Do you think, in the Far Future, that Bars, Restaurants, and other Establishments would have Brawling Insurance, or something similar? How many adventures start in a Starport Bar or someplace like that? And how many fights break out?
Does anyone do anything with this?
I was a licensed Life and Health insurance agent for 3 years in Illinois and 23 other states and worked in another office that sold liquor (yes you can specifically insure business damage /accidents liquor and not the bar in Illinois), car and (this is what you want)
specialty lines insurance.
The simple answer from industry training and work experience at an American insurance company:
NO! WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY? Well, it will cost you. A LOT. and you might not like the payoff.
First lets get profit motives out of the way.
In the US, "Insurance Companies", "Brokers" and "Licensed Agents" exist at the state level. No such thing as a national company. That's why legally it is Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois (or Michigan or New Jersey) and not just "Blue Cross/Blue Shield". Each company can create policy plans, but only for their state. Any out- of-state coverage is risky to the Insurer because each state is different. This is why such coverage is minimal or expensive, unless they have iron-clad reciprocation agreements. Also insurance companies must be a Non-Profit Business/Corporation or a Not-For-Profit Business/Corporation. There of course is national branding "parent" companies, but if a policy lawsuit must occur, it is to the state licensed company.
Same with Brokers and Agents. You must reside in the state you apply for a license (foreign call center with licensed agents? Never), obey its practices, and remain in good standing. In Illinois, you have to take
several education classes from state approved companies, which you must pass, and a state exam, which you also must pass. Fail more than once at level, restart at the beginning Also there is little "profit". Most states have a clause that you promise to "sell, solicit, and advise for the customer's best benefit even if you do not benefit" with "oops" fines starting at 3 digits and in intentional in 4 digits or more, per occurrence. My training, just for Illinois, was $6000 in 2013.
Why all this background? To know how little cheating/racketeering there is and why your brawling insurance would be so high. In the beginning of insurance, there were many instances of companies/agents/etc. jumping state lines to avoid prosecution. Then national insurance policies forcing people in to pay coverage for things that would never happen, like hurricane coverage in Minnesota, forest fires in Florida, volcanoes in Kansas, buffalo herd damage in New York, etc. Back in the '50s, states were given/took control for all the licensing. and such. Easier on the Feds, state licensing fees (yum!). People would then go to smaller companies which they paid less for coverages they might no need (no volcanoes in Kansas)
Next, the whole point of insurance is to get the beneficiaries (or survivors) back and running for due to an POSSIBLE BUT NOT TOO OFTEN OCCURRING event. Simplified, insurance works like a pool or kitty. Policy holders pay their premium, the money goes into a collection where it stays minus costs the agent/broker/insurer incur to maintain your account. The rest is stored by the actual insurer until a payment is required to be made.
- Each policy holder is essentially betting that everyone else will not have an incident, so there enough cash if the their turn comes up.
- The agent/broker/insurer does not care, business-wise, as long as you pay your premium. He does not necessarily hold your money, just the part that is his ongoing payment.
- Actuaries, the bean counters, look at crime/medical/weather/etc. statistics. From this they figure how often will a claim for such (say a volcano) come in, how much will a volcano claim cost. All whether something is worthwhile to cover (or not), the level of coverage, and how much your premium is for such.
- The insurers do not care as they are Non-Profit or Not-For-Profit. Except: Their actuaries better be right as they will be facing heavy fines (per violation adds up) if they cannot pay up.
Generally, Life, Health, Vehicle and Property covers most insurance. There are even provisions for add-ons called "Riders". An example: Southern Illinois experiences flooding from the Mississippi River. Less often than Florida Hurricanes, more often than say Chicago. Most people cope, but some like it dry. Enough that some Property Insurance companies say "We'll cover you, but it would cost X Credits more than a standard policy". It is not a gouge, just a calcuculation (See all the above).
