That Home Loan Hub
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That Home Loan Hub
Why We Insure Phones But Not Ourselves: Understanding Visibility Bias In Insurance
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Fires and crashes dominate headlines, so we rush to insure our homes and cars. Serious illness and income loss rarely make the news, so we push those decisions to “later.” We unpack visibility bias—the mental shortcut that tricks smart people into overinsuring stuff and underinsuring themselves—and show a clearer way to build protection that actually holds when life turns.
Together with Rebecca, we break down why salience and emotion drive insurance choices, how the “she’ll be right” mindset feeds optimism bias, and what really happens to a household when the paycheque stops. You’ll hear practical examples—from buying laptop cover without blinking to hesitating on trauma or income protection—and the real-world stakes: treatment options, recovery time, and keeping a roof over your family. We also explore the quiet role of avoidance, like skipping a will out of fear, and how that choice can complicate grief with legal and financial mess.
You’ll come away with a simple framework to rebalance your safety net: protect income first, add trauma for immediate costs and treatment flexibility, and use health cover to speed access to care, with life cover to secure loved ones if the worst happens. We share prompts to review policies at predictable times, gut-check media noise against actual risk, and right-size premiums to match what you stand to lose. It’s a candid, practical conversation designed to help you insure the person before the possessions—and trade reaction for readiness.
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This is an episode for you if you want to know about visibility bias. That was a really hard word for me to say because these and Russian
Defining Visibility Bias
SPEAKER_01are really strong, let us to say.
SPEAKER_00Hello, Rebecca. Hello.
SPEAKER_01Visibility bias.
SPEAKER_00Right. So by that I mean, you know, people understand a house fire, right? Or they'll see a car crash. They'll see that stuff. It's visible to
Visible Disasters Versus Hidden Health Risks
SPEAKER_00them. So in their minds, when they talk about house contents, car insurance, because it's so visible and it's so front of mind for them, they're happy to cover it. They don't think about them getting a severe illness, being unable to work, which people don't want to think about dying. So to them, they don't have the mentality of this could happen. I need to cover it. Because it's not something that you see every day. You see things in the news, you know, all the time about recently that massive house fire that killed those kids and that father and all that sort of thing. Like that's in the news all the time. But when it comes to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, I always say those three, it's not out there.
SPEAKER_01It's only like if you know someone. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00That it happened to you. Yeah, exactly. And then there's the whole, as we've talked about multiple times, the Kiwi mentality of she'll be right. Yeah. If it's not visible to you and you don't think
Media Influence And The “She’ll Be Right” Mindset
SPEAKER_00about it, then you're like, wow, it's not gonna happen to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But also like for me, I'm thinking, you know, the chances of me drowning my laptop and tea and coffee, because I've done that so many times, or dropping my phone and breaking a screen, is much, much higher than you know, something terrible happening to me. So I think, cool, I need I definitely need contents cover, but do I really need severe trauma? You know, like that would be the majority of people thinking. Yes, absolutely. That something happening to their valuables is more visible than something happening internally.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they don't think about how valuable they are if something happens, especially to your family. I mean, not only you as a person being I mean, you know, your loved ones don't want to lose you. They won't if if you have something severe enough and you need the help to get you know, we've talked about this before as well, but say trauma in particular, you get that lump stump out. You can have a crazy treatment overseas or something that will help you stay late. Yeah, exactly. But then there's the other side of it where your family could be relying on your income. Right? What happens then? What happens to the house? What happens to the kids? You're already going through
Valuing Stuff Over Self
SPEAKER_00something insane as it is, and what you lose your home as well. Yeah. So it's the whole it's a hard one because as we said, we don't see a lot of it. And the only times we really do is give a little pages in particular. Yeah. If things get a lot of attention, there we'll see people on there with the cancers. I think I'm not gonna list all three again. And then if something kits the you know the media because what something in particular for that person has stood out for the media to report on it, then it will become something really, you know, you will see it, but it's not something you think about every day. And you think about well, depends on how particular you are, but you know, I'll be driving along and I'll think about what would happen with a car crash. You know, you see all the cars and oh, you can't trust driver, so you know, you think about you need car insurance, you need your house if something happens, you know, you need all of that stuff, but you don't think how you do need protection on yourself.
SPEAKER_01I like that. I really, really like that because I think, as you said, we've touched on it, you know, a few few episodes ago. When people can touch something, they can put value on it. You know, like, oh, I've got a shiny ring, so I'm gonna ensure my uh beautiful engagement wedding ring that's 10 carats. Carrots,
The Cost Of Avoidance And Planning
SPEAKER_01like carrots, diamonds, not a vegetable.
SPEAKER_00I was more thinking I wish I had a two-carat ring.
SPEAKER_01I know, same, same. I'm just making up a case here. I'm just making up a case, but you know, people are more likely to do that. And even like I went to get a new laptop, and the guy sold me this insurance piece that in two years' time, if my computer battery stops working, I can go make a claim on it, you know, things like that. And I didn't blink an eye, and I was like, Yeah, that's that's right, you know, I really need that. But then I had my insurance review with my insurance advisor about my health insurance, life insurance, you know, all of that. And I was like, Yeah, no, I can't afford to add anything. But I've just spent like $200 on this insurance on the laptop. So it's like, really? Seriously? So, you know, we all we are all prone to visibility bias. Absolutely, I think. So um, it's really stopping thinking and analyzing what will life look like if suddenly you weren't there anymore or you weren't earning what you're earning right now.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Yeah, I think it's a hard one for and people don't want to think about it because it's a horrible thing to think about as well. We always have such a such happy topics when we talk about insurance, but people don't want to think about something serious happening to them as well, and I think that is what stops some people from thinking about it. They don't want to focus on the negatives. So it's not just that it won't happen to me. Some people are I don't want to think about it happening to me. So it's a really hard one to get around for some people.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And again, I think it's human nature of trying to self-protect itself, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00And not think about the worst. Yeah, gotta be positive because you don't want to put the bad stuff out there. Because if you think about it and talk about it, yeah, it might happen.
SPEAKER_01It might happen. Yeah. Yeah. I had a client the other day and she said that she doesn't have a will because she's scared to die. And she doesn't want to get a will. And talking about death, you know, scares her. So I was like, okay, but what if you do die because we do all die eventually, and then your family is left in a mess? Like, how would Yeah, probate? How long would yeah? Yeah. So it's really interesting. But that's awesome. Thank you so much, Rebecca. Do you want to add anything else about visibility bias?
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01No, no. Awesome. Thank you so much, guys. Stay tuned. And if you haven't reviewed other episodes I've done with Rebecca about insurances, do tune in into that. There's a lot of gold in there. Thank you. Bye.