You are a dog. You find a bone, which makes you happy, but now you have to keep it safe, which makes you worry.
So you hide it in your kennel. But the kennel may burn down one day. Or keeping it so close to home may expose the entire family to burglary.
So you bury it in your secret garden. But another dog may still find it, dig it up, and make off with it.
So you store it at the ‘Canine Valuables Safekeeping Institution’. But the institution may one day deny you access to it. Or the institution may fail and you lose what’s rightfully yours.
So you buy insurance for the bone, thinking if you lose the bone you get money to buy another. But one day you lose the bone, and when you make a claim your institution tells you it is unable to reimburse the full value of the bone.
And then one day your sentimental attachment to the bone dawns on you; you realise the bone is irreplaceable.
What do you do?
The moral of the story is the crucial distinction between ‘Insurance’ and ‘Assurance’. When you have something valuable for safekeeping, you want the guarantee not only that it’s safe but that it’s available, whenever you want it, no questions asked.
The point behind the title really resonates with us. Don't prepare for the future -- for global volatility, for pandemics -- and storms will toss you about like a little boat in the vast ocean. So you have to build for the future -- but prepare for greedy conmen or violent marauders coming to take what's yours, Singapore being a safe haven notwithstanding.
Thanks for a fresh and novel look at an old maxim, Maj!
Like A Dog With A Bone
You are a dog. You find a bone, which makes you happy, but now you have to keep it safe, which makes you worry.
So you hide it in your kennel. But the kennel may burn down one day. Or keeping it so close to home may expose the entire family to burglary.
So you bury it in your secret garden. But another dog may still find it, dig it up, and make off with it.
So you store it at the ‘Canine Valuables Safekeeping Institution’. But the institution may one day deny you access to it. Or the institution may fail and you lose what’s rightfully yours.
So you buy insurance for the bone, thinking if you lose the bone you get money to buy another. But one day you lose the bone, and when you make a claim your institution tells you it is unable to reimburse the full value of the bone.
And then one day your sentimental attachment to the bone dawns on you; you realise the bone is irreplaceable.
What do you do?
The moral of the story is the crucial distinction between ‘Insurance’ and ‘Assurance’. When you have something valuable for safekeeping, you want the guarantee not only that it’s safe but that it’s available, whenever you want it, no questions asked.
Assurance is just what we at Vault@268 provide.
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The inspiration for this article is Maj Van Harl's blog post: 'If You Build It ~ They Will Steal It, Are You Prepared?'
The point behind the title really resonates with us. Don't prepare for the future -- for global volatility, for pandemics -- and storms will toss you about like a little boat in the vast ocean. So you have to build for the future -- but prepare for greedy conmen or violent marauders coming to take what's yours, Singapore being a safe haven notwithstanding.
Thanks for a fresh and novel look at an old maxim, Maj!
(Clearly, we're not talking about ammo here.)