My father taught a variety of subjects to high school students, mainly in languages and history. Thankfully, he didn’t teach at the high school I attended—something I was quietly grateful for at the time! Fluent in several languages, including French and German, he brought a deep love of learning into our home.
As a family, we enjoyed some of the perks that often came with his profession: summers off and the kind of generous health coverage that used to be standard for teachers. It was comforting to know that, if something went wrong medically, we had a safety net.
But here’s where my thinking begins to diverge from the traditional narrative.
We call it health insurance, but what we’re really buying is crisis insurance.
Think about it: home insurance doesn’t keep your house in perfect shape—it steps in if there’s a fire, a flood, or a tree through the roof. Similarly, health insurance doesn’t keep you healthy. It helps when something breaks: a sudden accident, a serious illness, an unexpected dental procedure. That’s when it kicks in.
What we’re really purchasing is peace of mind—the assurance that if something goes wrong, we won’t lose our job, our savings, our home, or even our life. And that’s no small thing. But crisis insurance is not the same as building or maintaining health.
True health isn’t something that’s restored by a policy number—it’s something we build day by day. Crisis insurance waits for the problem to show up. Real health insurance is proactive. When we invest in nutritious food, healthier habits and professional support to optimize our health and performance, we’re paying a different kind of premium. One that gives us energy, clarity, vitality, and resilience.
We don’t just get peace of mind—we get a better life.
So yes, let’s keep the safety net. But let’s also remember that real health insurance is the investment we make in ourselves before the crisis ever comes.