He may see you when you’re sleeping, but he can’t see the future.
Though he appears to live a charmed life beyond the reach of actuarial science, Santa Claus and his yearly humanitarian operations aren’t without risk. After all, elves can get hurt in the workshop, his sleigh might clip a chimney and North Pole weather events can do serious damage on the Kringle home.
But with a planet full of kids counting on him, he doesn’t leave his lifestyle, reputation and livelihood to chance. As someone who values insurance but has little time to manage the finer details of his policies, Santa relies on his agent as well as the personalized service and flexible coverages of Erie Insurance.
While the North Pole might not be in ERIE’s geographic footprint, it’s worth considering what insurance coverages the man in red needs to protect his most unique way of life.
Auto
Although sleigh accidents have declined a dramatic 42% since Rudolph was appointed to the front of the reindeer lineup, mishaps still occasionally occur. After all, Santa is most active in late December, when snow and extreme winds can create less than ideal traveling conditions.
Even though his sleigh isn’t technically an approved road vehicle, and it spends most of its time in the air, Santa trusts auto insurance from ERIE to protect him. Here are a few ways they’ve covered him in the past:
- When Dasher struggled landing on a pueblo roof outside Santa Fe in 2022, Santa filed a collision claim. The coverage, which is used when a vehicle collides with another car or object, paid to repair damages to the sleigh’s front quarter panel.
- A turbulent takeoff from Toledo in 2020 launched an elf from the runner and left him laid up with knee bursitis. The event taught him and Santa the value of personal injury protection, which handles medical bills, lost wages and other expenses for the driver or passengers resulting from an accident.
- When a stiff wind whipped an icy evergreen garland into the sleigh windshield somewhere over Alberta in 1998, Santa didn’t panic. He knew that comprehensive insurance covered windshield and glass repairs.
Business
He might not see himself as one, but Santa is, after all, a businessman, which means he addresses any risk exposures that can potentially threaten financial harm. And with business insurance coverage from ERIE carefully tailored to his unique commercial enterprise, Santa has peace of mind that a misfortune won’t slow him down.
As his operations have evolved, so has his business insurance. Thanks to coverage offered by ERIE, he’s protected from a wide range of potential threats. Here are just a few examples:
- Santa’s Workshop might be a magical place where cheerful elves, each highly skilled at their craft, work in merry harmony around the clock in preparation for Christmas Eve. But it’s still a workplace with tiny workers, sharp tools and constant icicles. This makes workers’ compensation coverage vital to deal with the inevitable wrapping paper cuts, ringing in the ears—from all the bells—or glitter inhalation that occur in such a bustling shop.
- When there is flying livestock around your shop, equipment and toy inventory, commercial property insurance is a must. This coverage paid off last year when Blitzen, overcome with excitement, flew into the break room’s massive eggnog dispenser, flooding the mail room below. Santa filed a claim, and he received a payout for the machine as well as compensation for lost production hours due to sticky floors.
- Although no data breach has occurred to date, Santa is aware of the growing threat that cyberattacks can pose in exposing personal data. He also knows the personally identifiable information in his naughty list makes him a prime target for malicious actors. That’s why he trusts Cyber Suite coverage, which could help him recover from—or even help to prevent—such an event.
Home
When you’ve lived in the same home for centuries, there are bound to be a few things that happen beyond your control. Fortunately for Mr. and Mrs. Claus, home insurance from ERIE has helped preserve their unique home for years.
Here are a few ways they’ve benefited from an ERIE homeowners policy:
- Whether it’s gingerbread cookies, hot cocoa or peppermint fudge bubbling onto the stovetop, something is always cooking in the Claus kitchen. That last example was the source of a small fire that yielded significant damage in 2009. As things tend to in the North Pole, it all ended well: the Clauses filed a homeowners claim, and dwelling coverage paid for smoke cleanup, cabinet repair and a new stove.
- The fire damage, however, forced the Clauses to temporarily leave their home while under repair. After talking with his agent, Santa learned that their homeowners policy provided additional living expense coverage, which helped pay reasonable costs while their home was inhabitable. It covered much of the cost of the Clauses’ two-week hotel stay, appropriately enough at the Holiday Inn.
- A little-known fact about Santa is his love of katanas. He loves them. Can’t get enough of them. And each year on his stop in Japan, he looks to add to his impressive collection. Thanks to personal property coverage, his prized blades are protected from theft, fire and other covered events.
Life
Of course, there is one type of coverage Santa never needed to consider. When you fly around the world at 650 miles per second, never age a day and eat billions of cookies in one night, your mortality isn’t exactly a concern.
For the rest of us Saint Nick believers, life insurance from Erie Family Life can be the greatest gift we give to our loved ones.
Santa’s Got His Coverage Handled. How About You?
From sleighs to SUVs and pueblos to ranches, the right insurance brings peace of mind for every season. Make your list, check it twice and reach out to your local ERIE agent to learn how ERIE can help you protect what matters most to you.
The following is a fictional and illustrative holiday story designed to showcase examples of how different insurance coverages work. Santa is not an actual policyholder.
