Insurance Smarts The other night at a retro Guy Fawkes bonfire bash down in college town, we went around asking students a variety of miscellaneous questions intended to gauge the level of their life-smarts. This is what we found. (Note- these are fictional interviews) How often should you exercise? Dave, 26, physics: “Should? Well, you should exercise like every day. Do I? No. See this gut? Yeah.” Angela, 23, humanities: “I think the official recommendation is 5 days a week. I try to do that, but sometimes I end up eating ice cream instead. You know, if boys just had more realistic expectations, we wouldn’t have to worry about looking good and we wouldn’t get so hurt when they suddenly dump us and then we wouldn’t eat ice cream. Idiots.” How do you take care of gas stoves? John, 19, undeclared: “What’s a gas stove? Like those things you take camping? I dunno. Just keep ‘em covered so they don’t get rained on I guess.” Tracy, 24, psychology: “Make sure the gas is off when you’re not using it. And you should have someone come to check for leaks every couple of months. I love gas stoves. You can basically make smores on them any time you want!” What is a designated driver? Jack, 22, physical therapy: “Me.” Colbin, 24, mathematics: “Not me.” When do you need to get your own insurance? Jonathan, 25, art: “Insurance? Well I have student insurance now I think. So…I’ll get my own when I graduate I guess. So maybe three or four years?” Emily, 22, French: “I’m pretty healthy and very careful, so I bet I can get away without insurance for a long time. I mean I work out, I eat good, and I don’t drink and drive. Besides my parents are pretty wealthy and I’m sure they will cover me for as long as I want.”
Jessika, 26, Communications: “Well, last year was the last year I was allowed to be on my parents insurance, so I’ve got my own. The school helped me find some good student insurance that I can handle, so that’s nice.” So there it is. This is how our college constituent thinks. Some of them are smart but lazy, others are smart and act like it, and a few are just a little bit ignorant. Just in case you were wondering, you should exercise regularly, shut off your gas stove when you’re not using it, always have a designated driver and you had better get your own insurance when you are 26 years old. Jessika had it right on that last one. It is important for students and other young workers to get their own insurance by the time they are 26. If you are a student there are some great sources for you to find affordable health insurance. If you are just working, there are just as many opportunities for you too. So start looking around and make sure you are buying health insurance that is right for you! Photo Credit: Matt Hintsa, Henry de Saussure Copeland