A new survey has revealed the things women really value in life, and the things they would be bereft without.

So what made the list? Did shoes and handbags take the title, or were they pipped to the post by mobile phones? And do we have our priorities right?

Phone

The survey, by Hastings Direct, reveals that our most valued possession is our mobile phone. Apparently the fact we have brought together our address book, texts, emails and diary – and then carry about with us everywhere we go – means that were stressed out by the thought of losing it all in one careless moment.

Laptop

Second is our laptop or iPad. This is partly about the expense. It’s had to imagine any other circumstances in which we would head out and about with something incredibly fragile and sensitive that’s worth up to £1,000. In some cases it’s also about the things we have on there. Everything from a week’s worth of work to our entire photo archive could be at risk every time we step out of the door.

Keys, glasses, jewellery

Third is our keys, partly because of the risk of someone taking them and breaking in while we’re out – but mainly because of the sheer frustration of being locked out at a vital moment.

Fourth is glasses and contact lenses, because there’s nothing like being unable to see to remind you of how important something is to you.

And fifth is collective jewellery like charm bracelets, which we have spent a small fortune building up over time.

The rest of the top ten was made up by:
6. iPod/MP3 player
7. Designer clothes
8. Designer shoes
9. ebook / Kindle
10 Make Up/Perfume

Because this was a survey by a home insurer, they pointed out that the fact we value these things, they are so essential to our lives, and they are placed in perilous position every day, means we need to ensure they are insured.

This is entirely true, but surely it is also missing the bigger picture.

Are we right?

These are just things. Surely the really important things in life are our family and the roles we have in looking after them.

And while it makes sense to be certain your home insurance covers your mobile phone, surely our very top priority is buying life insurance to make sure that if something was to happen to us, someone could afford to look after our family without extreme financial hardship.

Life insurance isn’t expensive and it isn’t complex. It just isn’t sold very hard by insurance companies because it isn’t very exciting or profitable, and isn’t considered very often by buyers who don’t want to think about dying. All in all it means we are far more likely to have insured our pets than we are to have insured ourselves.

By all means make sure your shoes and phone could be replaced if you go astray on a particularly eventful evening out. But if we do so at the expense of insuring our family’s future then surely at some point our priorities have got seriously out of balance.

AOL