I'll present the other side of the issue... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Most, if not all, insurance (life and health anyway) is experience rated based upon the risk pool you're in. All the factors you might think of, e.g., age, health, etc. come into the equation that determines the premium for everyone in that risk pool. The underlying assumption is that everyone in the risk pool has the same probability of getting sick or dying.
Well, what happens to the premiums if some members of that risk pool engage in behavior that increases the odds (increases them above the odds of the risk pool in general) of them getting sick or dying? The premiums go up.
To put it on a more personal level, imagine you work in a small company of 10 people. Everyone is in their mid-30s, good health, married, and do not engage in any risky activities. These same 10 people actually own the company and they request quotes for group life insurance. They will get one rate. Now, 4 of these 10 people decide to buy motorcycles and ride them without helmets. What do you think happens to the life insurance premium charged for that group policy? Every one of the 10 people in that group will see their premiums rise because four of them decided to engage in risky behavior. My guess is that while their life insurance rates would rise, their health insurance rates might fall because riding without a helmet increases the odds you will be killed in an accident hence reducing the odds of large medical bills.
While this is a simplistic example, my point is, with most insurance policies, a risk assumed by a few, is a risk assumed by all.
People who ride without helmets (to continue with this one example of risky behavior) act as if their decision, and the potential consequences of this decision, will only affect them. Or, if they get turned into 'road pizza', only affect them and their loved ones. This isn't the case, others far beyond the immediate family can be affected. If your actions can affect me, financially effect me in particular, then I get a say in how you act. While the effects might be more extensive today, this has always been true. Every one of the settlers in Jamestown, VA had to stand watch. If some of them didn't, the risk they assumed was assumed by all.
Note: I am not saying current laws have not swung too far toward over regulation. I am simply describing at least one other viewpoint to the 'it's my life and my business' perspective.
No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee. -- John Donne
