Fall risk? A smartwatch can be your insurance policy

If you own a home or rent an apartment, I'm sure you have homeowner's or renter's insurance. An auto insurance policy if you own a car. Your "body" is the most valuable asset you own, keeping it in tip-top shape through exercise and a healthy diet while relying on your private and/or public health insurance for unexpected events.

In a nutshell, insurance policies minimize our financial exposure for catastrophic or unexpected incidents.

It's also a fact of life that our physical stamina and senses, like hearing or seeing, gradually deteriorate as we age. Just several years ago, I didn't need to rest while climbing the 100 steps of Fort Hill in the Metroparks. This year, I had to make a couple pit stops before being rewarded with the spectacular fall foliage I could show my mom in Japan via FaceTime.

For many seniors, falls continue to be a real concern. My mom, for example, always told me that she is very careful and reminded me that she has attended many fall prevention seminars hosted by her city to allay my concerns. Guess what? She still fell. I believe accidents happen when you least expect it.

Technology has produced useful products/services that bridge the real world and the digital world. It provides us values like entertainment, different utilities, efficiency, money savings, and even products that can be considered insurances. The smartwatch, which I consider an accessory for the smartphone you carry, is one such technology-based product.

Many smartwatches – like Apple's "Apple Watch," Samsung's "Galaxy Watch," or Google's "Pixel Watch'' – are smartphone accessories jam-packed with useful features including acting like an insurance policy. These, and some other smartwatches currently on the market, can detect adult falls and summon help even if you become unconscious or contorted that you can't push the button to summon help yourself. That is important as the sooner you can get help, the better chances of survival.

I recommend the following to minimize incompatibilities:

• iPhone users should stick with the Apple Watch "Series" model or the cheaper Apple Watch "SE" model; the current SE model is known as "Generation 2." To keep costs down, the SE model lacks certain health monitoring sensors, namely Blood Oxygen level and ECG sensors, that the Series model has. There are also other differences but fall detection works the same.

• If you own an Android smartphone from Samsung or Google, go with the Galaxy Watch or Pixel Watch respectively. In general, Android smartphone users have at least two options to choose from when shopping for a smartwatch with fall detection.

Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, or Pixel Watch all have a model that doesn't need a smartphone to summon help when you take a tumble. This model will cost you an additional $10 to $20 a month, added to your smartphone mobile data plan as this model of smartwatch additionally has its own mobile data antenna.

For certain demographics, i.e. seniors and people with vestibular disorders like yours truly, that may be an insurance premium worth paying!