Earthquake Hits Canada

Did you feel the earthquake that occurred south eastern Ontario and some of Quebec on June 23, 2010 at 1:41 pm EST?

Luckily, the magnitude was only 5.0 according to the US Geological Survey, and no hefty damage was reported. The earthquake started in Ottawa, the reports say it was 61km north of the city.

There have been quite a few descriptions of how the earthquake was felt, but the simplest one to envision is construction work going on beneath you. The rumblings could be experienced as high up as the 9th floor of office and apartment blocks according to eye witnesses. The rumbling sensation may have been mild, but Lorne clearly felt the earthquake.

While this type of occurrence happens only once in a blue moon, they do take place and it makes you stop and think how susceptible we are. It definitely makes me wonder what I can do to take care of myself and my family should another disaster happen.

Along with normal emergency readiness, part of your preparation should include life insurance.

Earthquakes are among the most expensive natural disasters, grouped with floods and tornadoes. When looking at figures for damage arising from natural disasters, from 1950 to 2001, 30% of this was associated to earthquakes. Although, they account for only 9% of the human cost, diminishing in comparison to famine, which killed 42% of people, but accounts for only 4% of the total damage over those years.

The facts and figures make awful reading, people hit by natural disasters in the 80's was 147 million, which increased by another 64 million in the 90's, with lives lost going from over 86000 down to 75252 per year in the same periods.

When comparing natural disasters today to the 1960's we see that there are 3 times the amount taking place and the financial impact has increased dramatically as well.

With more disasters taking place then it stands to reason that more and more individuals are going to have their lives affected by them, as a result it is only natural to look at ways of minimizing the impact on your family.

The five top Canadian insurance businesses we surveyed do provide death benefits for you and your family if such disasters happen, but you need to check the policy carefully if you choose not to use them and go elsewhere. There are exclusions though, these will include natural disaster taking place in locations such as war zones or any area that travel is not recommended.

Prepared by Lorne S. Marr, the president of LSM Insurance and a mortgage life insurance professional