The Robot That Takes Your Money (And Why You Should Let It)

The Robot That Takes Your Money (And Why You Should Let It)

Why auto-renewals on our Life and Disability Insurances can trigger our 'Loss Aversion' and how to hack your own brain

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It Happens To Us All ...

Ping. 🔔

It’s 2:15 PM on a Tuesday. You check your phone. It’s a notification from your bank: Direct Debit: Life Insurance - $$$.

Be honest. How do you feel?

If you are like 95% of Australians, you don't feel overly 'safer' or 'protected.' You may feel annoyed, (even feel a little bit robbed).

"But I didn't use that this month," your brain whispers. "I’m healthy. I’m fine. That money could have been a weekend away. It could have been invested in Crypto. It could have been a really nice pair of boots and then there's the Bunnings all your can spend weekend sale." I hear you.

Welcome to the 'Grudge Purchase' Paradox.

Dopamine for Desert

Living in a modern world means we live in a subscription economy. When you pay for Netflix, you get movies. When you pay for Spotify, you get music. When you pay for the gym, you get... well, you get the guilts that you should go to the gym more often, but at least you get a plastic membership card and another app for your phone.

• Life and Disability Insurance is the only subscription in the world where the 'Best Case Scenario' is that you get absolutely nothing back.

If you 'win' the game of life insurance, it means you paid premiums for 30 years and died peacefully in your sleep at age 95, leaving the policy to expire worthless and a beneficiary still looked after by you, even though you're gone.

To your primitive brain (we call him The Toddler), this looks like a scam. It looks like 'Dead Money' when really is more like a tax on success.

The 4 Voices of Resistance

When that direct debit hits, your brain creates a narrative to justify cancelling it.

Over the years, we have identified four distinct 'Grudge Archetypes.' at work in our minds. Which one are you?

• The Steward 🌱 You love efficiency. You hate waste. To you, insurance looks like a bad investment with zero ROI.
• The Peacemaker 🕊️ You hate thinking about death. The bill feels like a "Bad Omen." You want to cancel it just to make the anxiety go away.
• The Caretaker ❤️‍🩹 You feel guilty. You think, "I should spend this on the kids NOW, not on a promise for later."
• The Architect 🏛️ You hate variable variables. When the premium rises with age (which is biological math), you feel like the system is 'rigged.'

How to Fix the Glitch

You can't 'logic' your way out of this feeling. You need a Circuit Breaker.

We have built a digital tool -The Grudge Diagnostic -designed to interrupt that flash of anger when the bill hits. It helps you 'flip the script' from seeing a Cost (Loss) to seeing an Asset (Protection).

Next time the robot steals your money, don't just sigh.

Turn that 'Ping' notification from an irritation into a reminder that your castle has a moat, and the drawbridge is up and your future is still safe, just in case.

Drew Browne is a specialty Financial Risk Advisor working with Small Business Owners & their Families, Dual Income Professional Couples, and diverse families. He's an award-winning writer, speaker, financial adviser and business strategy mentor. His business Sapience Financial Group is committed to using business solutions for good in the community. In 2015 he was certified as a B Corp., and in 2017 was recognised in the inaugural Australian National Businesses of Tomorrow Awards. Today he advises Small Business Owners and their families, on how to protect themselves, from their businesses.  He writes for successful Small Business Owners and Industry publications. You can read his Modern Small Business Leadership Blog here. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.  Any information provided is general advice only and we have not considered your personal circumstances. Before making any decision on the basis of this advice you should consider if the advice is appropriate for you based on your particular circumstance.