The Discrimination You Cannot Avoid

[Ankesh]

Originally Posted by Sandi Bowman

Group probabilities...yes, but what IF the individual doesn't fit the 'pattern' they go by to determine their rates? What if they're the exception and have a very healthy profile and actual death probability of a person twenty or more years younger? Shouldn't the individual be judged by the reality of their situation? Isn't this just flat out age discrimination? You bet it is!

Thanks Sandi.

It is impossible to predict what will happen to a single person. Insurance companies can make money only based on group probabilities.

Yes - that does mean a few people who are living a healthy life style get hurt because they are bunched into a group based on age. But it also means that a few people who live an un-healthy life style are better off.

Remember the bell curve? Most people will be in the middle. People in the right will be worse off. People in the left will be better off.

But you can't cut the right side of the bell curve and calculate the odds.

* I'm not an insurance agent or a mathematician - but thats my understanding of how things work. I maybe wrong. And would love it if someone can point out how.