A bookmaker would not accept a bet that the Houses of Parliament lie to the west of the Greenwich meridian, because it is a fact that they do, with no element of a chance that they do not. By the same token, insurance companies do not issue policies involving paying out against what is inevitable, but only against the prospect of a risk that some specified event might occur. Thus it is undisputed that rain will fall on a particular village green in the Home Counties at some point in the future, but will it rain on the day of the village summer fête? Insurance can be arranged to cover that, at a premium related to the nature of the cover and the conditions to be satisfied.

The Government talks of having put in place an insurance scheme for the nation’s broken banks.