The annual Running of the Insurance Agents has been cancelled for 2020, according to organizer Minnie Exton.
Since its founding in 1956, thousands of runners have descended upon the town of Millington, Minnesota the third Saturday in May. Their objective is to make it half a mile down Main St. without getting overtaken by any of the hundreds of insurance agents chasing after them. Any agent who catches up to a runner is entitled to sell them one five-year policy. In 2019, there were 5,500 runners and 1,237 of them were caught.
“We know this is going to pose a hardship for many agents,” says Easton. “A lot of them have come to rely on the income from the run.”
According to the US Bureau of Measures and Math, the average cost of a term life policy is $387.89 per year. “When you multiply that by five years and multiple policies,” says Exton, “that’s some pretty significant commission.”
Says agent Claudia Arnold, who flies in every year from San Francisco: “I can always count on a months’ worth of income so this is going to hurt.” Last she sold three household-held-harmless policies, two decreasing term-life, and one motorcycle liability with a $1000 deductible. “I train for five months,” she says, “but it can make the difference between a decent year and a fantastic year!”
And what about the runners who get caught? “For the most part,” says Exton, “they’re pretty good sports.”
“At least I’ll be saving some money this year,” says Ed Crippin, an Ohio pharmacist who’s had to buy at least one policy at ten of the past 12 runs. “And even if I die tonight, my family still gets $143.6 million.”
