When asked who has played the role of an insurance agent in television or movies the usual name that pops up is Robert Anderson from Father knows Best, but he wasn’t the only one…
#10 The Truman Show (1998)
Jim Carrey as an insurance agent that doesn’t know his life is a television show. He should have known it was staged when none of his client insurance applications were ever turned down.
#9 Groundhog Day (1993)
Although some people think Bill Murray (playing Phil) and the groundhog were the stars, we all know the Academy Award should have gone to Stephen Tobolowsky for playing Ned, the persistent insurance agent. Which agent can forget this exchange, “Do you have life insurance, Phil? Because if you do, you could always use a little more, right? I mean, who couldn’t? But you wanna know something? I got the feeling you ain’t got any. Am I right or am I right? Or am I right? Am I right?”
#8 Deliverance (1972)
Studies show that the percentage of agents that listed camping and canoeing as favorite hobbies dropped considerably after this movie premiered. It might have had something to do with the porcine experience depicted by insurance agent Bobby (played by Ned Beatty).
#7 Alias Jesse James (1959)
Insurance agents are known as field underwriters; they are in the front lines when determining if an applicant is a good risk. Unfortunately, the agent (played by Bob Hope) forgot to ask if the applicant’s occupation included robbing banks and trains when he approved and issued a binder on a $100,000 policy on Jesse James. Even worse, Jesse intends to have someone else killed and pretend it is him to collect his own death benefit (a “collect your own death benefit” rider will soon be made available on life insurance policies issued in New York).
#6 His Girl Friday (1940)
This romantic comedy has Rosalind Russell choosing between staying with Cary Grant or running off with an insurance agent. You probably don’t need to build a Society of Actuaries probability model to figure out her decision.
#5 Enemy Territory (1987)
Insurance agent Barry (played by Gary Frank) prospects in the wrong neighborhood and finds the local street gang is offended by his sales style. Will he survive until the next day?
#4 Fool Coverage (1952)
Insurance agent Daffy Duck tries to show Porky Pig the hazards of life to convince Porky to buy life insurance by rigging some accidents…but it doesn’t go according to plan.
#3 The Life Insurance (2003)
We’ve all been through this. Insurance agent sells a multi-million policy to a healthy applicant, collects the premium, the agent (played by Kurt Ravn) issues a binder of coverage and drops the paperwork in a mailbox. However, while sharing a celebratory dessert minutes later, the new client chokes to death on a plum. What is the agent to do?
#2 Double Indemnity (1944)
Insurance agent Walter Neff (played by Fred MacMurray) has a tryst with his client’s wife (played by Barbara Stanwyck) who suggests that they knock off the husband and make it look like an accident to collect double on the husband’s life insurance policy. There have been a score of movies with similar themes since, but none better than this.
#1 Father Knows Best (1954 – 1960)
Robert Young’s character of insurance agent Jim Anderson is portrayed as a well respected member of the community providing a needed service. If only Hollywood would do a sequel.
