They didn't ask 'why does insurance exist'. I imagine they fully well understand the concept of insurance. The more relevant part of the question was 'private'

They didn't ask 'why does insurance exist'. I imagine they fully well understand the concept of insurance. The more relevant part of the question was 'private' I suppose. As opposed to what? I imagine 'public' (single payer?). I don't know enough about the industry to have a really solid opinion on single payer vs not. However, I don't think that for-profit corporations is a good match for most (if not all) types of insurance. It puts too much incentive for them to screw over the policyholders and their dependents.