Watching the news about the flooding in Texas has been disturbing. The unbelievable images of entire neighborhoods completely washed away present lasting mental images to many of us. Homes, cars and people also were literally washed away in an instant. The damage and destruction will take years to clean up and rebuild. Some people may never recover financially.

Close your eyes for just a moment and transform that mental image from the flooding damage to an image of what happens to a family or a business when the breadwinner dies unexpectedly or becomes disabled. A family or business sees the very foundation of itself washed out by a sudden death or a lingering disability. Where stable ground once existed, now there is a gaping hole. The breadwinner is either “gone,” or the foundation of family income is so damaged that the household and its contents now sit upon a very shaky layer of mounting debt, tension, and emotional and financial instability. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Life insurance and disability insurance can help replace a washed out financial foundation or be “reinforcement” for surviving family members and key business associates. Money certainly can never solve the emotional issues associated with premature death or disability, but it can buy time and stability for those left to deal with a “washed away” foundation.

Did you now that standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage to property due to flooding? A separate policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is necessary to have protection from the floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP.

While natural disasters can happen, often with catastrophic results, the much more likely scenario is the sudden death or disability of a loved one. Be sure that you have adequate amounts of life and disability insurance so you and your family won’t run the risk of your financial foundation being washed away.