Every February, The LifeFoundation runs a promotion called "Insure Your Love" which reminds the public that a good way to show you love somebody is to protect them via the gift of life insurance. Here are a few wacky videos from the nonprofit's past promotions. If you are a traditionalist about Valentine's Day gifts and choose to buy jewelry or some other expensive item, make sure you insure those, too!
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You deserve an end-of-the-week humor break... these amusing TV commercials are from Dutch insurance company Centraal Beheer. If you enjoy them, you can see more humorous insurance spots from a few years ago.
When you head off to start your work day, bird attacks aren't usually high on your "risk management" list. But the following clips of workers going about their business and fending off angry birds might make you think twice. The enraged birds aren't discriminatory - office workers, mailmen, cops - all equally at risk. We're not sure if this is seasonal revenge by the turkey and goose population who are tired of having their kin folk end up on holiday platters or what, but be warned!
It's Friday, it's the summertime, and we've been falling down on the job of our secret mission to bring you some of the most humorous insurance ads on the web. We'll take care of that right away!
The first is a humorous ad from Travelers, a spoof public service ad that makes the point that it is silly - almost superstitious - to rely on luck for protection. It was a short-lived ad because although most people found it clever, cute or outright hilarious, some animal rights activists were concerned about the message. Note: no animals whatsoever were harmed in this commercial.
The following ad is from a company called "1st for Women" which describes itself as the first insurance brokerage to offer insurance products specifically tailored to meet the short-term insurance needs of South African women. The ad offers a tongue in cheek explanation of why the company decided to focus its services exclusively on women.
No matter what your coverage needs, if you live or work in New England, there's an indpendent Renaissance Alliance insurance agency that can help!
It's amazing what you can learn from commercials. Recently we learned about a cheesy new form of insurance coverage: Macsurance! Are you covered?
(Hat tip to InsureBlog for the pointer!)
This is an amusing ad for Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd - you don't need to understand what's being said, the story line is pretty self explanatory. Just a guess, but it would appear the product is life insurance!
Watch more humorous insurance advertising in our insurance humor category!
This new national public service announcement from the NAIC (the National Association of Insurance Commissioners) uses humor to encourage consumers to make sure their insurance policies fit their specific needs. Hint: your local independent agent can help - if you live in New England, find a Renaissance Alliance agent near you.
If flesh-eating zombies suddenly start roaming your streets, do you know what to do? If not, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has an important guide for you: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse.
On the great scale of hazards, it's probably not all that likely, but as insurance agents, we are all about the concept of being prepared - so after you read the CDC Guide, if you have questions about what your homeowners or business insurance would or wouldn't cover should a zombie attack occur, give us a call. Or for an abundance of caution, there's always Zombie insurance.
All kidding aside, alerting the public about the importance of preparing for emergencies such as hurricanes or pandemics is one of the CDC's most important public health missions. Normally, when they post alerts or resources on the CDC blog, they get a few thousand viewers. But by offering this clever spin, they attracted more than 1.2 million page views in the less than 10 days since the zombie item was posted, according to the WSJ Health Blog. The Zombie preparation guide was obviously a good way to harness the public's fascination with a pop culture fad to call attention to a more serious message.
The CDC has a wealth of emergency preparation, planning and response resources aimed at businesses, families, healthcare facilities, and local & state governments. They also have a variety of tools and resources on other public health issues - ranging from illnesses and diseases to life stages and populations. So whether it's traveler's health, natural disasters, workplace safety or even an attack of zombies, the CDC is a good one-stop source of reliable information.
Don't worry - you don't need to understand Russian to get the point of this clever Russian auto insurance ad. It uses fun special effects to make the point that some insurers will go to great lengths to avoid you when you have an auto insurance claim. If you are having trouble finding an insurer that will be there when you need them, that's where your local independent agent can help!
These two insurance ads from Travelers are ones from the archives, but they both do a good tackling the topic of risk in a whimsical but enlightening way:
And Seinfeld's George Costanza also tackles the topic of risk management - somewhat less successfully so!
You have to admit - jolly old St. Nicholas runs one heck of a business operation. He employees a huge number of elves and maintains a herd of reindeer. He runs a factory that operates 24/7, along with a busy warehouse and shipping operation. He has at least one specialty vehicle, although we suspect he also needs some back-ups. Like any good business person, he needs solid insurance coverage to protect the business should anything go amiss.
Gregory Boop of About.com's business insurance page has previously discussed the various types of insurance coverage that Santa Claus needs.
First, as an employer, he is mandated to have workers compensation overage for his elves. And to be a good employer, he should also provide health insurance, too. The elves are pretty loyal workers - to show appreciation for this, Santa should consider disability insurance and some type of retirement planning, such as 401k options.
We agree that he needs commercial general liability coverage, as well as product liability coverage. Gregory suggests that Santa needs commercial auto insurance and a specialized equipment rider ... but we are not so sure we would classify Santa's sleigh as an auto - we think it might be better for Santa to have aircraft coverage. He might also benefit by travel insurance and pet insurance for the reindeer. Gregory also suggests that Santa should have key man coverage on himself since he is so essential to the operation. Good idea.
