ABSTRACT
Insurance maintains continuity of financial and material resources over time under conditions of variable risk. Logically, purchasing insurance implies a degree of foresight and commitment, and there appears to be a relation between long-term orientation and life insurance purchase. Automobile liability insurance has been compulsory in most countries for generations; few if any countries in the world do not have an official policy mandating at least third-party coverage. Pakistan’s relative poverty compared to the United States may also be a factor influencing the decision to purchase automobile insurance. Sometimes, insurance becomes a defining feature of national culture. The lack of universal health insurance in the United States renders its outlier status among high-income countries a glaring cultural trait. The conflict about US health insurance coverage is often framed in terms of individualist repugnance toward socialism; in what ways could perceptions of risk and time enter into that debate, along with the cultural heritage of racial discrimination.
