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A comment on Woman makes $420k by buying insurance on flights she predicted would get delayed. Parent comment

Re:Woman makes $420k by buying insurance on flights she pred... by vkou on Monday June 15, 2020 @06:24AM (#23525814)
Insurance is gambling that reduces your risk, rather than increases your risk.

That's generally the reason for why it's treated differently, by law.

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Re:Woman makes $420k by buying insurance on flights she pred... by webmaven on Monday June 15, 2020 @10:35AM (#23527754)
> Insurance is gambling that reduces your risk, rather than increases your risk.

Aren't hedge funds (nominally) doing the same thing?

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Re:Woman makes $420k by buying insurance on flights she pred... by vkou on Monday June 15, 2020 @12:42PM (#23529372)
Yes, but hedge funds have a larger counterparty risk. Their hedge is more likely to not work out, than your insurance is to fail to pay up. (And this aspect of insurance is quite heavily regulated.)
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