Now apart from the needs of his business, Santa himself has some specialized insurance needs. He needs a heck of a life insurance policy and it poses some significant challenges for his insurance agent. He's getting on in years, he's overweight, he's been known to smoke a pipe and drink brandy, and he's got a lead foot when driving his sleigh. He also faces a lot of on-the-job hazards. Even before that big day of the year, he travels to thousands of shopping malls and meets millions of kids. This year, that means he is at heightened risk for the H1N1 virus. Not to mention all the other hazards that Santa faces - he can be exposed to everything from back strain while lifting kids to a wet lap caused by terrified children. It's hard to believe, but not everyone loves Santa.
Now we know that Santa has already given some thought to his insurance coverage because we read a few years ago that he has insured his trademark beard with Lloyds of London. That's a good start, but today, he'd do well to have insurance against identity theft, too.
Santa, we're worried about you. Call your agent, we can help!
Homeowners & Santa Claus
And what about you as the host? Are you properly covered to entertain a V.I.P. like Santa in your home? What if your dog bites Santa or he gets stuck in your chimney - are you covered against these or any other mishaps while he's on your property? If you have homeowners insurance or rental insurance, the personal liability and medical payments portions should cover you, but you may want to check your coverage limits and deductibles. If you are hiring a Santa stand-in for a party, there are some other things you should consider to limit your liability: Covering the Santa Clause.
If you plan to leave any sweets out for the big guy, Mrs Claus issues this plaintive plea: Please skip the cookies - Santa has a weight problem. Consider leaving a healthier snack. If you decide to leave cookies out anyway, you may want to get Santa to sign Christmas Cookie Liability and Indemnification Agreement (PDF). And something that should go without saying - don't leave any wine or brandy out - you don't want to be liable if a tipsy Santa leaves your house and has a DUI accident!
Happy holidays to all - we'll see you in the new Year!
This is a jokey video to promote a brand of sneakers, but the idea of insuring specific body parts is not totally farfetched ... celebrities have been known to insure body parts ... Jimmy Durante had a $50,000 policy on his distinctive nose and Betty Grable had a million dollar policy on her famous legs. Larry Getlen has an amusing article on the topic at Bankrate: Celebrity body parts: Million-dollar thighs and smiles
When we posted our list of tips to help you prepare for a healthy and safe Halloween earlier in the week, we overlooked one important and growing threat: zombies. As we approach a weekend of goblins and ghouls, are you sure you're adequately covered against the growing threat that the undead pose? It is suspected that each year, untold millions are lost in personal property damages - but generally, traditional insurance companies won't recognize claims for zombie-inflicted damage.
Never fear, as your trusted agents, we're looking out for your interests. We go to great lengths to source those hard-to-find coverage options - so we are pleased to introduce a new protection plan, My Zombie Insurance. Their tag line says it all: "Zombies don't care. We do."
Of course, as with all coverage, we think it's important to ensure you have a range of options to choose from, so here's a brief video clip about another choice from the Life Group National Zombie Insurance Fund - "for when the undead come knocking at your door."
It's Friday before what will be a 3-day weekend for many, so we are feeling frisky ... a good time to add a few wacky insurance ads to our growing ad portfolio. Bizarre as they are, these are actual ads that attracted an almost cult-like following in the Chicago area in the early 1990s. They've proven pretty popular on the Web, too - see why.
Would you like to be buried in your favorite car? Or perhaps you'd prefer to be preserved as a mummy sitting upright and kept on display at your alma mater? And how would you like your assets to be dispersed? Would you like to leave your life's fortune to a precious pooch or to have it divvied up and doled out to strangers? Or perhaps after you've passed, you'd like to have a single red rose delivered daily to your surviving spouse, the way Jack Benny did? All these odd will requests and many others have been stipulated in wills at one time or another.
Whether your post-mortem wishes are highly exotic or purely pedestrian, they aren't likely to happen at all unless you take proactive steps to ensure that they do - and that requires filing a will and keeping it updated. Making a will is an important part of the financial planning process.
"Dying intestate" is the common term for dying without a will. When that happens, decisions about the disposition of your assets default to the applicable state law, which may or may not be in accordance with your preferences. Dying intestate might also result in a dispute among potential your heirs or a delay in assets being dispersed to your heirs. The CCH Financial Planning Toolkit adds some important considerations:
"The bad thing about dying intestate (other than dying, of course) is that a state's default rules may not go far enough to meet a deceased's distribution wishes. For example, although a surviving spouse is generally first in line to inherit, the spouse may end up having to share the estate with other relatives of the deceased. Also, if a person is not on the list of potential heirs, then he or she is out of luck (which may result in excluding a "life partner," lifelong friend, or favorite charity). The final indignity is that, if there are no relatives identified during probate, the state takes the assets the deceased spent a lifetime acquiring."
You can learn what is likely to happen to your assets should you die without a will by checking this map of intestate succession laws for all 50 states.
It's important to note that a will is not the be all and end all for ensuring the dispersal of your assets according to your wishes. The distribution of many of your financial assets - such as life insurance policies or 401K and IRA accounts - would be governed by who you named as a beneficiary. It's extremely important for you to keep your beneficiaries up to date because life circumstances change. You may or may not be pleased if your ex-spouse inherits your life insurance policy, but if you haven't changed the designated beneficiary, that could happen.
The Dutch insurance company Centraal Beheer is well known in Europe for their humorous TV commercials in which the characters are put in precarious positions - the implied message being "Is your insurance up to date? Call us." You can learn more about the company and the commercials on the Wikipedia page for Centraal Beheer's. Here's a sampling of a few commercials:
It's summertime, it's Friday - who wants to read anything serious? Check out these great ads from Bangkok Insurance that cleverly illustrate the concept of probability.
