Christmas, Santa Claus and Insurance: One of These Things is Not Like the Others

Christmas, Santa Claus and insurance are usually not thought of as having much in common, but according to research from John Lewis Specialist Home Insurance, the number of homeowners insurance claims typically increases during the holidays. As publicized recently by PRWeb, some of the most common insurance claims at Christmas include:

• Party damage to carpets, furniture and soft furnishings due to wine spillages.
• Enthusiastic game-playing causing damage to TVs. For example a Wii remote control going straight through the TV.
• House fires and damage to furniture caused by house fires.
• Chimney fires can be caused when the chimney hasn’t been swept or used frequently.
• Theft of Christmas presents from unattended homes or due to intercepted postal deliveries.
• Pet fouling, scratching and damage due to unusual food consumption and being locked up and over-excited.
• Water damage to unoccupied homes because of extreme weather conditions e.g. burst pipes. [1]

In other holiday insurance news, TripInsuranceStore.com is offering Santa Claus free travel insurance just in case he gets hit by a cement truck at the North Pole. According to Steve Dasseos, a leading travel insurance authority:

Santa Claus is such a vital part of Christmas, it'd be a tragedy if something happened to him and he had to cancel his trip… Everybody just assumes Santa's showing up. Once we found out Santa hadn't thought of getting travel insurance, we decided to give it to him free of charge.[2]

However, it doesn't take an actuary to figure out that the chances of Santa Claus getting hit by a cement truck at the North Pole are pretty low. It's not clear if the free travel insurance would cover Santa if he strains his back carrying all those presents – a much more likely scenario.

Additionally, TripInsuranceStore.com was not clear as to whether the coverage includes workers compensation claims for toy workshop-related injuries suffered by Santa's elves, or accidental injuries to reindeer while landing on steep rooftops.

1. Common Home Insurance Claims at Christmas, PRWeb, December 21, 2011.
2.  Santa Claus Gets Free Travel Insurance For Christmas 2011, TripInsuranceStore.com, December 21, 2011.

The Breazette

The inaugural edition of The Breazette, the Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P., firm newsletter, launched this month with a spotlight on the Insurance Regulatory Law blog and the success it has enjoyed this year.

The $195 Million Man and the Woman with $1 Billion Legs

Valuable and unique assets mean unique and high-dollar insurance coverages

The insurance industry is no stranger to providing unique coverages for specific and individual risks. Not surprisingly, many of the larger and more noteworthy of these specialized risks come from the world of Hollywood. Typically these specialty lines transactions are incredibly complex and highly customized, in large part because so much money is at stake.[1]

With that in mind, 24/7 Wall St. has listed nine of the more striking insurance policies taken out by or on behalf of celebrities.

Some of the more notable entries as reported by Daily Finance:

• Singer Mariah Carey's $1 billion insurance policy covering her famous legs;
• International soccer star David Beckham's $195 million policy covering his entire body;
• Football great Troy Polamalu's $1 million policy on his trademark hair;
• Musician Bruce Springsteen's $5.5 million policy covering his vocal chords; and
• Baseball slugger Mark McGwire's $120 million policy on his fragile left ankle.[2]

Some honorable (but not entirely confirmed) mentions:

• Dutch winemaker Ilja Gort's $7.8 million policy on his nose;
• Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez's $1 million policy on her famed rear-end; and
• Artist Andy Warhol's $1 million policy on his eyes.[3]

1. Insuring the Absurd, Matt Villano, InsWeb, August 2, 2010.
2. The 9 Craziest Celbrity Insurance Policies, Douglas McIntyre, Daily Finance, November 28, 2011.
3. Insuring the Absurd, Id.

Cavalcade of RIsk No. 162 on Insurance Regulatory Law

Insurance Regulatory Law welcomes back the Cavalcade of Risk for episode 162. The Cavalcade of Risk is a biweekly rotating collection of articles and links (also known as a "blog carnival") from insurance and other risk-related sources that provides some great information and insight about risks and risk management.

Steve Jobs' Lessons on Risk: The Risk Management Monitor interviews Walter Isaacson, Steve Job's authorized biographer, to discuss what lessons that risk managers can take away from Jobs and his life.

5 Ways to Screw Up Your Life Insurance Purchase: Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents discusses five things you should never do when applying for life insurance.

Why You Don’t Need Long Term Care Insurance: The Free Money Finance blog hosts a guest post from Neal Frankle who suggests one of the best ways to avoid screwing up a long term care insurance policy may be to not purchase one at all.

Life Insurance With Congestive Heart Failure: Newcomer Jeff Root weighs in with an interesting article on the availability of affordable insurance for people who've experienced Congestive Heart Failure.

Young Workers + Injuries + Labor Law Violations = Huge Penalties: Julie Ferguson of Workers' Comp Insider reminds employers who hire young, seasonal workers of a daunting equation: young workers + injuries + labor law violations = huge penalties. She offers tips to avoid this risk and ways to keep first-time workers safe.

Mandated Hearing Aid Benefit for Massachusetts Children: David E. Williams of the Health Business Blog explains why he would trade economic purity for a meaningful, long-term pay-off in a hearing aid benefit bill before the Massachusetts legislature.

Affordable Care Act Surtax on Selling Your Home?: Dennis Wall looks at how a tax buried in the Affordable Care Act could affect a small number of home sellers in 2013.

The next edition of the Cavalcade of Risk will be hosted by Julie Ferguson at Workers Comp Insider, so be sure to check it out.

Man Alleges $1 Bank Robbery an Effort to get Prison Medical Care

Unorthodox treatment plan (seeking health care for medical conditions while in prison for bank robbery – at least until eligible for social security) may be thwarted by the banality of the heist.

James Verone of North Carolina alleges that his attempt to rob a bank of one dollar was just part of his scheme to get prison medical care. Verone told a reporter from WCNC-TV of Charleston that he has ruptured discs in his back and a growth on his chest. Unemployed, Verone says he has no money and could not afford health care on his own.

Verone handed the teller a note that read: "This a bank robbery and I need medical attention."

Earlier this month, Verone walked into a bank in Gastonia, North Carolina, and handed the teller a note that read: "This a bank robbery and I need medical attention," according to USA Today. He then took a seat and waited for the police to arrive and arrest him.

Verone's unorthodox medical treatment plan was to receive free health care while in prison for his crime until he becomes eligible for social security in three years.

However, because he only demanded one dollar and did not use a weapon, he is only being charged with larceny, which imposes much less jail time than bank robbery.

Read the full article:

Man says he robbed bank of $1 to get access to medical care in jail
By Douglas Stanglin | USA TODAY
June 21, 2011

Many Thanks to InsureBlog for the High Praise

Hank Stern, chief cat-herder for the Cavalcade of Risk and one of the editors of the absolutely awesome InsureBlog has given Insurance Regulatory Law some very high praise.

Thanks, Hank — all of your hard work is much appreciated.

Thanks also to Peter Gallanis, President of NOLHGA, for providing much of the underlying information and analysis behind the Insurance Industry and the Great Recession series.

Editor's note: Insurance Regulatory Law has been informed by Van's 6-year-old son that he is the one and only "Van the Man".