To some, insurance is a necessary evil to be endured. To us at Sabre Insurance, insurance is an investment in your future that offers protection, security and peace of mind. When it comes to your list of interesting subjects, insurance probably ranks right up there with "101 creative uses for polyester."  But the truth is, we all rely on insurance--just as we do polyester!--throughout our lives. Whether you've just passed your driver's test, moved into your own apartment, left home to attend college, bought a house, started a family, launched your own business from home, or made plans to travel outside Canada, you need insurance.  Insurance protects you and your family, as well as your home and belongings. Without insurance, the economy would practically come to a standstill, because starting and operating any kind of business would be too risky--one fire and your livelihood would go up in smoke. In fact, you couldn't even drive a car, because a serious accident would wipe out all your savings. Nor could you borrow money to buy a house, as no lending institution would allow you to mortgage a property that wasn't insured.

While it sometimes seems that insurance companies work in mysterious ways, the idea behind insurance is simple: it uses the payments of many to cover the losses of a few. The money you pay for your insurance – your premiums – goes into one large pool at the insurance company. Those of us who suffer a loss that is insured can then draw from that pool. Because only a few of us need to draw from the pool in any given year, there is enough money in it to pay major losses like those incurred as a result of fire or a serious automobile accident. This concept is called spreading the risk, or risk sharing.

Your insurance policy represents a promise to protect you against certain "perils" – or causes of loss – for a given period of time, usually a year. This promise is renewed on a year-by-year basis; your premiums do not "build up" for you to draw upon when needed. In fact, this is one of the most common misconceptions about insurance. Consumers complain that they faithfully pay their premiums year after year. Yet, when they finally need their insurance to cover a small loss, they can't make a claim, because the cost of the deductible (the portion of the claim that you have to pay) may be as high as, or even higher than, the amount of the claim itself. Then there's always the risk – there's that word again! – of premiums going up as a result of a claim, even a small one. It's a familiar, and understandable, litany.

Another common misconception is that insurance covers every misfortuneAnother common misconception is that insurance covers every misfortune that might befall you. If that were the case, no one could afford the premiums. Neither is insurance intended to be a maintenance policy, so don't even think of contacting your insurer if your aging roof leaks and damages your broadloom, or your sofa gets ratty from wear and tear. Nor is it intended to cover minor losses that consumers could afford to pay for themselves. Rather, insurance is intended primarily to protect you against serious, and unforeseen, loss or injury that you could not pay for otherwise – for example, a major car accident, a fire that destroys your home, the theft of your precious jewellery, the death of a spouse and the consequent loss of that individual's income. It is not designed to replace your $200 lost sweater, as inconvenient and annoying as that loss may be. If insurers were to pay all of these smaller claims, there would not be enough money left in the pool to pay the large ones. If you ever suffer a major loss, you will soon realize that that's when insurance really pays its way.

Please contact us at Sabre Insurance, we will provideyou with excellent customer service and competitive rates to any residents of Edmonton and Northern Alberta.