A good candidate for the "Most Unfortunate Analogy Used in Options" award might be likening the purchase of options — especially puts — to insurance. The parallels between options and insurance are superficially beguiling, and probably everyone who has ever taught options courses or written about options has fallen back on these comparisons. The analogy isn’t just inaccurate, it’s counterproductive because it can prevent people from understanding how options can work. In fact, options are better than insurance — far better.