Insurance Folks are Nuts!

The other day, I stumbled upon a blog entitled "18 Disney Movies That Were Never Made." It is probably no surprise to you that a film chroniciling the adventures of a superhero named "Insurance Man" was not on the list.  You can't blame an insurance nerd like me for checking. Anyway, the blog made me think about the media's portrayal of the insurance industry in movies and tv shows.  Does art imitate life?  Has insurance been portrayed honestly?  What is fact and what is fiction?  You be the judge.

One episode of the beloved Andy Griffith television show highlights the value of homeowners insurance.  Aunt Bee loses her "valuable" antique broach given to her by her Aunt Martha.  Andy tells Bee they can put in a claim with the insurance company. A geek like me beams with pride as Andy explains the applicable homeowners coverage to Aunt Bee.  Fact - Insurance rocks!

There was actually a television series that centered on the insurance industry.  Can you name it?  The main character was an insurance investigator named Mike Longstreet.  Did I mention he was blind?  The short-lived show was appropriately named Longstreet and aired for one short season in 1971-72.  The blind protagonist was equipped with his seeing eye dog, a gun and was an expert at martial arts.  Quite a hero but I am leaning towards fiction.

The 2012 hit television show, Revolution, is a sci-fi drama that takes place when the world has been robbed of electricity.  Believe it or not, the show has a connection to insurance. One of the key characters and villains is Major Tom Neville.  Prior to the blackout, Tom was an insurance adjustor.  All adjustors are villains?  Fiction.

The big screen has had a few collisions with insurance as well.  Do you remember the Jack Nicholson movie, About Schmidt?   The main character, Warren Schmidt, is retiring from his career as an insurance actuary.  He reflects on his past and whether he ever made a difference in the world.  Sidenote, not all actuaries are without emotion!

In 2004, Ben Stiller played the role of Reuben Feffer, an actuary whose job analyzing risk for insurance  seems to have turned him into a dour, lifeless loser whose wife cheats on him during their honeymoon.  Remember Along Came Polly?  Fact - not all actuaries are as boring as Feffer!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover insurance in a Disney movie!  Did you take your kids to see the 2004 computer-animated movie, The Incredibles?  This action-comedy centers around a family of superheros.  The father, Bob Parr, is an insurance company adjuster by day and superhero possessing great strength and durability by night. Finally an insurance champion that everyone can relate to and that's a fact.

Without a doubt, Double Indemnity is the most famous insurance storyline.  Initially a novel, this critically acclaimed story has been made into a movie and a play.  The movie version stars Fred McMurray as Walter Neff, an insurance salesman turned murderer. Neff kills his lover's husband to collect on an accident insurance policy.  The payout?  A $50,000 double indemnity benefit; i.e. twice the benefit if death is caused by accidental means.

As an insurance geek, Double Indemnity is my all-time favorite since it is jam-packed with insurance terms and references.  One of my favorite lines from the book is from McMurrary's character, Walter Neff.  "You think I'm nuts?  All right, maybe I am.  But you spend fifteen years in the business I'm in, maybe you'll go nuts yourself".  Fact - not all insurance folks are nuts!