Economic insecurity is a strong predictor of social policy preferences and political behavior. But what drives economic insecurity and why individuals with similar characteristics report different levels of economic security in different countries? Previous research has found that economic and labour market conditions explain (perceived) economic insecurity better than the welfare state. I take instead an institutional approach and argue that the quality of government(QoG), i.e. corruption, rule of law, bureaucratic efficiency, affects (perceived) economic insecurity and the heterogeneity of risk pools. Using hierarchical models with data from ESS modules 4 & 8, I find that good governance is associated with lower economic insecurity and its effect is substantially stronger among the rich than the poor. In countries with bad governance, the rich and the poor experience similarly high levels of economic security; but the rich feel substantially less insecure than the poor in countries with high quality of government. The institutional stability and predictability associated with good governance provide a stronger safety net for higher-income groups. These findings have strong implications not only for research on QoG and economic insecurity but also on social policy preferences and inequality.