With all the gadgets in the house I started to get a bit edgy about the cost of replacing them if (god forbid) some street bacteriophage got it into their heads to enter into our home, touch things and then leave with said things. It adds up after a while and would take a while to add it back up.

Last night I saw an ad for E-insurance where regular folk turn into animated cartoons and do all sorts of fantastical things like fly, save trees, jump, fly, swim great distances, um… fly… and just be cartoony. Unfortunately E-insurance was unable to turn these people’s voices into professional cartoon voice actors which made the whole ad seemed flat and gimmicky. But I was impressed with that “one stop shop” for insurance.

Quick! To the internet!

And lo and behold, there is a Canadian version called Kanetix, a one stop shop site that is blistering with information. Not an entirely ugly site, it seems rather “Government of Canada” kind of vibe, in the sense I can trust it (no animated “Welcome!” gifs, like the previous campground post…). So I start to look around and I’m suitably impressed within moments. Beyond all the features you’d expect, it’s got dynamic forms that morph to your responses. To me, that says “smart!” and “we have money!” so already I feel at ease using the site. Ooh look! The Postal Code swaps out lower case for upper case text! Keen!

I start with Travel Insurance, since we’re going to Saugatuk, MI soon. I may be bitten by a moose. you never know. So I punch in some facts, some figures and hit submit. BAM! Faster than oh say… crappy AVIS car rental site, I get ascending pricing of about 8 quotes. I’m still reeling at the speed. I guess insurance servers aren’t as clogged as car rental sites. Anyway, two options from there: Call to buy, buy online. Snazzy!

I’m intrigued now: on to home insurance. Area code… date of birth… couple personal questions… You can imagine my tounge is poking just outside my mouth as I type all this. Oh and imagine I’m humming too. That would be nice. Right. Fire plug question… easy… couple inches from the front door… Fire hall location… Real close. Wish it was closer, hubba hubba… What? Ok. Click, no thank you, sure, no, ha! ok, sure click, and CLICK! Hey presto. Ooo a 4 second wait this time, which warranted a pop up window that barely had time to load and boom! 2 quotes for an annual fee with quote reference number. Hm! Reasonable.

Just the act of searching for insurance makes me feel responsible. More adult.

Then I ask myself real quick: Am I getting old?

The other voice in my head, the one that says “Don’t stand naked by the window nearest to the TTC stop” says real quick: “Not old. Just smarter!” My chest puffs out.

I show this to SharkBoy and without a bat of an eyeball, says “We’re already insured through my work. You married into it.”

Oh. Well.

Can I get an animated version of myself then?