Common Sense Health: When disaster strikes, you need to be ready

By Diana Gifford-Jones on September 26, 2025.

Are you in the group of people who treat insurance the way you do exercise? You know it’s good for you, but you put it off until it’s too late. Human behaviour can be so irrational! But insurance really should be a priority for your attention among the list of things that keep you well.

A thoughtful look at what determines your wellbeing includes preparations for disasters of all kinds – not just the risk factors for disease. A burst pipe, a fire, a car accident, or a sudden illness abroad can be as bad or worse than a slow march to a chronic health program. Disasters, many of them entirely out of your own control, can undo a lifetime of careful living in a single day.

I recently attended the Canadian Health Food Association show in Toronto where I met Leigh McFarlane, owner of a growing soap business, who knows this from experience. A fire tore through her home and shop, and she discovered too late that her insurance policy was woefully inadequate. She lost everything. Today, with grit and resilience, she is rebuilding The Soap Company of Nova Scotia. But the hard truth is that much of her suffering could have been prevented.

McFarlane’s is a story not just about fire. It’s about health. Yes, financial health for sure. But also physical health. Nothing raises blood pressure, shatters sleep or wears down the immune system like the anxiety of financial ruin. Insurance, dull as it can be, is a prescription for peace of mind.

Think broadly about what insurance means. House and home: a burst pipe in winter can flood a basement and rack up bills that rival the cost of a heart bypass surgery. Income security: a sudden disability or the closure of a small business can wipe out years of hard work. Health coverage: travel insurance may seem optional, until you’re on vacation and a heart attack strikes.

Canadians abroad have found themselves facing bills of $50,000 or more for emergency care and medical evacuation. In the United States, where health insurance is tied to employment or costly private plans, uninsured patients often delay treatment, sometimes with deadly consequences from a heart attack that could have been prevented with treatment.

People fall victim for different reasons. The optimist says, “It won’t happen to me.” The penny pincher buys the cheapest plan, only to discover exclusions result in inadequate coverage. The inattentive forgets to update coverage after a health change or assumes the details don’t matter. And the overconfident believes government or credit card policies will cover everything. Any of these errors can leave a family shattered.

Insurance is not a solitary matter. Families need to talk about it. When an elderly parent lets a policy lapse, or a young adult travels without medical coverage, the burden rarely falls on them alone. It falls on spouses, children, and siblings. A parent falling sick abroad without travel insurance may need tens of thousands of dollars wired in an emergency. A flood in an underinsured home may force relatives to step in. An accident can derail employment and wipe out a family’s security.

Talking about insurance may never make the list of life’s great pleasures. But getting the right insurance coverage is a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-accomplish determinant of your health. But remember, most insurance agents earn commissions on the policies they sell. You need to shop around, read the policies including the fine print, and ask lots of questions.

Then purchase the right coverage. You will sleep better knowing that, whatever comes, you are ready.

This column offers health and wellness, not medical advice. Visit http://www.docgiff.com to learn more. For comments, diana@docgiff.com. Follow on Instagram @diana_gifford_jones

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