Introduction – from the book Protect Yourself! An Insurance Agent Reveals 373 Way to Protect the Safety and Well-being of What Matters Most to You…Yourself, Your Family, Home, Business – and Practically Everything Else.
We live in an age of rapid change and deepening uncertainty. Perhaps more than ever before in our lifetimes, we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. But one thing we do know is how much we want to protect those things that are precious to us – our family and friends, our homes and other property, and our own well-being. That, at least, is a constant in our busy lives. This is where insurance comes into play. From home insurance to protect your shelter and all the items you hold dear to car insurance to make sure you stay financially sound in an accident, you have choices. Imagine the choices you have to make as a business owner. Along with the personal insurance options, you have an entire additional world to protect. There is business insurance to handle your General Liability Insurance and, if needed,Commercial Property Insurance to take care of what you own. Add in the need for commercial auto insurance for the one pickup you use for your contractors insurance or the fleet of vehicles for your janitorial insurance needs, you have concerns and we get that.
Oftentimes, safekeeping is a matter of commonsense. But in the hectic whirl of life or the heat of the moment, commonsense can fly out of the window and we end up doing things that may not turn out to be for the best. That is why it pays to think ahead – to take precautions before trouble confronts you and to gain the knowledge that will help you keep a level head if it turns up.
Above all, it seems to me after considerable experience of helping others to do just that, there are five vital things that you need to do to protect yourself and your precious ones most effectively.
1. Make the time to review and understand the risks that surround you. Don’t put it off to another day. It needn’t take long and you can do some of it from the comfort of your favorite armchair, with pen and paper.
2. Take the appropriate action to minimize those risks. Often, this does not need to cost much, or indeed, anything.
3. Be prepared to deal with a crisis in a calm and intelligent manner. You can do this if you already know what you will do if an emergency does arise.
4. Let others – your kids, your partner, your employees or work colleagues – know how important these things are, what you’ve done to protect them and what they should do to protect themselves.
5. Insure yourself against the threats to the safekeeping of your family, your prosperity and your property.
This book can help you do that. I don’t claim that it has all the answers but I have also signposted other sources to provide the additional information that will add further to your understanding and knowledge. Where I mention these in the main text, you will find more contact details in the special section at the back of the book. I have drawn not only on these sources but also on a lifetime of experience of dealing with many of the issues covered here. So often, I encounter people whose guiding principle seems to be: “It won’t happen to me.” But it did.
Now here’s the good news. This isn’t a gloomy book. From time to time it might even make you smile – and that has to be good news.
