So one thing people forget about serious illnesses is that it's not just about the cost of medical procedures. It's possible that the only doctors who know how to treat your particular condition are in another city, so there are travel expenses involved. Plus, if your health issues mean you can't work for a long period of time, that can also impact your finances.

(for what it's worth, I currently work for a company that makes software offering various kinds of secondary insurance, and I've spent the last few months learning about the kinds of things "cancer insurance" and "accident insurance" are for, and it's been an eye-opener)

And as for your car: yeah, liability insurance is compulsory in the US, but it's really painful to be hit by someone who's illegally uninsured. It actually happened to my mom a few years ago—she got lucky, her insurance was willing to pick up the tab, but she could've been on the hook for a lot of money if her insurance punted instead (to be fair, the damage to her car was entirely cosmetic, and her car was still operable, just with a car-sized dent in it).

> liability insurance is compulsory in the US, but it's really painful to be hit by someone who's illegally uninsured

In Europe this is covered and very rare currently. After the first four years the car need to pass an official exam each six or twelve months. No insurance means that you can't even start the test nor move the car from there except in a tow truck (paid for you). Driving with the test outdated means a fine and after some months your car can be deregistered automatically. It does not worth the trouble.

For what it's worth, the guy who hit my mom was an undocumented immigrant who had neither a driver's license nor a registered car.

I hold no ill will towards undocumented immigrants, but there's not much you can do if someone hits you in an illegal vehicle.

In that case there is an organism that pays you and then reclaim the money to the part without assurance, plus a hefty fine for him/her, by idiot. In Spain is el Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros and it belongs to the Ministry of Economy. Other countries can have their own systems.

Uninsured motorist coverage is a line item on my insurance documents. I know it is not required by every state but I don't know if there are states where it is not offered. I can't imagine choosing not to have that coverage if it were an option.

we have 3 of the 4 things you list here. "developer pay" is pretty broad, so its tough to generalize where you're paid more.