When I was trying to leave US I literally got the car completely fixed up on insurance. No nonsense claim no questions asked and fkn fast! I don't know if that service exists in Australia. In fact service here is the worst in the world, like 'sorry for expecting you to do your job' bad.
making the insurance guy pay you could be the worst thing that happened, all the people around you just pay and pay, get nil in returned. But I hit the jackpot... so the few years of tiny premiums paid, I get to spend month in hospital, insurance guy foot the bill. so can say I get back all and more that the bargain for. lol
I haven’t had any trouble with claims around cars or home and contents. The premiums are pretty small, the excess is worth more than most claims and the property insured is just consumer goods. It’s the life, trauma, income protection shit etc that has me wondering the value of it. I eat well, exercise, keep fit, drink too much and come from good genetic stock so insurance (im talking about $10G a year for both of us) is an opportunity cost. Tempering exposure to insurance is probably as clever as tempering exposure to risk. There’s no upside to life insurance if you live beyond 65 or whatever.
CFD's easiest for shorting anything, including COMEX silver futures - although ASIC has increased required margins to about 5x levels of a couple of years ago. Very straight forward.
If you are considering CFD, know your broker! CFDs are not standardised contracts and every CFD broker is different. Small detail like, upgrade to Pro account with some Brokers could make you a wholesale client, meaning you lose many protections against loss but gain enhanced "opportunity" and better ways to make a bigger profit or loss. ie NAB vs Stake essentially the same when buying shares, just fees and spread are different but rules are the same
I've only ever used IG markets - they have standardised contracts or "minis". All gains/losses marked to market (pretty much so close that difference is negligible). Couldn't be easier.