Cyprus’ youth talk money: Take the Risk!
By: Niki Karayianna, 1st year student in the Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Cyprus
Nowadays, when people buy something valuable, they often ignore the possibility that something may happen to their asset.
The risk is simply ignored.
Many of us are guilty of this. We tend to say: ‘This won’t happen to me’ or ‘The chance of that happening is very low.’ And though this might be true, nothing can guarantee that a misfortune won’t occur.
Last summer, my family and I witnessed an unfortunate incident: the fire in Souni village, where I live.
Many people lost their homes; most of their belongings were gone.
Those affected, including me, couldn’t believe this had happened to them. But it had.
While most had insurance that would cover at least some of their losses, there were people who had taken a risk – and hadn’t paid for insurance.
It made me wonder what would happen to those people who were left with no home, and perhaps no relatives to help. And I was also grateful that, although my house suffered minor damage from the fire, my parents had taken precautions regarding future dangers of our assets with one simple but crucial thing: insurance.
The incident really hit me. I realised that more people should be aware of the dangers that exist, not only fire but also earthquakes, tsunamis etc.
I hope people like you, who are reading this article, will learn from my own experience. As well as from the experiences of thousands of others.
Take your own precautions instead of assuming that nothing will happen. As we say here in Cyprus: ‘You never know what the dawn will bring’. In short, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
And, one last piece of advice. Be careful what you pay for. Make sure the terms and conditions of your insurance contract cover exactly what you are looking for.
‘Cyprus’ Youth Talk Money’ is a Cyprus Mail series developed in collaboration with the University of Cyprus as part of the Financial Literacy Initiative, supported by XM. New student articles are published every Tuesday.
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