A few years ago, I was talking with a client who called about a small claim.
A rock had chipped the windshield on his truck. The repair wasn't particularly expensive, but his first question was, "Should I turn this in to insurance?"
It's a fair question, and one we hear often.
For many people, insurance feels like a prepaid maintenance plan. If something breaks, the natural instinct is to use the coverage you've been paying for month after month. After all, isn't that what insurance is for?
Not exactly.
One of the most important financial concepts we teach at Glidewell is the difference between transferring risk and retaining risk. In other words, knowing what should be insured and what you're better off paying for yourself.
That practice is called self-insurance.
Despite the name, self-insurance doesn't mean going without insurance. It doesn't mean taking unnecessary risks or hoping nothing bad happens. It simply means choosing to set aside enough money to absorb life's smaller setbacks so your insurance can do what it was designed to do: protect you from financial devastation.
Think about the unexpected expenses that most families face over the course of a year. A windshield cracks. A washing machine quits working. A tree limb falls on a fence. Maybe someone backs into your bumper in a parking lot.
None of those situations are enjoyable. They can certainly be frustrating. But for a financially healthy household, they shouldn't become financial emergencies.
That's the difference between an inconvenience and a catastrophe.
Insurance exists for the catastrophes.
Your home is destroyed by a fire. A serious auto accident results in significant injuries. A lawsuit threatens your family's assets. A medical diagnosis creates hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses. The loss of a spouse's income changes a family's financial future overnight.
Those are the moments that can permanently alter someone's financial life. Those are the risks worth transferring to an insurance company.
Everything else deserves a thoughtful conversation.
When families build an emergency fund and intentionally increase what they're willing to pay out of pocket, something interesting happens. They stop viewing insurance as the solution to every problem. Instead, they begin using it strategically.
That shift often leads to fewer claims, lower long-term insurance costs, and greater financial confidence.
It also changes the question.
Instead of asking, "Will my insurance cover this?"
They begin asking, "Should I use my insurance for this?"
Those are two very different conversations.
Filing frequent small claims can affect future premiums, impact claim-free discounts, and, depending on the situation, even influence future insurability. While every claim is unique, using insurance for expenses you could comfortably handle yourself isn't always the best financial decision.
That's why we encourage our clients to think beyond today's repair bill and consider the bigger financial picture.
At Glidewell, our philosophy has always been simple:
Insure what would financially devastate you. Self-insure for what would inconvenience you.
It's not about carrying less insurance. In fact, it's often the opposite. We believe in carrying strong protection against life's biggest risks while building enough financial margin to handle the smaller ones yourself.
That's a healthier way to think about risk.
Insurance is an incredible financial tool, but it's still just that, a tool. Its purpose isn't to pay every bill that comes your way. Its purpose is to stand between your family and the kinds of losses that could take years, or even decades, to recover from.
Financial health isn't achieved by avoiding every expense. It's built by preparing for them.
And sometimes, one of the smartest insurance decisions you can make is deciding not to use it.
Because at Glidewell, we believe what we've always believed:
Insurance is the tool. Financial health is the goal.