I Get Mail

Last year I posted about an ad I saw for the Shemirah Bedarchim Insurance Policy. This year the company seems to have switched over to a direct mailing campaign. From a letter received by mail:

Dear Traveler:
Imagine being able to purchase insurance that could actually preent accidents; saving you and your family from potential tragedy.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, over 40,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes every year. Many more suffer injuries and financial loss. Among those cold statistics are hundreds of people from our community - friends, neighbors, and relatives (r"l).

During the coming travel season, more people than ever will be traveling by car, plane and other means to fun-filled destinations across the globe. How can you possibly ensure the safety of your family?

The Shemirah Bidrachim (Traveler's Protection) Insurance Program

For just pennies a day, you will receive the ultimate protection from harm while driving, flying sailing, or even just walking. Ordinary insurance provides financial reimbursement in case of an accident, but Shemirah Bidrachim can prevent the accident from happening in the first place. Thousands of people have already done just that.

How does the Shemirah Bidrachim Insurance Program work?

Individuals who wish to have added protection from danger while traveling simply sign up for the insurance policy using the enclosed Activation Card. Close to two thousand children in our yeshiva will recite Tehillim (psalms) and additional special tefilos (prayers) of protection for you. The purity and innocence of their Yiddishe neshamos (Jewish souls) infuse their piercing tefilos with the power to protect.

This remarkable protection has been credited with directly saving Jewish lives. In fact, Shemirah Bidrachim was first offered in Israel over 15 years ago in response to the surging rate of auto fatalities.

Coverage is provided by the Ashdod Mercaz Chinuch Project with the support of leading Gedolei Yisroel, including:

• Hagaon Harav Shmuel Halevi Wosner (SHLITA)
• Hagaon Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (SHLITA)
• Hagaon Harav Ovadya Yosef (SHLITA)

And it is now available to you with this special offer.

Special Summer Savings with Instant Activation

The summer travel season is just days away! Because of the urgency, I've arranged for your policy to be set up immediately. For just $30 (about 50 cents a day) you are covered 24 hours a day for the entire summer. Isn't your peace of mind worth that?

In exchange, your fee will be used to cover the costs of maintaining the Ashdod Mercaz Chinuch Project in Israel. Your policy will help provide a Jewish child with a license to succeed in life by getting the best possible Jewish education,

Please do this now: complete and mail back your Instant Activation Card (enclosed) or call 1-877-SHEMIRAH now. This immediately activates your policy. You'll then be fully covered. You will also receive by mail an official Certificate of Protection, signed and dated by the director of the yeshiva and the Chief Rabbi of Ashdod.

When you join our thousands of Shemirah Bidrachim members, you become a partner in the Torah and tefilos of our children. In that merit, may Hashem make you reach the destination you desire in peace and return you to your home in peace.

Sadly, I see nothing in the letter about a free month of National Geographic with subscription, or the throwing in of a limited time offer of the Shemirah Bidrachim commemorative coins for the first 100 to call the hotline.

Of course, this offer does have some of the other hallmarks of your standard direct mailing campaign - there's the disclaimer, in the expected fine print:

Policy Terms:
The Shemirah Bidrachim Insurance Policy will provide protection from harm to the policy holder when he/she is driving a vehicle, flying an airplane or traveling on foot. The policy holder should never be harmed by, nor harm, anybody. The protection is based on trust in the merit of tinokos shel beis raban, whose study and prayers keep the world in existence. Their learning and praying protect and save all the supporters of their holy Torah study. The insured will continue to fulfill the command v'nishmartem maod l'nafshoisechem by reciting tefilas haderech and observing safe and legal driving practices. In exchange for a contribution made to the Ashdod Mercaz Chinuch Project, the pupils will study and recite pirkei tehillim daily, and entreat G-d to protect and save the insured from any trouble and distress and lead him toward peace, emplace his footsteps toward peace, and have him reach his desired destination for life, gladness and peace, and send blessing and success in all his endeavors, wherever he may turn. This agreement is a mere spiritual agreement! It does not constitute any grounds for the Insured to claim money from Ashdod Mercaz Chinuch Project.

And don't forget about the money-back guarantee:

100% money-back guarantee
If, during the first month, you decide Shemirah Bidrachim is not what you want, just cancel. We'll refund 100% of your money, even if you've benefited from our policy.

One has to wonder what would have to happen, God forbid, to force someone to decide that the policy is "not what they want".