We’ve all got several, don’t we? It’s impossible to get license plates for your car, without insurance. And far too many poor males, who have the most accidents, many times, buy the legal minimum of a $10,000 liability policy, placing the motoring public at high risk. That’s why you need an ‘uninsured motorist’ policy. I’ve got a million-dollar auto policy, and in ten days from this column I will be 88, and have never had an accident, point, dented a fender, or made an auto insurance claim. I’m a good risk.
If you own a home, and have a mortgage, you have to have a ‘homeowner’s policy,’ to protect the outfit that loaned you the money to buy your house. Let’s go into mortgages a bit. A 30 year, 10 year, or whatever the term may be on a mortgage, the property taxes may go up, but your payments stay the same for the entire life of the mortgage. Interest rates are very low now, and may go up if the Fed mistakenly thinks it may slow inflation. I’ve never had a mortgage, but if I did, I may not pay it off. Why? Because as inflation goes sky high, meaning your dollars go into the tank, your payments remain the same, even in trashed dollars. An idea presents itself. Take out a mortgage, buy gold with the money, and have the payments remain the same, as the gold goes sky high. Then, sell half the gold and pay off the mortgage, keeping the other half of the gold? I am not recommended it, but it is an interesting thought. I want no debts.
All insurance policies have limits. If you watch ‘Antiques Roadshow” on PBS Mondays, you will usually hear the appraiser say that for a $10,000 value antique, you should insure it for $15,000. I’ve never insured an antique, but maybe it’s good advice. An insurance policy is just as the name applies. It is insurance against accidents, fire, ill health, or a lot of things. We all need to insure our homes, cars, trucks, valuables, and health. After you’ve done that, perhaps you need more insurance? Insure what? All of the above, plus your dollars, that’s what. How do you insure your dollars, and what policy value do you use to get it? I’m not sure you can get a dollar value insurance policy from an insurance company, but I think it is important to have one.
An insurance policy with no limits or policy value, and with no payments. I know, you already know the answer, but think of gold and silver as an insurance policy, protecting your legal tender with no premiums to pay every month, and no limit as to its face value. An insurance guy tried to sell me a $5,000 life insurance policy about 60 years ago, and it may not pay for a funeral today. But had I bought $5,000 worth of gold then, I would have gotten 200 ounces of gold, which today would be worth $380,000. Not bad, huh? 60 years from today, it will be even worse, or greater, however you think about it. When I began doing this 45 years ago, I was selling one ounce gold coins for $250.
There’s no limit as to how low and eventually worthless, any un-backed paper money may go, because they always have gone to zero, and that will continue. The buck may be the last to go to zero, and no one knows, but they all go there, and gold and silver are your best insurance policy to protect yourself, and your family. Family, because when you die, your insurance goes to your kids with no transfer fees or paper work.
Don Stott- don@coloradogold.com