After over a decade of writing these monthly newsletters, it’s easy to have a dry spell now and then when you wonder if you have run out of ideas. I spent this weekend wondering what I was going to write about for November, when, as almost always happens, a great topic came to mind.
Unfortunately, when inspiration hit me, it did so in quite a literal fashion…
Sunday morning I was changing out the snow tires on our Subaru, the most Canadian of annual car maintenance items. It’s a good physical workout – nothing like lugging heavy tires on and off a car to remind me that middle age has fully set in. Once I had them on, I decided to do a short test drive down to the convenience store a few km south of us in the country.
Life, however, had other plans for me that morning. Just down the road from my place a new intersection has gone in, as part of the replacement of a pair of bridges over the 401. I had just slowed down, as the construction-induced speed limit was 60km/h rather than the 80km/h it usually is.
To my horror, another driver heading the opposite way, while I had a green light to go through the intersection, decided to suddenly turn left in front of me.
Pretty much all the airbags went off at once, and I found myself in a smokey and hazy daze, and staggered out of my car. The other driver and their passenger did the same, thankfully, and we all went to the side of the road and called 911.
I spent most of the rest of the day in the ER at a local hospital, getting scans and x-rays, but happy to be alive. As the ER doctor said to me, my car did its job to protect me, and did it well, albeit at the cost of significant damage to itself, and, what I hope is minor damage to me.
When life flashes before your eyes, what does a Financial Planner think of?
Well, I may have thought “Oh Crud”, albeit in more colourful terms than I’m prepared to put in print, there were many other thoughts that came to me in the moment:
- Thank goodness I was alone in the car without Bridget or the kids. I knew they would be OK. Bridget is my executor and Power of Attorney. I did wonder if she knows where to find the appropriate documents…something we are definitely going to be reviewing this week for sure!
I always like to see multiple backup executors and Powers of Attorney – if your Executor or POA is in the car with you, there’s a pretty good chance they may not be able to fulfill their role if they too are injured – or deceased! - Our emergency binder hasn’t been updated in several years. We keep a list of important people/things/details to know in an emergency in case our head isn’t screwed on straight. It includes what types of insurance we have, and whom we should contact for different scenarios. This is going to be a project for this weekend, as many thanks have changed since we last did a thorough review. We will definitely be doing this once a year going forward – its not a fun task, and easy to forget.
- I hope no one is injured. There’s a reason to get extra Liability coverage on your auto insurance – its designed to protect your assets! While I am not licensed to give you advice on auto insurance, just remember that if you are found at fault in an accident, your assets could be at risk if there is a catastrophic medical claim for one of the parties. You’re not just protecting your vehicle – you are protecting your life savings by having some extra coverage.
- How are my finances for replacing the vehicle? My insurer told me the car is likely going to be a total loss – a write-off. We’re going to be car shopping a couple of years earlier than we would have liked. This is why I’m grateful we had a well-stocked emergency fund, as it will give us lots of options going forward to purchase a new vehicle.
- I hope I make it through this. I’ve lead a wonderful life – I’m proud to have lived well, loved greatly, and made a positive impact on the world around me. Still, I’d like to do more, and its not yet time to meet my maker. We often avoid estate planning, because its uncomfortable. There is nothing like a near-death experience to get you to appreciate the importance of good planning.
Its been a heck of a week. I hope you take my scare as an opportunity to review your own plans, emergency funds, and other aspects of your situation, without having the scare that I did. Most of all, make sure you tell all the folks you love how much you love them, because you never know when you won’t get that opportunity!
Ryan