It has never come up for my group before.
I'd have thought insurance companies would refuse to insure adventurers. Far too risky.
Have life insurance. The characters pay it every month or so. But have them like modern insurance companies, where they have severely strict things that limit it. Like the fact that you'd have to have someone bring your body back. Or that it only covers certain kinds of deaths. And if you're in a high-fatality field, then they might refuse you outright or make it so that if you died in a certain area, they wouldn't bring you back.
The insurance described by ghostunderasheet isn't life insurance, it's a pre-paid service. Insurance companies collect premiums and pay out when requested. They wouldn't insure adventurers as it's too risky a crisis will happen, many adventurers get killed and paying out bankrupts them.
Pre-paid tokens are not a problem as the church already has the money, even if every token is cashed in. That the token can only be used at Absalom is really crappy service. It's a capitalist society, find a church providing a better service. And yes, you can sue the church if they renege. I find it very hard to believe a liberal capitalist society doesn't have strong contract law enforcement. Besides, merchant churches understand the commercial value of reputation and reneging without good reason is bad for business.
Also, if you were surprised the token can only be used at Absalom station, you should have read the contract first. Now, contracts aren't absolute and civil courts can amend bad ones but I can't see a court demanding the service be performed elsewhere if the service limitation was already in the contract or well known.
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I find it very hard to believe a liberal capitalist society doesn't have strong contract law enforcement. Besides, merchant churches understand the commercial value of reputation and reneging without good reason is bad for business.
You should take a look at modern insurance companies in the US. One refused to help a woman with skin cancer because she had acne as a teen. Another refused to help a woman on vacation from another country who had a baby while in the US because she had a UTI.
Insurance companies will find every hole they can to not pay out. In a universe with undead pirates and space-ship sized killers, corporations will still be the most vile, evil things around.
I find it very hard to believe a liberal capitalist society doesn't have strong contract law enforcement. Besides, merchant churches understand the commercial value of reputation and reneging without good reason is bad for business.You should take a look at modern insurance companies in the US. One refused to help a woman with skin cancer because she had acne as a teen. Another refused to help a woman on vacation from another country who had a baby while in the US because she had a UTI.
Insurance companies will find every hole they can to not pay out. In a universe with undead pirates and space-ship sized killers, corporations will still be the most vile, evil things around.
At the risk of turning this into a political discussion, I'm pretty certain US health insurance companies settle if it looks like litigation is about to reach court. Alas, they know the ill have the least energy and finances to push it that far. So I suppose I ought to qualify my statement that I reckon most Starfinder societies have strong contract law enforcement but only if you can afford it.
In terms of adventurers pre-paying a resurrection service, I reckon civil courts keeps the church honest. Or rather, the customer can realistically invoke the force of law to enforce the contract. Adventurers tend to be wealthier and attract media attention. They can afford a lawyer and a voice in the court of popular opinion. Also, adventurers can always resort to keeping money in their own bank account and shopping around when required. When you can't **** over the captive market, you resort to having a reputation for a service worth buying.
You were had, mate! Should have walked away and put the money in a bank account instead. If a death happens, withdraw the money from the nearest branch of the bank, visit the nearest non-hostile church and request the reincarnation service. Walk away and go elsewhere if they're dumb enough to say no.
No interstellar banking? Not even Traveller style? That sucks. Well, you're a heavily armed mercenary. Carry your credsticks with you and, if needed, walk into the nearest non-hostile church. If they don't offer a fair price, look for a competitor. If the local churches, despite ideological differences, collude, exclaim you'll just incinerate the corpse and train another adventurer. Few let a profit margin walk out the door.
I'd have thought insurance companies would refuse to insure adventurers. Far too risky.
Or they might do it the way a Heinlein novel handled a life insurance policy for an extremely wealthy multi-billionaire who was 90+ years old and dying in a hospital who wanted to buy a million dollar life insurance policy from a company who promised to sell any desired policy.
The premium on that policy was a million dollars a day.
I'd just relegate it to background fluff and leave it alone. I prefer to assume it is already accounted for in the book's listed costs of services.
In any case, there's no way for an insurance company to know someone is an adventurer (the adventurer certainly is t going to tell them). That's not really a profession. They might see you as a mercenary, a contractor, an explorer, or something else that is a little more grounded in reality.
It's not like a farmer who suddenly picked up his shotgun and decided to wipe out the local biker gang to protect his community one day will suddenly be labeled an adventurer and start receiving huge premiums. No, until he gets shot and requests medical services, the insurance companies will still likely see him as a low risk farmer.
Now, how many adventurers rely on medical services, rather than in-party healing? Not many I'd wager.
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*blink* Why would a church not be able to "cash in" a token paid for from another branch of the same church? Its one organization. Also, doesn't matter if there's no interstellar radio. Insurance companies functioned successfully in the days of sail, comms-by-courier-ship work fine for interstellar banking and commerce.
Also, there's a good reason for an adventurer to buy a resurrection "in advance". Its effectively an investment, and really should be cheaper than paying on the spot. Say a revival costs 5000. If an adventurer buys "One Future Revival", the money goes to the church, and they can use it and invest it in the present. They only have to "pay out" at some indefinite point in the future, possibly never. So, based on how likely the revival is to be needed, and how soon, they can price the cost of this service so that its both cheaper for the purchaser and more profitable for the church.
