UNITED STATES—Sometimes its amazing the things you can learn from a good conversation with people. Just chit chatting with a friend, we had an interesting conversation about the concept of ‘insurance.’ Exactly what does the benefit have to us if we never end up using it? I mean seriously think about this, we pay all types of insurance and for most of us, we never get the opportunity to cash in on what we’ve paid.

Look, I’m not just talking about car insurance, I’m talking about house insurance, life insurance, medical insurance, dental insurance, the list goes on and on, cause there is insurance for just about anything these days. Which is quite sad to say the least? So many insurance companies charge unbelievable rates to provide you coverage, and my biggest gripe is when something actually happens and you’re in need of that insurance you’ve paid for, it becomes a controversy.

Why? It’s because the insurance companies want to do everything in their power to halt having to pay out any funds. Wait, I thought that was the point of paying insurance, to have coverage when you need it? Guess I was so wrong. Insurance is to make companies rich. Yep, I said it; insurance is to make companies rich at the expense of the American people. There is no way in hell I should be forced to fork out thousands of dollars for car insurance a year, never get into an accident and not recoup some of the funds that I have paid out. Yeah, there are some companies ‘giving back’ to the customer, but are they truly giving back to you.

Here’s what I propose, let’s say I’m a terrific driver for nearly 30 years, not a single accident, no tickets, if I’ve paid an insurance company nearly $40,000, I think it would be fair for that company to pay me almost half of what I’ve dished out. Why? I haven’t used any of the funds I’ve dished out so reward me for it. It’s almost like we’re throwing away money for insurance, that many Americans never get the opportunity to use.

Some people would not necessarily consider Social Security as a form of insurance, but I do. Do you want to know why? Well, you’re paying into something that you’re hoping to have when you retire. There’s just one tiny problem, more and more Americans are dying before they reach retirement age, which is a shame. Money they’re worked so hard to have, they never get the opportunity to utilize. I’ve always suspected the government setting the retirement age for SS benefits so high for a reason.

I know, it sounds crazy, but in my opinion if someone has worked at least 30 years at a job, I don’t care where, they should be able to retire and collect their benefits. They should not be forced to wait until they turn a particular ‘age’ to collect what they’ve worked so hard for. It’s only fair in my eyes.

It’s like Americans are constantly paying for things that we never get to utilize, yet no one is seeing the bigger picture. It’s your money that is being wasted to a degree. Yes, it’s important to have insurance because God forbid something transpires you’re covered, my argument is if something never happens companies need to step up and payback to those who have dished out so much to make them the millions or billionaires they have become. I hate to say it, but we are a society where the rich continue to get rich and the poor continue to get poor. When are we going to balance the playing field?