Blast from the Past Present: Insurance Commercials

Allstate's "Mayhem" character (Dean Winters).

Every Sunday, I run a feature on the blog called Blast from the Past, usually populated by YouTube videos on a single topic. It can be classic commercials, "lost" hits of the 80s, whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes, it's even relevant to current events! This one is not on the weekend, it's not from the past, and it's relevant only to current events in my life.

When I got my most recent car insurance bill from my insurer (hint, their jingle goes, "We are ______, buh-ba-duh-bum-bump-bump-bump!"), the cost for half a year was--by far--the highest it's ever been. I have a 4-1/2-year-old mid-sized sedan. Entry level, four-cylinder, basic transportation. Nothing fancy. So why was the price climbing? My insurance company--let's call them Charmer's---said it was going up for everyone, especially in Nevada, and yada yada. So why was The Other Half's insurance on his 1/2-year-old Scion xB more than $150 cheaper than mine? Well, we decided not to take it anymore. We did a little research, and found another company--let's call them Flibberty Smoochual--and managed to get a rate for both cars that was less than just mine before! Crazy, right?

Crazier is how much money insurance companies--including my old and new ones--spend on advertising. And since we went through this transition, I'm noticing them more. If you pay attention, you'll notice it too. Here are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. All of them are long-running campaigns, very recognizable, with regular characters, themes and/or jingles. Some have more than one concurrent campaigns. How much cheaper would our rates be if they cut back on the commercials by about half?

And that is just off the top of my head. Of course, these companies cover cars, homes, life and other things, and have many other commercials. As I said, I never noticed how many until it was at the forefront of my mind. I wonder what percentage of prime time advertising is just insurance companies?