Those “Esurance” Ads

There’s an auto insurance company, Esurance, that has a series of animated ads for their service that depict an Emma Peel-like female protagonist who thwarts thieves, ninjas, and other ne’er-do-wells.

In one of these commercials, a hapless guy who is talking with our heroine has his car creamed by one of the bad guys, who crashes his jet-ski on top of it. Mr. Hapless whines that it is too late to report his claim. Ms. Heroine reminds him that he has Esurance, and can report a loss 24/7. Happy ending.

So, this leads me to wonder… does Esurance really offer coverage that would actually pay out for the damage done to a vehicle due to what could reasonably be interpreted as terrorist activity? My guess is no, and that whether one can call in that claim 24/7 or not, one will be left out in the cold when it comes time to try to collect on it. Making the commercial only about reporting a loss, though, allows Esurance to skate right on past truth-in-advertising regulations. ‘We never said Esurance covered that sort of loss,’ they might point out. Uh-huh.