--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being good to people is the only…" description: "\"Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.\" — Tom Hodgkinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png" --- # Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need. ![“Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.” quote by Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png) > “Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.” [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kindness acts as a personal safeguard, protecting against regret and social debt. **In simple terms:** Kindness is your best insurance. Key Takeaway Practice kindness daily. Themes ethics social capital well‑being Mood thoughtful warm Type ethical practical When to use this quote - customer service - community work - personal relationships Key Concepts reciprocity trust building Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance kindness and self‑care? - What risks come with being overly generous? A Different Perspective Kindness can be exploited by others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads... Now young people can get insurance for as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/a-lot-of-young-people-think-they-re-invincible-but-the-truth-is-young/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [What is Obamacare doing? It's destroying the only kind of plans people without insurance ever get. And nobody seems to be noticing except the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/what-is-obamacare-doing-it-s-destroying-the-only-kind-of-plans-people/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Turning God into some kind of celestial insurance policy is just mental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-welby/turning-god-into-some-kind-of-celestial-insurance-policy-is-just/) [Justin Welby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-welby/) > [People would have a health care insurance policy they can call their own. They could choose one that exactly fits their families' needs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-p-harris/people-would-have-a-health-care-insurance-policy-they-can-call-their/) [Andrew P. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-p-harris/) > [Before you get mugged by reality, take out an insurance policy. It's the Reagan way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-shultz/before-you-get-mugged-by-reality-take-out-an-insurance-policy-it-s/) [George P. Shultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-shultz/) > [If an individual sticks up a bank and walks off with $25,000, there are consequences. If someone who really could have had an insurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-williams/if-an-individual-sticks-up-a-bank-and-walks-off-with-25-000-there-are/) [Ron Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-williams/) > [I like gold because it is a stabilizer; it is an insurance policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/i-like-gold-because-it-is-a-stabilizer-it-is-an-insurance-policy/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [A pre-nup is an insurance policy or, in brokerage terms, a short hedge - meant to mitigate a high-risk investment. It safeguards the love-struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/a-pre-nup-is-an-insurance-policy-or-in-brokerage-terms-a-short-hedge/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The arts are the best insurance policy a city can take on itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-w-dumas/the-arts-are-the-best-insurance-policy-a-city-can-take-on-itself/) W. W. Dumas > [Socialism is an insurance policy bought by all the members of a national economy to shield them from risk. But the result is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gilder/socialism-is-an-insurance-policy-bought-by-all-the-members-of-a/) [George Gilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gilder/) > [To care for the natural world is the most effective insurance policy we can have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-harding/to-care-for-the-natural-world-is-the-most-effective-insurance-policy/) [Phil Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-harding/) > [Since it took up office, the Commission which I lead has pursued a clear policy: we need less interference from Brussels when it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/since-it-took-up-office-the-commission-which-i-lead-has-pursued-a/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Our greatest foreign policy problem is our divisions at home. Our greatest foreign policy need is national cohesion and a return to the awareness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/our-greatest-foreign-policy-problem-is-our-divisions-at-home-our/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Fiscal policy will need to manage trade-offs between supporting demand, protecting social spending, and ensuring that public debt remains on a sustainable path, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gita-gopinath/fiscal-policy-will-need-to-manage-trade-offs-between-supporting/) [Gita Gopinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gita-gopinath/) > [My view of foreign policy is that we need to be careful and circumspect about United States intervention in any foreign nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/my-view-of-foreign-policy-is-that-we-need-to-be-careful-and/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) ## More by Tom Hodgkinson > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/writing-a-book-is-a-brilliant-thing-because-once-you-ve-finished-it/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Truly, the bench is a boon to idlers. Whoever first came up with the idea is a genius: free public resting places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/truly-the-bench-is-a-boon-to-idlers-whoever-first-came-up-with-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Beauty, pleasure, freedom and plenty of sleep: these are the hallmarks of a successful idler's break. Travel should not be hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/beauty-pleasure-freedom-and-plenty-of-sleep-these-are-the-hallmarks/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [These days we seem more bound to our bosses than ever before. We even identify our own selves with the jobs we do: 'What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/these-days-we-seem-more-bound-to-our-bosses-than-ever-before-we-even/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [The way to stop feeling guilty is to read stuff - I'm not saying my book, but works by Bertrand Russell or Oscar Wilde,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/the-way-to-stop-feeling-guilty-is-to-read-stuff-i-m-not-saying-my/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [The phrase 'work/life balance' encapsulates a depressing outlook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/the-phrase-work-life-balance-encapsulates-a-depressing-outlook/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [The idea of a government is to create an ordered, willing work force where there's no trouble. I think idlers are generally seen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/the-idea-of-a-government-is-to-create-an-ordered-willing-work-force/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [When stuck years ago in a job I hated, my only friend was the public bench. As the tedious mornings dragged on, how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/when-stuck-years-ago-in-a-job-i-hated-my-only-friend-was-the-public/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [All poets are idlers, even if all idlers are not poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/all-poets-are-idlers-even-if-all-idlers-are-not-poets/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Pain will never leave us. Instead of putting energy into destroying pain, we need to put energy into creating pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/pain-will-never-leave-us-instead-of-putting-energy-into-destroying/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Sensible people advise against drinking on an empty stomach, but to my mind it is the best sort of drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/sensible-people-advise-against-drinking-on-an-empty-stomach-but-to-my/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Paradoxically, to be truly idle, you also have to be efficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/paradoxically-to-be-truly-idle-you-also-have-to-be-efficient/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Am I the only person in the world who is shocked and amazed at the ongoing flattery of uebergeek Mark Zuckerberg?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/am-i-the-only-person-in-the-world-who-is-shocked-and-amazed-at-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [I would like to propose slow cycling. Commute by bike. At a stroke, you remove the need for and absurd cost of public transport.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/i-would-like-to-propose-slow-cycling-commute-by-bike-at-a-stroke-you/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) [Explore all 144 Tom Hodgkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [There's such cultural rot taking place, such a disintegration throughout our culture. Values, morality, you name it. Standards have been relaxed, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-s-such-cultural-rot-taking-place-such-a-disintegration/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The difference in being good at some thing and being great at something is usually found in the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-anderson/the-difference-in-being-good-at-some-thing-and-being-great-at/) Randy Anderson > [It doesn't matter if your lead character is good or bad. He just has to be interesting, and he has to be good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chase/it-doesn-t-matter-if-your-lead-character-is-good-or-bad-he-just-has/) [David Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chase/) > [What's good for the very rich might not be good for anybody but them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/what-s-good-for-the-very-rich-might-not-be-good-for-anybody-but-them/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“Living in the middle of beauty like this, we've no call to have puny ideas about God. Why do you suppose His world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/living-in-the-middle-of-beauty-like-this-we-ve-no-call-to-have-puny/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) Browse all 1,747 Be good quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Hodgkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insurance-policy-you-need/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insurance-policy-you-need/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/tom-hodgkinson-2852_be-good_being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insuran_2024736.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.” — Tom Hodgkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Hodgkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being good to people is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insurance-policy-you-need/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/being-good-to-people-is-the-only-insurance-policy-you-need/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```