According to Safe Work Australia, the highest risk jobs are in the agriculture, forest, and fishing fields with 11.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers, followed by the transport, postal, and warehousing industry with 5.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. If your passion falls into one of these categories it can be unsettling for your family and loved ones, but with a bit of planning you can help give loved ones some peace of mind and ease their fears, while helping yourself to more fully be able to feel the satisfaction and fulfillment of your life’s ambitions.
Common Jobs With High Risk
High-risk jobs often want to provide benefits to match the risk, so weighing the pros and cons of each job and comparing the known risk factors is, realistically, one of the most essential parts of taking high-risk jobs. Being a commercial fisherman, for example, is one of the most dangerous jobs you can get as a result of the heavy workload, intense weather patterns, and isolation from society. Mining is another job that is extremely dangerous, but for different reasons — heavy machinery and toxic chemicals pose a high risk to workers. Construction work is also known to be a high-risk profession, especially since the construction industry has a high incidence of work compensation claims.
Planning Ahead
Everyone has different needs, and these should be accounted for as you plan for any eventuality. If you are single with no children, your needs will be quite different from someone who has a spouse and a family. If work in a high risk profession, you should decide beforehand what you feel should happen to relieve the burden on your loved ones if the unimaginable happens.
To this end, it is a good idea to have a list with your attorney, accountant, financial planner, and doctors, as well as a list of your financial accounts. Additionally, having a will and updating it about every 5 years is a good policy that will help you maintain an accurate account of your wishes. Anyone who works in a high risk job and has beneficiaries or dependents should have a life insurance policy, whether that’s group life insurance, universal life insurance, or any other type of life insurance. A life insurance policy will make sure that all of your family members are taken care of if something should happen to you. You want to make sure that they have financial protection no matter what transpires.
Your family or attorney should also be able to locate your power of attorney, copies of insurance, and tax documents, too, since it is helpful to remember that beneficiaries listed on insurance policies, investments, and pensions trump those listed in a will. Other contingencies worth considering include whether or not you have a safe deposit box, how much you are willing to invest in life insurance, and how much money you are willing to spend on peripheral expenses like common long-term injuries like hearing loss. Other kinds of insurance like TPD, trauma, and income-protection insurance will be worth looking at, too, if you plan on pursuing a high-risk career.
Injury and Final Expenses
Final expenses will, ultimately, vary depending on your wishes, but by contacting crematoriums and funeral homes you can find out how much the kind of funeral you want will cost. Cremation, for example, can be seen as a more environmentally friendly and less expensive option, since embalming requires toxic chemicals that can have an adverse effect on the environment. Being open to cremation gives your loved ones flexibility in deciding on the perfect time and place for a memorial service for everyone. If you’re thinking of cremation, speak to a company that provides cremation services. They will be able to explain about the cremation process and how it guarantees full respect for the human body. Take care of talking to the crematory or funeral home for your family members so that all they have to do is carry out your wishes, not make hard decisions.
Many high-risk careers are essential to society and it is altogether possible that you might have a long and successful career in mining without sustaining any life-threatening injuries. Having a backup plan in place things go wrong is something that should be done no matter what profession you go into, so even if you change your mind and decide to get an office job instead you will still be well served by taking many of the same steps in preparation for a desk job as you would a gig in construction. Ultimately, you are the one who is in charge of your own destiny, and if you truly want to be a commercial fisherman then few will be able to stop you from being one.
