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To: Webster Groves who wrote (71975)	1/4/2010 2:39:03 AM
From: Maurice Winn	1 Recommendation Respond to of 74559

Webster, the number of houses in NZ which were ignited by neighbouring houses must be zero [in recent centuries]. So protecting my neighbours to protect me from fire is a non-starter. Correct, no life insurance. Insurance in general is a weird bet. Car owner goes to insurance company, "Hi, I want to bet I crash my car." Insurance company salesman, "No way. We bet you don't." Car owner, "Okay, you're on." Car owner pays insurer to take the bet then goes away and tries not to crash their car because if they do things wrongly, they won't be covered and anyway, they'll have to pay the first $1,000 of damage or some such amount. I got my driving licence the day I turned 15 and have no had vehicle insurance other than through company cars and for a year in Belgium [it was compulsory when buying the car]. I can afford to have a huge crash, into a Rolls Royce if I can find one. 45 years of premiums and the returns on investment on the saved money is a LOT. For most of that time we have had two cars. Three years ago we visited Melbourne and drove around the surrounding countryside. I ranted and raved about the insanity of the way they had their towns surrounded and buried in highly flammable trees. It was only a year or so later that there were 100 or 200 deaths by fire and vast destruction. If I bought a house in the area, which I wouldn't do, I would certainly have fire insurance [with a well capitalized company]. It's crazy seeing where people build houses. There is a whole city, Taupo, inside the crater of an active volcano in NZ [Lake Taupo]. One day it will be buried in a trillion tons of pumice. Because of the nature of the volcano, it's quite likely that people will not escape. People build houses [umpty thousands of them] on sand spits at sea level. Believe it or not, tsunamis come roaring across the oceans from incoming bolides regularly. Tunguska was only 100 years ago. Look at the Moon to see how many bolides can be expected. Then there are volcanoes such as White Island and Krakatoa and Tambora, not to mention earthquakes which can also kick up some hefty waves. Insurance is not as good as sensible behaviour and good judgment. Mqurice