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A car was destroyed by the tornado that tore through the
capital region Friday. (Nicole Nivotny)
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It can happen.
Horrific events can happen. Any place! Anywhere! And any way!
The images of the violent storm which swept through the Ottawa and Gatineau regions last Friday depict massive
destruction.
Imagine one minute living life in peace and
harmony; and then the next minute being tossed into a pool of chaos and
devastation. The five simple words in this profound adage tell us a story: “Life Can Turn on a Dime.” Life certainly changed
for these people within a small space of time.
Life can change for anyone when they face an
unexpected event. Everything people work
towards owning is shown in these photos. Houses. Cars. Household possessions.
Once people are over the shock, their focus will
turn to recovery. How do you recover
from something this catastrophic? Hopefully,
the answer is that they carried home insurance.
Global News answers this question, Does home insurance cover tornado damage? “The Insurance
Bureau of Canada (IBC) says that most home and business policies offer
protection from wind and tornado damage, along with compensation for living
expenses if there’s a mandatory evacuation order.”
Seeing
and understanding the need for insurance is crucial. Often people pick and choose what to insure. In previous blogs, we discussed life insurance as well as disability and critical illness insurance. Today in the aftermath of this tornado, our
focus is on property insurance. It all
boils down to risk management. You run a
risk if you choose not to insure your possessions. The reality is without
insurance your financial well-being can be severely impacted. When disaster strikes, the conversation
inside your head will go either in one direction or another. “Oh no!” or “Thank
goodness!”
Insurance
is not limited only to the need to cover natural disasters such as a flood,
earthquake, or hurricane, which cause great damage or loss of life. Insurance is necessary to cover against theft,
fire, and accident. Any of these events
will cause your life to turn on a dime financially, mentally, and in some
cases, physically. The cautionary advice
is to protect your family and yourself.
Disasters
like these can be a wake-up a call for everyone. My husband and I recently did a complete
overhaul on our property insurance. We
literally took the policy apart, examined the coverage, and made necessary
changes with the help of our insurance agent. The question is: “When is the
last time your insurance policy was reviewed?” Sometimes, insurance premiums
can be lowered when you balance the amount of risk you can assume with the
remainder covered by the insurance company. I always remember one insurance
representative saying, “Some insurance is better than no insurance.”