YOUR SMARTPHONE OR YOUR KIDS? THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE INSURANCE OVER GADGET COVER

If your house was on fire and you had to choose what to save, your kids or your iPhone, of course it would be a no-brainer (for those of you still ruminating at this point, please do a digital detox asap for the sake of your family....). But yet when it comes to choosing between life insurance and gadget insurance – which are both as little as €10 per month - most people in Ireland pick the latter.

 Surprised? Flabbergasted? Or are you one of the many in the 'don't let my phone get wet' but 'I'll think about life insurance some other day' camp? The scary thing is you're not alone. What is it about the human psyche that means we will prioritise what's tangible and short-term over something longer-term and more cerebral? After all, just look at how little is being done over climate change and global warming.

In setting up Low.ie I also wanted to change perceptions and try to increase people's awareness of and education surrounding important insurance policies such as life insurance. Yes, it's in my interests to see such products being sold but I do also firmly believe that it's in consumers best interests to, at the very least, be educated on why they are necessary and important.

 People should realise they need to have some level of life insurance – and most especially if you're married, have a family or have left the safety net of a company plan to strike out on your own. If anything happens to you, isn't it better to have some kind of lump sum for your partner and kids to help them cope in your absence? Childminding, school, college fees....they will all still have to be paid for and by having a life insurance policy in place you're ensuring that there is money being set aside in the event of your death by way of a lump sum being paid out.

 Of course, for younger people in their 20s and early 30s, kids, child-rearing costs, and death are something distant and hard to factor in to a busy social schedule. But once marriage and family-life appear on the horizon then these are key triggers to get people starting to think about looking after loved ones. Long-term thoughts suddenly start looming a lot larger.

 People are also being left in the dark about this important issue and there's a lot of ignorance about just why life insurance is needed and what it costs. The reality is that it's cheaper and easier than ever before to get set up. We have a National Pensions Week and a National Savings Week but the insurance industry and politicians need to also start seriously considering raising awareness around life insurance. So why not a National Life Insurance Week too?

 The next time you fret about nearly dropping your smartphone into the bath, consider this: if you're willing to pay €10 a month insurance for your gadgets, surely it's not too much of a decision to set aside the same amount for life cover?