Insurance Agents are the Masters of Disasters

By Diane Tait

Image courtesy pixabay

Everyone is currently fixated on the Coronavirus crisis.  Change is happening so fast that hardly anyone has time to catch their breath before the next government edict is issued that further restricts our ability to live and work as we did only a few weeks ago.  Everywhere you turn is yet another prediction of doom and gloom that threatens to disrupt not only our lives but the economy as well.  While the current health disaster is daunting, I just want to remind all my readers that it isn’t unprecedented.  Recently the world has been getting used to disruptions caused by flood, fire and storms that have caused massive damage and loss of life.  While most people get taken by surprise by unexpected calamities, insurance agents like me are used to dealing with disasters every day.

It’s people like me who get called every day when disaster strikes. – Whether it’s to report an auto accident, a house fire, a theft or damage caused by water and/or wind, insurance agents are the go-to contacts that most people reach out for as soon as calamity raises its ugly head.  While I’m there to help sort out the mess and make customers whole again, I also make it a point to prepare all my customers in advance as to what to do when disaster strikes.

When times are tough, how we react can make all the difference.  What normally happens during a disaster is that everything we hold to be true goes out the window.  Living and working in a state with the highest expectation for hurricanes in the country, I’m used to going from thrive to survive in minutes flat.  Below are six disasters that you may be forced to survive in the future and what you need to do to deal with them.

     

Image courtesy flickr

1.      House Fire – Believe it or not, more people die from smoke inhalation during a house fire than from the fire itself.  While your first instinct might be to race to the fire extinguisher when your smoke alarm goes off, before you find yourself passing out in a smoke-filled room or hallway, check to see if you can see your way out.  Your safety and that of your family needs to come first.  Better to flee your residence and call the fire department than be overcome by smoke and toxic gases that combustion produces.  Once everyone is outside, then its safe to look for the cause in order to decide whether a house fire is worth fighting on your own.

      2.      Wildfire – Back in the late spring of 1998, the State of Florida began to burn.  Several neighborhoods were destroyed in the process.  While some people failed to heed warnings to evacuate and chose to stay to fight the fire, this could prove deadly.  Wildfires can travel as fast as 60 MPH.  Winds feeding these fires can also rain embers several miles ahead of the fire front.  To think that you and your garden hose are going to be able to hold off a firestorm is worse than ludicrous.  It could prove a deadly mistake.  If you receive a warning of an approaching wildfire, the only prudent thing to do is grab a few valuables and head upwind to safe ground.  Not only isn’t it worth risking your life to protect your property, the damage is covered by your homeowner’s policy.  Homes can be replaced.  Lives can’t.

      3.      Car Fire – Here’s another peril that you don’t want to fool with.  Should black smoke suddenly begin to issue from under the hood of your car, do NOT pop the hood.  The added oxygen is only going to make the fire worse.  Steam from a busted radiator hose is white.  Smoke is black.  The minute you see black smoke wafting from under the hood, pull over and get everyone out of the vehicle.  Do not try to nurse your vehicle to the next exit.  Move swiftly away from the vehicle at least 50-feet and call 911.  The danger posed by a car fire is that it can quickly lead to a gasoline or battery explosion. 

Image courtesy pixabay

      4.      Hurricanes – Living in Florida means always being prepared for a potential hurricane, right?  Not if you’ve ever lived through one.  Most people wait until the last minute to prepare to ride out a storm or to try to flee.  The problem is that almost everyone else does the same thing at the same time.  As a result, stores are stripped of food, water and plywood faster than most folks can get at them.  Escape routes away from the storm clog with traffic leaving many people stranded on the road.  The way around this is to make your hurricane preparations well in advance of hurricane season.  I try to stock up on canned goods, bottled water and other hurricane supplies right around the Fourth of July.  I also pack a bug out bag with camping gear and foul weather clothing in case I wind up heading for the hills if a monster storm heads this way.  Last but not least, I make sure I turn off both the water and the power in my home before I leave to make sure that I don’t come back to a big mess after the storm abates.

      5.      Flood – The best way to avoid a flood is to prevent one. Most of the damage caused by storms is not created by wind but by water.  That means that Spring is a great time of year to check your property to make sure that water has a straight path to the sewer.  You’d be surprised how quickly weeds and debris can block the flow of water.  Last week when I mowed my lawn for the first time this year, I discovered that the sewer grate was half buried in leaf litter and branches.  You should also keep a weather eye on both your front and backyard the next time it rains to see if water is puddling on your property.  The time to deal with a drainage problem is long before a named storm or heavy thunderstorm causes the water to rise on your property.  If you do find your property or vehicle submerged after a storm, best to wait until the water has subsided to venture outside.  The last thing you want to do is find out the hard way that an live wire has come down on your property.

      6.      Car Accident – While most people don’t consider a fender bender a disaster, what many don’t realize is that as soon as their car is disabled, it becomes a hazard to navigation.  This in turn may lead to other motorists adding to the pileup and causing more serious damage and injuries, particularly if it’s raining or foggy.  If you find yourself involved in an accident on the highway, pull your vehicle into the breakdown lane if possible and exit the vehicle away from traffic.  Better to get wet than to have another car or truck plow into your stalled vehicle.  Turn on your flashers and call the police.  Don’t try to direct traffic around your disabled vehicle.  Leave that to the professionals.

Last but not least, you should keep your valuables and your insurance policies stored in a safe waterproof/fireproof place.  It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep your insurance agent’s phone number on speed dial so you can call as soon as you need help from your master of disaster.

Diane Tait owns and operates A&B Insurance.  To find out more about how you can save money on insurance, go to her site or fill out the form at right.