Insurance is one of the most unpleasant purchases that we have to make - it takes its place amongst those few things we buy that we hope we will never actually have to use. Many people, in fact, use this hope to argue against purchasing insurance in the first place - and while the chances are that we might never need it, this is one of those times in life when it is better to be safe than sorry.

As the expense of daily life continually mount, it can be easier to see the non-immediate need for insurance as illusory. I'm not sick now, am I? My house is fine - it doesn't look like tornado weather out there today. That will never happen to me - I'm not wasting all my hard earned money protecting against something that might never happen! Those insurance companies don't need any more money.

Unfortunately, this confidence is misplaced, as even the most intellectual of scholars cannot predict which one of us will fall victim to cancer, or which one of us will lose our home or job. The 'it-won't-happen-to-me' philosophy does work for many people, but common chance takes care of that. Do you want to be the one with mud on your face when that diagnosis comes and you without the money to save your own life? It is important to understand this - that choosing insurance is a choice between life or death.

There is no doubt that the money we pay into our insurance each month could bring us pleasure in far more immediate ways, but in all honesty, is the amount we pay monthly all that much? Spend it today on something fleeting, and you will never remember where it went, but choose to place your hard earned money in an insurance plan and it will be one small ray of life if tragedy strikes. Because really, if diagnosed with cancer today, which would you rather have? Somehow that night on the town pales into insignificance. Don't take a chance - choose insurance.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Insurance Information a website providing information on Insurance