Insurance works by probability. You pay based on the probability of having to make a claim. They are profitable when they estimate the probability right across the board for all of their customers. They lose money when they get it wrong. I don't consider insurance premiums lost money. I paid for coverage of something going wrong based on probabilities. If nothing goes wrong, I guess I can call that a lost bet that I made against myself. But the companies don't just keep your money. It goes to paying claims of customers they didn't turn a profit on who had worse luck than you.