry…and check your policy to make sure you have the “right” coverage.  If you don’t ask your carrier if they can provide something more suitable.  I think you’ll find they can’t and won’t because, after all, selling insurance for its intended purpose doesn’t pop during a 30 second TV spot.