Some actions mitigate the severity of loss or damage, but don’t affect the likelihood of the adverse effect occurring in the first place.
Examples:
- A prenuptial agreement protects assets, but doesn’t save marriages
- Flood, earthquake, car, and health insurance will all, after the fact, reverse damage to property and people, but will not reduce the probability of the initial adverse event or damage occurring.
- Collateral posted by a borrower will help to reduce a lender’s exposure, but in itself collateral will not make the borrower less likely to default.
- Automobile clubs provide coverage in the event a road mishap occurs, but the coverage doesn’t make the initial mishap less likely.
- Getting drunk before asking a girl out can reduce the pain of rejection but can’t in itself reduce the likelihood of rejection.
- Certain medications, such as penicillin, significantly mitigate the damage caused by various bacterial infections. They don’t however, stop the infections from occurring in the first place.
- Wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle can significantly reduce risk of head injury, but helmets are generally not credited with reducing the likelihood of an accident.