A few years ago, I participated, as an assistant consultant, in a study carried out by several insurance companies who wanted to answer the eternal question: however, where does the resistance of Romanians come from when it comes to insurance, what makes them so reluctant, fatalistic and reckless in the face of risk, regardless of its nature?

I contributed to the corresponding report using the embedded tools of applied anthropology, that is, semi-structured interviews, on the “grassland”, head to head, in the destroyed and poor villages in Băraganul Brailean, where I come from; villages in the county of Iasi, as well as the commune of Dumbravica-Timish, which is considered the richest and most developed settlement in Romania.

I talked with brokers and insurance agents, ordinary policy buyers, general managers in the insurance industry, and above all, with those who were always “influential” in the rural environment, that is, the priest, the mayor, the teacher. And the family doctor, where he happened to be, was as old and exhausted as his patients.

I think you get the idea: we’ve entered the world of the unspoken, never really listened to, because it’s much easier to do focus group or quick phone survey research than field research; another side of the Truth appears, different from the most convenient and unanimously accepted one. The recent public debate surrounding the collapse of Euroins, the earthquake in the RCA market, and the fact that I am a driver and had a relatively recent incident where another person had an insurance policy with the company in question has prompted me to write the following.

Based on part of the conclusions of the previous field research, I tried to conduct an inventory of the deep reasons underlying the repeated violations in the insurance system in our country. Behind restrictions, bankruptcies, ASF, interventions and increases hides the brutal reality of Romanian risk management specificity. The order is intentionally random.

• Colossal loss of confidence in the insurance system as a whole. ASTRA, CITY, Euroins, the holy trinity of intentional failure. Repeated bankruptcies gave rise to the idea, of course, wrong, but which is easy for the client to accept, because it is simple, universal and does not require extra effort to think that “everyone is the same, everyone is water and earth.” However, this approach calls into question the solidarity and reputation of the system as a whole. When a market player falls, virtually everyone suffers. These were real traumas for regular and honest customers who personally had nothing to complain about in their relationship with the system.

• Every nation in the world has its own culture of randomness, which varies depending on historical factors, the degree of development and the dominant religion. The lack of existential stability (“in the path of all evils” and, more recently, “should I leave/emigrate or should I stay?” affects the way of relating to the idea of ​​provision, insurance, etc. In addition, fatalistic discourse is a form of collective self-therapy and connected with the stability of society as a whole, the ability to overcome crises. The effects of this actual state are focused on the fact that the individual and the collective choose to live in the present, focus on everyday and everyday needs, they spend most of their resources at once (see attention to the car and interior design the era of personal houses), but they refuse to protect themselves and project themselves into the future, the so-called existential presentism. As a derivative, in the case of RCA, we see how Romanian society is dominated by a lack of empathy and global responsibility. “I beat, I don’t care . Let her deal with the problems, because I can handle it myself.”

• The typical Romanian existential fatalism of the residents of Miorica means, among other things, accepting risk with a capital letter. Individual destinies are perceived as uncontrollable, determined by an unknown force called “destiny” or “doom”. The standard expression of fatalism is “as God wills/as it will be!”. In deciphered form, this state of mind and this message means the following: every European nation has its own “culture of chance” and “luck”, which varies according to history, degree of economic development and dominant denomination/religion. As for the “luck” you have or were born with (he’s lucky behind the wheel, nothing happens!), this is a typical phenomenon of reverse cultural acculturation, it comes from Roma culture and is a separate discussion that I will not insist on here, although this indicates a deep degree of integration into the dominant culture.

• Magico-religious practices and ritual protective formulas are a clear sign of the mentioned fatalism. The best example to illustrate: crosses, icons, “sanctified” gas tanks in cars, car “sanctification” services all demonstrate the persistence of the magical, conservative-religious way of thinking more common in pre-modern societies. When there is a social consensus on the magical and religious dimension of society, as in Romania, it means a reaction to a serious social dysfunction (eg religious pilgrimage of spouses/deficient health care system – I go on pilgrimage to heal). Society knows, intuitively feels, that “something” is not going well in the rational and technical order and organization of the state and its institutions. Because, paradoxically, the obligation to have an RCA policy equates to a task set by the state, the system; mistrust of him also affects the decision to hedge. Why take out an insurance policy that I’m not sure will work (bankruptcy, self-service theft, high price) when I can benefit from divine, free, immediate and “effective” protection, at least symbolically? It is an open question that needs to be reflected more deeply, because here lies one of the keys to Romanians’ resistance to insurance and risk perception.

• Lack of insurance education, not to mention ignorance itself – low literacy – continues to be a huge problem, despite campaigns and efforts by insurers. It’s a blanket population that has never been insured, never lived in this risk management culture that is typical of today’s world. I don’t mean to be mean, absolutely not, but there are an incredibly large number of Romanian drivers who have made the jump straight from a van to a car (maybe a 20 year old imported from Germany with a missing catalytic converter). Just going from two horsepower to 200 raises some issues, not just technical or behavioral. They have not yet mastered (and probably never will) the capitalist spirit of foresight and attention to one’s own assets accumulated through intense, constant labor, not to mention collective solidarity. Also related to this aspect is the difficulty of evaluating how and where to buy an RCA policy. In rural areas and small towns, I have encountered “brokers” (quotes or not?) selling RCA policies at funeral homes, florists, plant health stores, car washes, fitness centers, bakeries, or beauty salons. . All the sights and socialization of the microcosm I live in are rich for the public. But it all speaks to the risk education they have. How can an intermediary grocery store owner advise you to make informed choices? Also, for this type of customer, your traffic peers, they get the lowest price reported by the broker-friend.

As life and the surrounding capitalism teach us, every crisis is an opportunity. I am not the only one who hopes and believes that the recent earthquake in the RCA market will settle and clear the waters once and for all, even if the financial shock is exorbitant. For many of those who own cheap cars, the RCA policy will sometimes cost more than the actual market value of the property they own. Therefore, they will definitely get behind the wheel even without RCA protection issued by a sick company. God help! Full stop.

N.Ed: Mirel Banika is a researcher in the field of religious anthropology and cultural communication.