Close Your Eyes and Hold Your Breath, or Face Risk Head On?
Risk comes in a multitude of forms and affects everyone differently.
A business owner may find themself accountable for the ill-actions of partners, fellow executives or employees. A homeowner could get pulled into litigation for an injury that occurs on his or her property. You can probably come up with your own horrid nightmare of what can occur at any given moment on a public roadway. Whatever scary “shape” risk takes, three things are certain: risk is omnipresent, unexpected and unyielding. These attributes lead naturally to worry and stress. With the right instruments in place, however, these thoughts and feelings can be mitigated.
From my experience, the most differentiating factor among those who suffer from a tragedy (whether business-related or personal), is preparedness. How fast can you spring back to form? Was the person/partner/executive prepared to the best of his/her knowledge or ability when a disaster struck? Of course, it is impossible to account for every potential detriment, but if that Statistics 101 class served any purpose in life, this application would be it. ‘Gotta narrow the odds.
We simply cannot succeed without being prepared. I’ve picked up on a common theme from highly-successful overachiever-types by reading quotes/articles/books and have concluded that preparedness is paramount. Peyton Manning, the most recent Super Bowl Champion quarterback, was quoted (loosely) after the big game as saying, “there are players who are smarter and more talented than I, but no one can say they out-prepared me.” Will Smith, the actor, said similarly (and again, I paraphrase), “I may not be the most talented actor, but I was ruthless in my training and preparing for starring roles”. In the Marine Corps, there was a phrase we used to recite: “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance” (the “7 P’s”). You get my point: Preparation. Preparation. Preparation.
In my insurance-laden mind, “preparation” translates to being properly insured. When a client exudes trust and confidence in my professional ability as an insurance agent, I make damn sure that the risk in their life is accounted for and properly insured against. That’s an insurance agent’s primary function in society and needs to be taken very seriously.
This writing was not intended to scare anyone, but rather spark a bit of interest in a realm that often gets neglected, unnoticed, or worse: avoided. It’s one of those business areas that sends even the most seasoned savant running for the hills. Typically, the only part we (as Insureds) DO notice about our insurance products is when there is a premium increase. While this certainly does suck (I agree), it is also important to consider the value in that premium: WHAT am I getting for this price? Will this policy do me any good if something DOES happen? Who is my contact person WHEN something bad happens?
Unless you’ve got a competent 3rd party who you can trust when it hits the fan, as it inevitably will at some point (I'm a huge believer in Murphy's Law), a big, thick insurance policy does little more than take up valuable space in your filing cabinet—or more modernly—your hard drive. You can close your eyes, hold your breath, and HOPE that the right coverage is in place, but these don’t sound like characteristics of a person who has their own best interests at heart, do they?
I would like to leave you here today with a challenge: dig up that insurance policy(ies) and thumb through it. Read it. Take notes. Call your agent with questions. It's what we're paid to do. It's part of your responsibility as your organization's or homestead's risk manager. We'll all thank ourselves many times over for being prepared.
Thank you for reading through and I hope this article has given you something positive to take away.
Stay safe out there!
Gabe Schick