Example: Say that they reasonably determine that the average adventurer won't need a revival until 2 years have passed, and that the church can easily get a 10% return on their funds. If they charge 4500 for a pre-purchased revival credit, after two years have passed? That 4500 will now be 5445. 5000 now goes to pay the cost of providing the revival, and 445 remains. The adventurer gets a cheaper revival, while the church makes nearly an extra 500 credits off the transaction. Win win.
Now, why buy a resurrection token when you could just invest the money and make interest yourself? Couple reasons. One, no reason you can't do both, if you have plenty of money. Two, an organized church can probably get better returns on investment than a random adventurer. Three, its possible the contract could allow resale or refund, allowing you to get your money back out if you decide you want cash more than the promise of undoing death.
eh...
the entire premise of being 'an adventurer' is that you can exponentially increase your assets, albeit at an insanely high level of risk. BUT you have to remain cash poor until the end of your career, because getting to that next level of reward requires you to plow in all of your earnings into new equipment, much of which is destroyed or otherwise rendered useless - essentially it depreciates to zero upon purchase.
there's just too much risk -
PC - I'd like to buy a life insurance policy
Underwriter - What profession are you in?
PC - Freelance murderer, tomb delver, monster hunter
Underwriter - I'll save you the embarrassment and show you the door now.
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As a gm how would you work it out for your pcs. And as a pc how would try and get the best deal. I failed my attempt at it having to pay 3 times the price twice and only being allowed to use "it" at one location. Like opening an account at wellsfargo expecting to be able to use it at all the banks everywhere but finding out you only use your account or make withdraws at that one location. But if you but if you find another wellsfargo you can open another location by paying them the maximum fee. Thats basicly the deal i was able to strike. My group has it's issues but it's my group. *He stated with all the obstinance of a pouty child*
First treat being an "Adventure" as what the job actually is a mercenary,bounty/monster hunting, and object/data recovery/person agent.
I'd have Adventure be a euphemism for "itinerant mercenary/bounty-hunter".
If the characters belong to a Adventure's guild or union then have medical treatment be part of the services that they get for paying their guild dues.
Along with room,board,training,discounts on equipment as a result of deals between the guild and various manufactures,and vehicle rental.
Based upon the amount of dues that an Adventure pays their guild, the standard being 10% of every job taken;though you can chose to pay more.
The Adventure is entitled to X number of "Free" medical treatments per year;if that number is exceed the adventure's must pay out of pocket,though at a discounted rate as a result of deals between the guild and medical service providers.
For those Adventures that operate independently their are likely specialized Medical Care services that cater to them.
Something akin to Shadowrun's"Doc Wagon", the Adventure pays a monthly or annual fee and they receive on demand medical care, with level of care provided based upon the Adventure's level of subscription Copper,Silver,Gold,Platinum,and finally Electrum.
...As a gm how would you work it out for your pcs. And as a pc how would try and get the best deal. I failed my attempt at it having to pay 3 times the price twice and only being allowed to use "it" at one location. Like opening an account at wellsfargo expecting to be able to use it at all the banks everywhere but finding out you only use your account or make withdraws at that one location. But if you but if you find another wellsfargo you can open another location by paying them the maximum fee. Thats basicly the deal i was able to strike. My group has it's issues but it's my group. *He stated with all the obstinance of a pouty child*First treat being an "Adventure" as what the job actually is a mercenary,bounty/monster hunting, and object/data recovery/person agent.
I'd have Adventure be a euphemism for "itinerant mercenary/bounty-hunter".
If the characters belong to a Adventure's guild or union then have medical treatment be part of the services that they get for paying their guild dues.
Along with room,board,training,discounts on equipment as a result of deals between the guild and various manufactures,and vehicle rental.
Based upon the amount of dues that an Adventure pays their guild, the standard being 10% of every job taken;though you can chose to pay more.
The Adventure is entitled to X number of "Free" medical treatments per year;if that number is exceed the adventure's must pay out of pocket,though at a discounted rate as a result of deals between the guild and medical service providers.
For those Adventures that operate independently their are likely specialized Medical Care services that cater to them.
Something akin to Shadowrun's"Doc Wagon", the Adventure pays a monthly or annual fee and they receive on demand medical care,
Years ago I realized that the profession of "Adventures" didn't make any sense.
The adventure profession exist as a result of overlap between how many people play the game and the setting, small itinerant bands of heavily armed individuals that do a mixture of treasure hunting,private security, and monster/bounty hunting.
In fantasy fiction their are few "adventures", the protagonists of those stories have a very specific reason to put their lives on the line.
There also few settings that just have small fortunes sitting around waiting for a sufficiently equipped band of individuals to claim them.
I'd take a page from Shadowrun and make a Docwagon style health insurance corporation. Different levels of service ranging from "will heal you if you visit a clinic" to "will send in a dropship and armed soldiers to extract you if you are incapacitated", depending on what monthly premium you're willing to pay.