It seems most bitcoiners prefer cold hardware wallets over online platforms but why is that? Considering platforms like coinbase are FDIC insured and have the best security in the business, it seems much riskier to try to secure my bitcoins on my own. I feel my house burning down or some other accident destroying my wallet is much more likely than losing it on Coinbase. And if there is a breach in coinbase, I get it back... so what am I missing?? While I’m not new to owning bitcoin, I am new to learning about it. So I apologize if this is an annoying newb question.
The easiest and best answer would be "Not your keys, Not your coin" .
It is safer in the cold storage rather than online or mobile wallet which could be hack when your phone is infected with virus.
We have back up keys so we could recover what's inside the wallet if the device ends up being misplaced.
Online or mobile wallets had also a back-up keys which you can use as a backup, so it's not a big deal if either cold wallet or other else will be used. That always depends on your comfort or easy access on your funds. Most importantly, you're securing all the best options on how to manage your asset security. Nature calamity or any device potential loss is always possible, don't ignore those ideas and always think of some presumptions.