Thursday, March 27, 2008

The art of self-defense

Ah, insurance companies. For many people, it seems as though they exist to charge a monthly (or at least annual) fee, all in the hopes of not actually needing to give any of that money back to help out the people covered. Sure, having insurance can lead to lower costs, some people argue, but why do I need it when I never use it?

Some people just don't get it. After all, the insurance industry isn't simply out to take fees from people and then decide through their own complicated ways who receives compensation for something they might cover. Oh, no. They also give out helpful advice. Look at the health insurance industry that encourages people to work out. How about the auto insurance industry, which recommends safe driving? And don't forget about the home insurance industry, which practically punishes you if you live in a more dangerous part of town.

And don't think that such advice is found solely within the United States. Why, just recently, an insurance company in China refused to compensate a man after having received dog bites. The reason why? "If (he) had learned a martial art like karate (he) would have avoided the problem."

Well now, that just makes a lot of sense, really. After all, when people are training in the ancient (and spiritual) martial arts, they're obviously planning on needing to use said training in case of angry animals. Sure, they may practice on other people (and the occasional blocks of wood and/or bricks), but that doesn't mean that they aren't preparing to handle a four-legged foe.

At this point, we half-expect to find out that this Chinese company also has an answer for people injured in car accidents. "If you had learned how to drive a car made entirely of rubber, you would have avoided the problem." And, with the right bounce, you could avoid most of traffic, as well.

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