Introduction
The Amish people have remained detached from these modern trends of socio-economic relationship and technological innovations in economy. The Amish people are a society that has built a traditional way of life and community that does not require most of today’s standard; even basic insurance. However, over years, certain complex method have been evolved to deal with risk factors of all types and to take care of their own require needs. Somewhat to the readers’ bewilderment, there appears to be a lot that can be gleaned regarding insurance from the Amish experience – and these are experiences that can be directly integrated into the lives of most modern Americans.
Community Over Individualism
Another important feature which is cherished greatly by the Amish is the role of the community. Often the people of the community – for instance – if one of the members experiences a barn fire or a health complication, everyone else will help out. This want of reciprocity is rather the Amish ethos and plays the role of an informal insurance.
Indeed, in the contemporary world, insurance appears as a very personal thing. The policies are bought with the belief that when an accident occurs or at the time of the loss, the companies will not fail us. The Amish, though, teach us about the importance of a group. This way we also create a base of people with whom one can rely on for help and support during calamity – neighbours, friends, and family.
Simplicity and Focus on Needs
The Amish people live simple lives and this is an area where every child can learn having been taught so many lessons from them. What I have to remember is that the majority of them does not have those things, which we can barely imagine our lives without, for instance, electricity, cars, and, of course, commercial insurance. That simplicity is apparent in their approach to risk management. Contrary to the usage of numerous and sophisticated insurance policies with many additional riders and exceptions which are quite common among the modern people, the Amish to address the requirements only the most essential.
This does not mean you should not be insuring yourself however, this means that we could all use a more simplistic strategy. In place of buying many polices where most of the coverage’s are repetitive, people should take their time to evaluate what is useful in their lives. Former important aspect is an attempt to insure everything, and instead, it is better to ensure that what really is crucial.
Self-Reliance and Preparedness
Self-sufficiency is the phenomenon that is well-aligned with the Amish. The people of these communities are farming their own foods, constructing the houses on their own and even stitching their own pieces of clothing. This independence also goes hand and hand with their perspective on risk. They are good planners and savers because they do not rely on insurance to cater for their medical expenses. They also create reserves and build up resources which will enable them to face some risks when they are unfavourable.
It is a wake up call to all of us in the modern societies to learn and ensure that we are financially competent. Maintaining a healthy emergency fund, paying off as many debts as possible, and becoming employable where needed can do a lot to safeguard all of us with our families from adverse odds. However, insurance should not be regarded as the only way of minimising risk and reducing their impacts; it should be seen as one of the means of people’s self-protection.
Trust and Relationships
Insurance is usually considered as legal requirement that an individual provides another company. The Amish’s approach relies on trust and the phenomenon of relationship. If a barn is consumed by fire, and the farmer needs to rebuild – there won’t be an adjuster on the case, there is no claims process – just neighbours helping neighbours. Such trust is developed as people stay and work together for many years.
In today’s lifestyle though we might not get our neighbours help to reconstruct our homes we can definitely improve our rapport with our neighbours. Leverage on the trust accumulated over the years in the times of the crisis as such the goodwill does pay. Furthermore, when selecting insurance companies, one should include the firms that prioritise customer service, and participation in social responsible acts, because such schemes will be more likely to observe the values.
Moral and Ethical Considerations
The Amish people have well-defined ethical and moral standards which apply to all facets of their lives including risk taking and insurance. It is not only the choices made based on some financial rationality but also the decisions that people make regarding how they want to live their lives.
For those of us still trying to make our way in the bewildering world of ‘actually existing’ insurance, this is an appeal to moral agency. Are the companies, which we continue and start supporting, aligned with the values of our company? Which policies are being funded so as to result in personal responsibility as well as in the general responsibility for others?
Conclusion
It may seem that the Amish live in the another world and are not connected with modern trends like insurance, for example; however, their life experience is significant. Through consistent focus on community, absence of complexity, self-sufficiency, reliance on one’s peers, and honesty they are running a system that they deemed appropriate and from which the rest of the world might find something useful. Even though we don’t give up insurance policies, it is possible to borrow some ideas from the Amish culture to make the lives of people more secure and stable.