What are the chances of a person having three unrelated insurance claims happening at once? Well, whatever the chances, would you believe I’m that one in whatever? Perhaps one of the actuaries where I am currently claiming can give me that figure.
Firstly, let me tell you that I am obviously alive, not injured, sick or unwell. That means that, thank G-d, I’m not claiming on any of the types of insurances on which I directly advise; insurances that protects one’s family, income and lifestyle against death, disability and critical illness. I’m just claiming insurance on things, all of which are replaceable unlike one’s health or life.
The first thing I’m claiming is for damage on my home. This claim arose as a result of the ceiling in my garage collapsing from the freak storms and rain in Melbourne over summer. I was on holidays at the time, as were my older girls, so my youngest daughter who was home alone was left to start the claim process and go about drying out hundreds of family photos that were stored in boxes directly under where the rain was gushing the most. I have since returned from my trip, paid my excess and the repairs are underway. I also discovered that a colony of ants have moved into a cupboard in my garage (I guess they were flooded too) but I am not ready to deal with that yet. I figure they have been living pretty close by and not bothering me for the last few years so, as long as they stay in the cupboard and I don’t open the door, we’ll conveniently continue to ignore each other, for now.
The next claim is a little scary. After being back a couple of days and attending a national conference at which I won Adviser of the Year, I was coming home to collect some clothes and have a manicure in preparation for the gala dinner. With plenty of time to attend to these matters, I was driving along when all of a sudden I was involved in a three car collision that wrote off my car. The towie took one look at my car then at me and said, “Mate, your car’s a goner”. Luckily, I walked away from that accident with just a few minor bruises from the seat belt and thankfully, the other drivers were also ok. Oh, and I did have that manicure and got my clothes with the added luck of an Uber driver who happened to be a hair dresser. He gave me the best tip for restoring curls when you leave your curling product at home. 5 star rating for him!
Lastly, I have a travel insurance claim underway. It took 48 hours for my luggage to get to me after I arrived at my destination. My policy includes a clothing allowance if my luggage is not received within 24 hours and, since I needed to buy a few items of clothing, I am seeking reimbursement.
I have a house, car and travel insurance claim all in progress at once. They are all going smoothly with repairs underway and an indication that claim payments will be made in due course.
…..
Almost fifteen years ago, during the first year that I started my business and was working from home, a fire started in my laundry. We weren’t home at the time and the firemen told us that it started by spontaneous combustion. My house was blackened by smoke and I had to move out for six months whilst it was being restored. Everything I owned from furniture in the open spaces to clothes hanging in cupboards and cosmetics sitting on a shelf in the bathroom (the furthest place from the fire) were smoke affected and needed to be removed, wiped or tossed.
The situation was very stressful. I had to relocate my daughter’s Bat-Mitzvah which was going to be the first family occasion at my home and my kids were just recovering from chicken pox. I moved back into my parents’ home with my three young daughters after not living with my parents and siblings for over ten years. I had to run my business from a small bay window in my father’s study and at the same time, try to establish myself as a professional. On top of this, I was undertaking studies to further advance my skills. I did have the benefit of my mother cooking and doing the washing but that’s one I could have done without considering the rest of the circumstances.
As a result of the fire a Home Contents insurance claim was lodged. The assessor and claims manager did a superb job assisting me and ensuring that the whole restoration ran smoothly. As someone who hates shopping, choosing paint colours, carpet, blinds and door knobs, the whole experience was very overwhelming (I never want to build a house) but the one thing I didn’t have to think about was where the money was going to come from.
A colleague once told me that there are 3 things in life where one shouldn’t be cheap. They are as follows:
- When buying a parachute
- When buying toilet paper
- When buying insurance
I’ve never had to buy a parachute. I have bought cheap toilet paper and suffered the consequence and while I do pay a fair bit for a variety of insurances, it’s one aspect of my expenditure where I won’t cut corners. I am known to be a bit tight but when it comes to insurance, I’m a spendthrift.
I once had a new client tell me that they would like to work with me because they think I’m the sort of person who would fight for them if they had an insurance claim. I told him that I’m not the right person for him. He was taken aback and I explained to him that I don’t advise on or sell fights. If honest disclosures are made and quality products are sourced then a genuine claim is a smooth process because, despite what many people think, insurers do pay.
Yes, insurance is expensive and if you never claim it you won’t see that money again. You don’t have to spend half your income on insurance. Appropriate amounts of good quality cover will ensure that when something unexpected happens in your life, you can focus on fixing your things, getting well and getting on with your life with dignity without the added stress of worrying about the money.
I hope that my run of bad luck has come to an end and to any actuaries reading this, if you actually are calculating the chance of having 3 claims at once, please be sure to let me know if it increases my chances of winning the lottery.