In other words, we pay them huge piles of $$, and they pay us almost nothing, ever.

If I dropped this "insurance" and just invested the money, I'd add 6 figures of principal alone every ~4 years. With 7% returns I would have over $300K of self-insurance after just 10 years.

Negotiating cash prices from providers and putting personal effort into a more healthy lifestyle would make those $$ stretch even further (have you seen what providers bill when "insurance" is involved?).

Plus we would never have to argue with anyone about whether to pay a particular claim.

Getting tougher to argue with this approach.