It has the significance of existence in the current market. According to the definition of "Insurance Law", insurance in a narrow sense refers to the commercial insurance behavior that the applicant pays the insurance premium to the insurer according to the contract, and the insurer bears the responsibility of paying the insurance premium for the property losses caused by the possible accidents agreed in the contract, or when the insured dies, suffers from disability, illness or reaches the age and time limit agreed in the contract. Insurance in a broad sense refers to an economic security system in which the insurer collects insurance premiums from the insured, establishes a special-purpose insurance fund, and assumes the liability for compensation or payment within the scope stipulated by law or contract. No matter what definition, insurance contract is essentially a gambling agreement, which is a bet on money and risk. In fact, the insurance contract can be regarded as a form of option, the premium of the insured is equivalent to the option fee, and the subject matter of the contract is the corresponding property value or the health status of the insured. Some people may think that the target of options is cash or equivalent (such as stock price, futures price, etc.). ), which is different from health status and life span. By actuarial means, insurance companies only convert these things that are not easy to be valued into values that can be measured in cash. Because there is still a lack of effective valuation for common insurance objects in the market, insurance companies can provide such services, especially in life insurance. This is an important factor that distinguishes insurance companies from other institutions, and it is also the basis that insurance contracts are more expensive than those in option contracts. In fact, there is no clear dividing line between reinsurance business of insurance companies and asset securitization business of investment banks. This means that insurance companies can be "investment banks" and investment banks can also be "insurance companies". The gradual maturity of the market will eventually eliminate the barriers of existing insurance business, and insurance will no longer be the patent of insurance companies. However, this does not mean that insurance companies will inevitably die out. Insurance companies can reduce the substitutability of their own business by providing highly personalized and high-quality insurance services. As long as the market can't copy its insurance products and services, insurance companies can still get excess returns. To sum up, as long as the insurance demand is still there, insurance companies will be there, although the insurance industry and insurance model may be constantly changing. Non-insurance professional point of view, nonsense, please pat more bricks on prawns from all walks of life.
Further reading: How to buy insurance, which is good, and teach you how to avoid these "pits" of insurance.