Every Christmas, many people flock to malls or stores and attend events to join in the merrymaking and witness the fanfare. Everyone seems to be in good spirits, and children are particularly lavished with gifts and attention. After all, it is “the most wonderful time of the year,” right? A survey revealed that people go out of their way to please their families, peers, and friends during this season and are willing to take payday loans or personal loans to be able to spread the joy. It’s a deeply ingrained culture that people happily anticipate and embrace.
Wherever Christmas is being celebrated, Santa Claus is an expected fixture. Blame it on our parents and grandparents, but a Christmas feast does not feel complete without Santa Claus. So, year after year, men (and women in some cases) who work as professional Santa Clauses increase in number, especially in places like the Northwest, where thousands of families frequent the malls and other event venues with their children to get a glimpse of Santa. For the excited kids, it’s a treasured memory and a good experience to tell their friends when they exchange stories in the next coming days.
However, in as much as most parents won’t hesitate to take their kids near Santa Clause for a Christmas greeting, a big hug and would even place their children on Santa’s lap for pictures, some people are more delicate. They can quickly get so worked up and may also file charges against poor Santa for alleged indecent acts, without care how their action would affect Santa’s credibility and credit score.
This is the reason why a number of professional Santa Clauses buy an insurance policy as their personal protection from getting sued during the holiday season keeps growing. These kind souls in oversized red suits and ready big smiles typically consider insurance as a safety net, giving rise to the policy moniker “Santa insurance.”
Trever Waltos, Chairman of NorPac Santas, which is the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, told KOMO that “It’s peace of mind” and added that those investments are the new standard or a requirement as a professional Santa. According to Waltos, Santa insurance uplifts professional standards in the Santa Clause business. It provides protection not only for Santa but for the company that Santa works for, as well. How so, we are inclined to ask.
For NorPac Santas, Waltos chose a specific policy that is part of a program that Kaercher Insurance runs. Interestingly, the program supports more than 1,700 Santas from different parts of the country and continues to grow rapidly, mainly during the past three to four years. The program covers a $4-million liability policy and includes an essential provision called “Abuse & Molestation Coverage.” With the said coverage, Kaercher Insurance undertakes to represent and defend a Santa in the unfortunate event that a parent or child files a complaint against such Santa. The insurance company will also cover the legal fees, so it is basically a liability policy that will take Santa out of the mess but will not cost him a fortune or drag him to bankruptcy. Other insurance companies may have a different name for similar coverage. It would be good to do some research.
Thankfully, a Kaercher Insurance spokesperson told KOMO that there had been no complaint that ever reached the trial court. Despite that, hiring companies and event venues prefer to take the safe route. They now require Santas to sign up for some form of liability insurance before deciding to hire them. It’s like buying a new house with a reliable home security system, which proves to be a sound investment planning.
As for Santa Clause, it is comparable to having a standby lawyer who is ready to jump in and walk the court’s flooring to his defense when a complaint reaches a degree where a legal case has been filed against him. Definitely not an ideal place to be in, so the investment money that Santa put into his insurance policy will prove to be totally worth it.
Based on materials from Komo News
Photo Credits:
CottonBro
Pixabay
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