Financial Blog

Season 8 Update:

After 7 seasons, winter is finally here.

As the world takes its collective gasp before the great war and as the remaining chess pieces inch closer to end game, we remember the fallen. Who could ever forget the gruesome deaths at the Red Wedding, The Purple Wedding, The Trial by Combat, The Betrayal of the Night’s Watch and most importantly, Rickon’s heroic death at the Battle of the Bastards.

The final six episodes are shaping up to be the bloodiest yet, so we decided to revisit this theory: What if there was life insurance in Westeros?

Following all the beheadings, incinerations, skull-crushings, throat-slittings, and gruesome (and glorious) ways a character can go out, off-screen deaths and genocide are reduced to mere banter. Death has been a staple of the massive HBO TV series.

But then there are the deaths hit us hard. Twists that send us reeling with a punch to the gut… leaving us curled up in a corner, cursing D.B Weiss and Benioff for killing our favorite characters. Alas, Valar Morghulis.

This begs the question: “What if there was life insurance in Westeros?”

It could be game-changing. Think about it: if the Starks had life insurance, they might have been the richest family in the Seven Kingdoms by Season 3! The Night’s Watch could’ve had more resources for the wall’s upkeep and the crown would have less debt from the Iron Bank.

If you’re scratching your head at the thought of life insurance in Westeros, note the concept of insurance does exist in the world of Game of Thrones. In one of Arya’s adventures in Season 5, we were introduced to the “Thin Man” who operates the Ragman Harbor in Braavos and sells insurance on merchant ships, agreeing to pay ship captains and owners should they lose their vessels on the seas.

True, it’s a bit outlandish to imagine Sansa swimming in gold because of her family’s misfortunes, we still couldn’t resist.

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