Part 18: Currency Markets, Insurance, Security, and Adjudication in Narestan Civilisation

Currency Markets, Insurance, Security, and Adjudication in Narestan Civilisation

Currency markets in Narestan civilisation are based on several competing commodity currencies that float on the markets much as would differing national currencies in other currency markets, with sudden supply shocks either up or down tending to lead to transfer of business to differing commodities. In the modern era, the commodity currencies in widest use are gold, silver, platinum, tungsten, and titanium, with current local exchange rates between currencies being considered an important datum of knowledge for any aware adult. Agricultural staple commodities are considered less useful as currency commodities due to their lesser durability. It is not uncommon for purchases to be conducted with a purchaser offering multiple different currencies for a single purchase to equal whatever the quoted price is in whatever currency the price is quoted in. Both metallic coinage and bank notes issued by individual banks that will redeem the note value in the appropriate weight of metal are in common use. Optronic transactions granting title to bank metal reserves through various financial instruments are also in common use.

It is normal for adults to choose insurance coverage of person and property according to their needs, with insurance coverage including breach of contract coverage. Losses accrued to an insured individual due to breach of contract are thus normally covered by their insurer. Uninsured individuals or insurance firms then rely on hiring security firms for recovery of damages through investigation of incidents and the serving of writs against those believed to be responsible in a case. In cases where both parties to a case are contracted with the same insurer, cases are resolved either by internal decision within the insurance company or appeal to an independent arbitrator. In cases where those involved are covered by differing insurance companies or are insurance companies themselves, appeal to an independent arbitrator is standard. Failure to agree to arbitration and attempts to evade payment of damages according to arbitration may result in the injured party and the arbitrator for the original case reporting this to a wider network of arbitrators and establishing a writ of outlawry on the malefactor, to be publicised as far as possible. Reputable insurance companies will not cover somebody subject to a writ of outlawry, and whatever methods are necessary to apprehend an outlaw and compel payment of damages are thereafter considered legitimate in the wider society. In cases of particularly heinous crimes, it is not unknown for the damages to be restored to the heirs of the victims to exceed any possible lifetime income of the criminal, which frequently leads to outlawry rather than the criminal agreeing to a lifetime of wages garnished for the benefit of their victims.

Ultimately, much of the Narestan system is dependent on reputations of scrupulous honesty throughout institutional players, and discovery of dishonesty in dealings can be catastrophic. Dishonest insurers will bleed clients, dishonest security services will see any evidence they present heavily discounted by arbitrators, and dishonest arbitrators will not be agreed upon by any but the most unsavory clients. In almost all such cases, bankruptcy of the business in question follows, along with the contempt of respectable society.