Question 1

What exactly is insurance anyway?

Question 2

Why do I have to have it?

Question 3

Why is insurance so expensive?

Answer to Question 1:

Laymans terms - protection from a loss

Technical terms - indemnification - restoring you to

     the condition you were in prior to a loss. Sorry,

     it's not meant to improve your situation!

Answer to Question 2:

Most banks, lenders, vendors, associates, etc., want to make sure that they won't suffer a financial loss if anything bad happens.

Answer to Question 3:

Many variables contribute to the costs of insurance.  These variables include return on investment tools that insurance companies place capital into, reinsurance costs (insuring their insurance), frequency and severity of large claims in a given year, and much more. 

Property & Liability Insurance premiums are cyclical in nature and will rise and fall according to the factors mentioned above.  On the other hand, medical insurance costs will likely continue to rise over time.