The festive season is firmly upon us and, if your house is anything like mine, there are elves on the shelf, toy commercials at every break and fire hazards everywhere. The north pole must be a hive of activity right now, but have you ever thought what would happen if old St Nic could not deliver presents? What if Rudolf and his pals were unable to fly? How could insurance help to save the children of the world from the prospect of the most dismal Christmas ever?

First and foremost, Santa’s North Pole operation (let’s call it Christmas Inc.) is a huge enterprise with many different cogs making Christmas as special as it is. We can assume that Mr and Mrs Claus are directors and are clearly integral to the day to day running and ongoing strategy of the business. Santa has dual roles as he has the unenviable job of delivering presents to the children of the world in just one night.

The loss of either Santa or Mrs Claus would have a dramatic effect on the north poles ability to spread joy around the world with a critical illness having the same affect. Recruiting a replacement for either would be a hugely difficult task. Santa’s replacement must have good management capabilities, an 9-reindeer open sleigh pilot licence, be constantly jolly and of course able to project a ho ho ho!

As such at the very least, I would recommend that both have Key Person cover for life and critical illness. As the north pole is void of any other businesses it would be advantageous for the policies to include recruitment services to help finding replacements as soon as possible.

Also key to the operation are nine reindeer led by the one and only Rudolf. I am reliably informed (by my 5-year-old daughter) that the reindeer are sprinkled with magical dust to help them fly. Therefore, the loss of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder or Blitzen, however sad, might not be a catastrophe with plenty of other reindeer in the North Pole to take their place. Rudolf on the other hand has a “very shinny nose” making him unique and vital to the navigation of the sleigh. As such it may be beneficial to put in place a “Key Reindeer” policy or at the very least insure his nose for the cost of a powerful torch to light the way.

Christmas Inc. could not operate without the wider workforce and we must not forget the elves. In the north pole, the whole year is spent preparing for Christmas eve. A happy workforce is an efficient workforce and building toys all year must be back breaking. A group private medical plan should be a must for Mr & Mrs Claus, the reindeer and all elves to ensure that all injuries and illnesses are treated as soon as possible. To keep moral high and stress at a minimum a scheme that provides a good employee assistance program and early intervention service would definitely be desirable.

From the vast amount of research I have carried out, I am still unclear on how the elves are paid. Maybe they are paid in Christmas cheer? I am fairly sure however, that Santa provides food, drink and accommodation but he must be good enough to provide an income to pay for non-essentials? Assuming this is the case a group income protection scheme should be recommended to ensure that the elves can keep their subscription to Netflix and keep up with the latest Christmas movies in the event of injury or ill health. If this is not the case we may have to search for a “group Christmas cheer protection” scheme, which may be more difficult?

In wider terms public liability insurance should be considered although I would want to have a conversation with Santa on the extent of his magic to repair broken roofs (the recent increase in solar panels must be a hinderance) not to mention the damage he must do to carpets after sliding down people’s chimneys. Property insurance for the North Pole headquarters should also be a must as the last thing the children of the world would want is their eagerly anticipated presents destroyed by fire, theft or indeed a freak snow storm.

Putting such insurance in place will be difficult not least due to Santa’s age (he’s been around for a while), him clearly working at heights, his height to weight ratio and what some may class as binge drinking on Christmas eve. In any event, I am sure that if required there are products available in the industry to ensure that misfortune would not stop Christmas.

If you were advising Christmas inc. what recommendations would you make? What vital parts of the Christmas Inc operation have I missed and what are the problems you would foresee in placing the cover?

From all at Protection Guru, we hope you have a fantastic festive period!

Warning!

This article does not constitute advice in any form. If you are reading Santa, I would suggest you get in touch with a reputable financial adviser (of which we know a few) that can capture and record your full details and make a suitable recommendation based on your requirements!