‍When we’re young, we all feel invincible. Life is pretty good. Most of us have some disposable income and live it up. But there comes a time when we all need to ask the “what if” questions, says Debra Halton.

Sitting across from a young couple who had just purchased a home, I got them talking playing the old “What if …?” and “Would you rather …?” games. What if one of them got seriously sick, would the healthy one rather continue working in order to pay the bills or to have the choice to be there for their sick partner. What if one of them died? Would they rather be able to take some time off work or would their finances be such that they’d need to rush back to work?

Discovering what people need and what they really want and raising some very real “what if” scenarios is my job. And it’s important. I know lovely people who never had that question asked of them before tragedy struck. For example, last year, a father of four young kids dropped dead suddenly. Overnight everything changed for his wife and children. There was a long silence on the end of the phone to the insurance company when the wife realised there was only $50,000 of life insurance coming to the family. She was left to grieve and then bear the burden of housing, clothing and feeding her kids single-handed.

Some say that Kiwis don't’ like to discuss two things—sex and money—so I can hear the audible sigh as I write this piece on insurance. For, although it’s not sex, it’s most definitely about money. And our reluctance to talk about insurance is even more pronounced when it comes to insuring our lives: If I stopped people on the street and asked about car insurance almost everyone would say a resounding “yes”, yet if I asked about protection for you and your family if something tragic should happen, only 40 per cent would nod their heads.

So, I know these “what if” questions are hard, but the “would you rather” game gives us an opportunity to reflect on what we value most and how we can protect them best. The hope with good insurance is that you’ll never need to use it. But if you did, the people who matter most in your life will want to thank you for having the courage to confront those tough “what if” questions.

If you’d like a chance to throw around some “what if” scenarios and review your personal insurance, let’s grab a coffee—my shout! Would you rather have it black or milky and foamy? Perhaps soy or even a hot choc?

Debra Halton is a Registered Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial. No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. A disclosure statement is available free of charge upon request.