Would you say "I love you" for free or for cash?

loveit coverit, a leading provider of mobile, gadget and travel insurance across the UK, ran a social experiment to see which (if any) members of the public would tell a loved one their true feelings for free, and which would do it for a fiver. The results revealed some powerful information about how much we tell people we love them and use love languages.

 

Would you tell those closest to you that you love them for free? Or would you need a little convincing?

  • 75% of participants in the experiment took the money at the end
  • 30% of the interviewees admitted they need to tell the important people in their lives ‘I love you’ more often.
  • 38% of the participants were met with a confused or shocked reaction from their loved ones when they called to let them know how they feel.

As part of a recent social experiment, loveit coverit hit the streets of Southend-on-Sea with a film crew to ask members of the general public to confess their love for free or see if they would need to be convinced to do it.

 

To see more videos and clips from our Love or Money social experiment, head over to our Tik Tok page.

And if you’re looking to protect the things you love (sometimes for a fiver or less!) be sure to check out our range of phone, gadget and travel insurance options.

[I want to protect the things I love]

The reactions were heartwarming. The main results from loveit coverit’s findings is that people realised they need to say “I love you” more, especially after seeing the responses to these phone calls. A recent study done by The Independent showed only 43 per cent of Britons say ‘I love you’ to their partners every day with only 17 per cent saying the three special words to their other half just once a week. 

30% of participants realised they might not be saying it enough when they were met with suspicion by the person on the other end of the phone, with many respondents asking if ‘everything was alright’ during the experiment. When asked why they were calling the answers stretched from “I was feeling romantic” to admitting they were potentially being paid to make the call. 

A selection of the interviews have been cut into clips and uploaded to loveit coverit’s website to reveal if we’re saying ‘I love you’ enough with results ranged from sons and daughters calling their parents, to partners ringing their significant others, and even people calling their best friends – with one participant referring to their friend as ‘big dog’. But some of these responses lead us to ask why aren’t we telling people we love them as often as we should. There are five types of love languages with only one of them including words of affirmation, such as ‘I love you’, which is why a lot of people don’t tell others how they feel as often. It could be a sign we need to start noticing the other ways our loved ones make us feel special.

 

In the end, 75% of the people loveit coverit spoke to took up the offer of a crisp five-pound note with some people turning down the money and expressing their love for free. But that doesn’t mean the message they sent was any less sincere as most people walked away realising they need to let their loved ones know.

 

As Jonathan Owen, Marketing Manager at loveit coverit, notes:

“At loveit coverit, we’re all about protecting the things people love – whether that’s your smartphone, your favourite gadget or even your family when travelling abroad. But we often forget to let those closest to us know how much we care about them – especially when we haven’t seen them in a while. And if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that we could all say ‘I love you’ a little bit more regularly.”

He continued, “This social experiment was a great opportunity to show that the British public still has a lot of love to give – even if it does need coaxing out a bit with the promise of financial gain. Hopefully, others will see our videos and feel compelled to ring their own loved ones with a similar message. After all, if you love them you should let them know now and then!”