Who could fail to be horrified by the loss of life and devastation caused by the torrents of water that washed over south-east Queensland in January? Those haunting descriptions and images of water rising metres in seconds, families clinging to roofs waiting for helicopter rescue as the water ebbed higher, cars, boats, pontoons, even restaurants and suspended walkways being washed away in the current like playthings, and the piles of stinking mud-soaked belongings heaped on to the street for removal. These sights were as chilling as those of the Victorian bushfires from the previous February. It seems Mother Nature is never far away from reminding us of her awesome power.
I had a weird conversation with someone about the floods. Weird, because this person expressed remarkably little sympathy for those affected (and this conversation pertained more to those who were aware of the propensity for Brisbane to flood) who weren’t covered by insurance due to their houses being in areas designated as a flood plain. It should have been a red flag, according to this individual, if you weren’t able to purchase this type of insurance that there was an existing risk.
Harsh, I thought. Like a lot of things, our friend Mr Harry Hindsight is always ready to say what we all should have been doing before x event occurred. But, like a lot of harsh opinions there is perhaps a kernel of truth in there somewhere. It got me thinking about insurance and the fine print. I know I am guilty of not knowing the exact details of what, why and how much I am covered for each and every particular claim. Am I on a flood plain? Umm, no idea.
It’s not like sifting through the details of your insurance contract is the most inviting task to contemplate. It probably sits behind root canal and marginally ahead of a pap smear for desirability of undertakings. But do it, we must. Believe it or not, insurance companies have made efforts in the past few years to make the reading of such documents a tad easier by using plain speaking English and highlighting the main points. Yet it still remains difficult to know for sure where you stand should the worst eventuate. You only need to turn on A Current Affair or Today Tonight to see another story of a hard-up pensioner who though she was fully covered but was rejected for a claim because of the fine print. We can’t always point our finger at the big bad insurance companies – at the end of the day they are a business involved in assessing risk and pricing it accordingly. What would the shareholders of insurance businesses say if every claim was paid out just to appease policyholders or win popularity contests in the media?
We cannot foresee the future, we cannot know the magnitude of events that disrupt our lives. We can only do our best at the time to cover ourselves financially should flood, fire or other disasters strike. Taking the time to ask the necessary questions when taking out insurance and prodding further if our questions are not satisfactorily answered is required. Getting down and dirty with the fine print, in other words.
I will sign off with a pertinent quote: What is the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get when you don’t.
So, which one are you? Fine print reader or not?
