Written By: Georgette McCulloch - Our Homes Magazine Submitted by Joshua Kearley - Continuity Inc.
Steve Carter, his wife and two children were on their way home to Mississauga, Ontario last summer after a fun, relaxing weekend at the family cottage in Haliburton when his cell phone rang.......
“It was my neighbour telling me there was smoke coming from our upstairs window and the firemen were on the way,” Carter recalls. “We returned home to see three fire trucks and firemen pumping water into our home to contain the fire.”
For Carter (his last name has been changed), panic and fear set in. “All I could think about was ‘what did I leave on my desk in my office upstairs?’” The good news is that no one was hurt. However, most of the family’s possessions were either destroyed or damaged and they had no real record of what was inside.
It took about three weeks to identify 65 per cent of what we actually lost in the fire,” Carter says. “We then learned that we were under insured because of the unique furniture and art collection that was lost in the fire. Trying to remember the make and model of the things we had only made this disaster worse. Not only could we not remember what we had, the ability to prove to the insurance company that we actually owned those items was another headache.”
If a disaster struck your home, would you be prepared?
"Since the dawn of time, people have been taking pictures of their stuff,” says Joshua Kearley, Director of Home Recovery Planning, a company based in Richmond Hill. “But what happens is, they take pictures, and then put them in a binder on a shelf. Good that you did it, but it’s not much help when a fire destroys your home.” Kearley’s company takes digital photos and videotapes the contents of your home. You get a copy and a copy is stored on Home Recovery Planning’s secured server. If and when you need access, Kearley’s company will send the inventory directly to the insurance company for you.
But that’s just one part of the overall strategy to protect your family and your home. Kearley also advises clients to complete an on-line Family Emergency Plan, which includes emergency contacts for the whole family, escape plans, medical information, prescriptions and a pet plan.
Every family should also have an emergency survival kit with food, water and solar power products – enough for a family of three to survive for 72 hours.
Michael Freeman, President/CEO of Insurers Financial Group, urges families to be pro-active and implement a plan.
“We realize our clients have spent a lot of hard-earned money to create homes for their families,” says Freeman. “It’s important to understand the need to take the time to create a plan to protect what you value. As an insurance broker, we continually tell our clients they need to inventory their possessions. However, it is only a suggestion – the rest is up to them.”
The Carters learned their lesson the hard way. “Once I heard about the concept, it was a no brainer for me,” Carter says. “I don’t recommend anyone put themselves through what we had to go through as a family.”
We now have an accurate depiction of all the items in our home, stored off-site, a family response plan so we don’t sit around wondering what to do, and an emergency survival kit, in case something like this happens when we’re at home. Heaven forbid this ever happens again, but I sleep better knowing we have all the right tools in place.”
For more information on how you maybe able to protect your self from the Terrors of Disaster, contact:
Joshua Kearley
Director of Continuity
Continuity Inc.
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