Do Asians believe in insurance?
May 26th, 2011 at 7:38:30 AM
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This is a serious question. I know we have many people here that are very familiar with Asian culture.
I just saw a local news report that a 7000 sq ft home was completely destroyed by fire. The owners had recently purchased the home and paid cash. Then it was reported that they had no insurance!!! The owners were shown and were Asian. Is this a part of their culture or were they just dumb?
Then it was reported that the Red Cross was supplying this family with a place to live. WTF! They can afford to pay cash for a luxury house with two basements and an indoor basketball court and then accept charity!!
I just saw a local news report that a 7000 sq ft home was completely destroyed by fire. The owners had recently purchased the home and paid cash. Then it was reported that they had no insurance!!! The owners were shown and were Asian. Is this a part of their culture or were they just dumb?
Then it was reported that the Red Cross was supplying this family with a place to live. WTF! They can afford to pay cash for a luxury house with two basements and an indoor basketball court and then accept charity!!
May 26th, 2011 at 9:22:41 AM
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That's an interesting question. Were the Asian Americans or from Asia?
I have several Asian friends do not trust or understand banks, and tend to keep their money in cash. If they do go to the bank, a lot of them will get a safe deposit box and fill it with cash. It could be a generation thing (these people tend to be older) too.
I have several Asian friends do not trust or understand banks, and tend to keep their money in cash. If they do go to the bank, a lot of them will get a safe deposit box and fill it with cash. It could be a generation thing (these people tend to be older) too.
May 26th, 2011 at 10:00:35 PM
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Well, I'm half-Asian. So I only buy the insurance that covers half my property. :)
My mom is Asian, and she is always fully insured. She also has quite a bit of money in the bank. So she definitely has no fear of insurance or banks.
One of my exes owns a house, and was burglarized a few months ago. They stole some valuable jewelry as well as some guns and rifles owned by her and her boyfriend. She estimates her loss to be around $15k. And she has no insurance. And she's not Asian. Just a run-of-the-mill white person. When we were dating, I found out the hard way that her car was uninsured. I've never really understood her aversion to getting insurance. She makes plenty of money.
I know of another person that, while he has insurance on everything he owns now, he has, in the past, not had insurance on buildings that he owned. One was an apartment complex. Which means that everybody living there was technically not covered should something have happened to the building. He, also, is a run-of-the-mill white guy.
In my, limited, experience, it seems like the anti-insurance thing isn't necessarily a racial or cultural thing, but something that, I think, comes about due to a lack of money and/or growing up with a lack of money. Considering that a lot of Asians do grow up poor or in rural areas, it's not hard to see why they would also subscribe to this lack of insurance bandwagon.
My mom is Asian, and she is always fully insured. She also has quite a bit of money in the bank. So she definitely has no fear of insurance or banks.
One of my exes owns a house, and was burglarized a few months ago. They stole some valuable jewelry as well as some guns and rifles owned by her and her boyfriend. She estimates her loss to be around $15k. And she has no insurance. And she's not Asian. Just a run-of-the-mill white person. When we were dating, I found out the hard way that her car was uninsured. I've never really understood her aversion to getting insurance. She makes plenty of money.
I know of another person that, while he has insurance on everything he owns now, he has, in the past, not had insurance on buildings that he owned. One was an apartment complex. Which means that everybody living there was technically not covered should something have happened to the building. He, also, is a run-of-the-mill white guy.
In my, limited, experience, it seems like the anti-insurance thing isn't necessarily a racial or cultural thing, but something that, I think, comes about due to a lack of money and/or growing up with a lack of money. Considering that a lot of Asians do grow up poor or in rural areas, it's not hard to see why they would also subscribe to this lack of insurance bandwagon.
May 26th, 2011 at 11:08:41 PM
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Quote: konceptumI've never really understood her aversion to getting insurance. She makes plenty of money.
Insurance is a sucker bet, especially in real life. If you can handle the risk by yourself (i.e. you make plenty of money), don't buy insurance - and you will make plenty of money again by not paying insurance contributions.
If jewelry is stolen, that is of course unfortunate, but it is not a life-changing event. I would never insure such trivial things.
Insure important aspects of your business (your health, your fingers if you are a pianist) and get a liability insurance. But don't insure your trivial properties.
May 27th, 2011 at 2:26:13 AM
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I wouldn't base much on a report from a local tv station.
Redcross assistance is often minimal and if they offer temporary housing the redcross often claims that is providing assistance even if the offer is declined.
One hard working waitress had just been finishing up final touches on her log home when sunlight caught an errant rag soaked in linseed oil. Total loss. Then she found out that fire insurance on a home requires that the home have been lived in. A newly constructed home was solely a construction site and she had no insurance for that. These things can make people wary of insurance companies. One company was perfectly happy to accept premiums on a young kid's life but immediately upon a claim being filed they notified the police that the adoptive parents had never insured their own lives or their natural kid's life, only the adopted kids life was insured and that was for a mind-boggling amount.
Asians often do not have FDICs in their home country. Gamblers do not like paper trails and constant questions about large sums of cash.
Con men love insurance companies. So do scam artists. Decades ago it seems Indian immigrants always opened up record stores and bought massive inventory just before having a fire.
Redcross assistance is often minimal and if they offer temporary housing the redcross often claims that is providing assistance even if the offer is declined.
One hard working waitress had just been finishing up final touches on her log home when sunlight caught an errant rag soaked in linseed oil. Total loss. Then she found out that fire insurance on a home requires that the home have been lived in. A newly constructed home was solely a construction site and she had no insurance for that. These things can make people wary of insurance companies. One company was perfectly happy to accept premiums on a young kid's life but immediately upon a claim being filed they notified the police that the adoptive parents had never insured their own lives or their natural kid's life, only the adopted kids life was insured and that was for a mind-boggling amount.
Asians often do not have FDICs in their home country. Gamblers do not like paper trails and constant questions about large sums of cash.
Con men love insurance companies. So do scam artists. Decades ago it seems Indian immigrants always opened up record stores and bought massive inventory just before having a fire.
May 27th, 2011 at 5:32:25 AM
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Quote: gamblerThat's an interesting question. Were the Asian Americans or from Asia?
I have several Asian friends do not trust or understand banks, and tend to keep their money in cash. If they do go to the bank, a lot of them will get a safe deposit box and fill it with cash. It could be a generation thing (these people tend to be older) too.
Asia. They were lamenting the fact that they could not replace the house. I guess I just don't understand the choice they made to "save" the cost of the insurance.
