NU Online News Service, Dec. 23, 12:01 p.m. EST
As we scramble around to perform our last-minute shopping for this holiday season and look forward to happy tidings from Old St. Nick, even Santa has a few liability concerns that he needs to consider as he readies his sleigh.
Experts at Aon Risk Solutions put together their top 10 list of risks that Santa must face as he prepares for his nocturnal global visit and leaves sweet sugarplums dancing in the heads of children—or even those young at heart.
Santa should keep the following in mind now and throughout the year:
- Workers’ compensation for repetitive stress claims made by elves on Santa’s toy assembly line.
- Valuable paper coverage—Santa would be lost without his list (especially now that it’s already been checked twice).
- Kidnap and ransom—naughty boys and girls will stop at nothing to get what they want for Christmas.
- Supply-chain interruption—North Pole weather is unpredictable and even Santa and his suppliers are not immune to the impact of tighter regulations on toy safety.
- Bed bugs—with his level of travel, unwelcomed guests are a major consideration.
- Employment-practices liability, thanks to disgruntled elves.
- Incidents involving Santa’s pet reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.
- Product liability for toys made and delivered.
- Weather—Santa travels from one extreme to another in a very short time with no guarantee of clear skies.
- Aviation third-party risk—Santa’s sled and reindeer.
Last year, the Chicago-based insurance broker estimated that it would cost around $39 million to insure Santa.
Aon did not supply a figure for renewal this year, but keeping with the season (and market trend) you could expect he would see flat to minus-5 percent reduction on average.
