Insurance: Sharing the Risk
Ten people each put €2 into a shared pool — €20. One has a covered €15 loss and pays the first €3. How much does the pool pay, and what is left?
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In the year workbook
My Money YearThis lesson has a companion in the printable year workbook: pupil pp. 126–127, teacher companion p. 102.
Learning objectives
- Work out how much is in the pool before the loss (10 × €2 = €20)
- Split a €15 loss into the €3 excess and the €12 the pool pays, leaving €8
- Explain why paying a premium does not mean everyone gets money back
Vocabulary
- Insurance
- Everyone pays a little, so anyone who has bad luck gets helped.
- Premium
- The regular payment you make for insurance.
- Claim
- Asking your insurance to pay after something goes wrong.
- Risk Pool
- A group who each pay in, so the group can cover one person's loss.
- Excess
- The first part of a cost you pay yourself before insurance helps.
Materials
Minute-by-minute flow
6′
Hook
Teacher does
Read the story: ten fictional people each put €2 in a shared pool; one has a covered loss of €15 and the classroom rule says that person pays the first €3 excess while the pool pays the rest. Ask which card facts are known and what to find out.
Students do
Name the €2 contributions, the €15 loss and the €3 excess.
12′
Model
Teacher does
Think aloud through task 1: how much is in the pool before the loss? 10 × €2 = €20.
Students do
Count the €20 pool.
18′
Practise
Teacher does
Set tasks 2 and 3: how much does the person pay, how much does the pool pay and what remains — then does paying a premium mean everyone gets money back?
Students do
Show the person pays €3, the pool pays €12 and €8 remains, and explain not everyone claims.
6′
Discuss
Teacher does
Surface the misconception: the shared pool is simplified — real policies and claim outcomes differ and are not guaranteed by this model.
Students do
Explain the model is not a real policy.
3′
Exit
Teacher does
Pose the reflection: what information would you need before judging a real policy?
Students do
Say coverage, exclusions, premium, excess and claim conditions, among other terms.
Check for understanding
Can the learner reach a €20 pool, split the €15 loss into €3 excess and €12 paid with €8 left, and explain why not everyone gets money back?
Exit ticket
Pool €20, loss €15: person pays €3, pool pays €12, €8 left — before judging a real policy I would check…
Support
Use 20 counters, remove 3 for the excess and 12 from the pool.
Stretch
Compare a second fictional rule with a €5 excess: pool pays €10 and keeps €10.
Home connection
Name one thing a household might insure and one it might not, and list two terms — such as excess or exclusions — you would check first, using no real policy details.