At the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, many years ago (2010), during practice, a horrific incident occurred. A driver, Sebastien Buemi, had both his front tires blow off while driving down a straight away at high speed. The failure is what we would call a “catastrophic” failure of the car’s suspension system. The driver walked away from this failure, which was good, but it is still quite spectacular to watch.
The race itself was quite interesting. However, this catastrophic failure got me thinking about regular life. If this kind of catastrophic failure occurred, would you be prepared? I ask this question a fair amount, but it is something you need to really think about especially if you have a family (wife, 2.36 kids, dog, etc.,).
Catastrophe?
What kind of catastrophe could this be? Let's not talk about those. It's morbid and not really the point of this post. However, what kind of safety measures can be set up to protect against a catastrophic event?
- A Will. Write one now. Buy software or see a lawyer. If you don't have an up to date Will, you are asking for trouble. I must admit my Will is way out of date. It doesn't even mention my son. I need to follow up on that right away.
- A living will, or a power of attorney might be useful too. If you have loved ones, making sure they can access things is crucial. This becomes important if you are incapacitated. It's an important aspect of your family's safety net.
- Insurance is a major part of this safety net. For life insurance, we are talking TERM insurance (not whole life). It is not an investment. It is a safety net.
- Disability insurance? I'm not sure about that one. If your work offers it at some kind of discount, then look into it. However, the folks at Nortel who had that are now in a pickle too. Any opinions on this portion of your safety net would be appreciated.
- Debt reduction is important. If a catastrophe arises, and you are already heavily in debt, this could make for a bigger issue for your family.
As Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker said:
They shouldn't even call it insurance.
Chris Rock
They just should call it ''in case sh*t.''
l give a company some money
in case sh*t happens.
But remember, sh*t happens, just ask Mr. Buemi whether he planned to have both his tires blow off on Friday. Be ready, in case it happens.
