I was talking to someone who told me they were in a rented property while their house was being renovated. As someone who recently went through that painful process I asked them what they’re getting done. “Our house went on fire, so we are getting it fixed up.”
It turns out that their fish tank went on fire! 😲 The whole kitchen was ablaze when they’d got up in the middle of the night to investigate that pesky alarm that was going off. Thankfully there was nobody hurt but there was €350,000 worth of damage and they had to find somewhere to live while their home was being repaired.
This is exactly why we need insurance. To insure against the events that are unlikely to occur but if they are, they are financially catastrophic. But we spend more effort insuring things like our phones, items that we can afford to replace easily enough than we do on our homes and our lives.
It is unlikely that you will die prematurely. It is unlikely that your house will burn down. But what would happen if it did? Can you afford to to cover this cost yourself or should you be insuring the risk away?
Steven Barrett
13 October 2025