Are you ready for some football (parties)!?

Don’t look now, but it’s tailgating season. Actually, it’s Super Bowl season. That’s like tailgating season times infinity. Last year, roughly 111 million people watched the Super Bowl. (For you numbers junkies, that’s roughly 36 percent of the U.S. population.)

And with Super Bowl 2012 promising to be just as watchable, it’s go-time for final drills, breathtaking chills, and, unfortunately, multiple spills. Since only 70,000 fans will be able to watch the big event in person, the remaining 110,930,000 will have to make do outside the gates of Lucas Oil Stadium. This is an equally hyped-up bunch in search of Super Bowl bliss, however, so be prepared because they’ll come strong and ready to party.

If you are one of the many planning on attending or even hosting one of these pigskin soirees, you’re going to need a lot of bean dip, and a great deal of readiness for a ton of potential party fouls. Which got us thinking … wouldn’t it be cool if you could purchase Super Bowl insurance to protect yourself from the insanity?

Hypothetically speaking, Super Bowl insurance could include the option to buy coverage for stuff like ineligible fans throwing stuff at your new HDTV, guacamole fumbled on your new microfiber carpet, and could even offer protection from guests hit with an extreme case of “bandwagonitis.”

What’s covered by Super Bowl insurance*

Super Bowl insurance (could**) cover damage from party-related messes, tomfoolery, and the occasional bout of absurdity.

It could also protect you against:

1. Helmet-shaped-bowl mishaps
2. Madonna look-a-likes (and National Anthem sing-alongs)
3. TV commercial “shushers”
4. Face-painting accidents
5. Angry armchair referees
6. Bandwagon fans
7. Excessive foam finger usage
8. Vegetable platters
9. Plumbing mishaps
10. Hangovers
11. Post-game hanging out that leads to dancing
12. Wardrobe malfunctions
13. Loud hooting and aggressive high fives
14. Opposing team “crashers”
15. Football-shaped meatloaf
16. Guests dressed like actual Patriots and Giants
17. Overtime delirium

Of course, Super Bowl insurance doesn’t really exist, which means you’re on your own for Super Bowl XLVI. But if you’re hosting a pigskin soiree this year, keep this list of potential Super Bowl blunders handy during the big game to help protect you and your loved ones from party fouls. And good luck!

*Super Bowl insurance not available in all states. In fact, Super Bowl insurance not available in any state. If Super Bowl insurance did exist, some restrictions would likely apply.

**Esurance does not underwrite or pay claims for any Super Bowl insurance policies (as if!).

Related links

Going to the big game? Check out these 6 must-haves for the perfect tailgate.

Need more (non) Super Bowl commercials? We’ve got some!
Watch the Esurance Savings commercial
Watch the Esurance Trust commercial
Watch the Esurance Dollar Karma commercial
Watch the Esurance Allstate Relationship commercial

Here at Esurance, we love our sports and have sponsored everything from a Major League Baseball™ team to a local lacrosse league. We’re also a big advocate of making things smarter (car insurance in particular). So it seemed a natural fit for us to sponsor the Pac-12 Conference this year, and as part of that sponsorship, to offer students and alumni a special car insurance discount.

In keeping with our smarter approach to everything we do, we’re offering Pac-12 students and alumni another way to save some money on their car insurance: the Pac-12 discount.* So if you graduated from or are currently attending a Pac-12 school, you could qualify for additional savings. Not bad, eh?

How to get the Pac-12 discount

When you get a quote at www.esurance.com, you’ll be asked if you attended a Pac-12 school. If you qualify, the discount will apply automatically. It’s that easy. And, as always, you can give us a ring at 1-800-ESURANCE (1-800-378-7262) too.

About the Pac-12

The Pac-12 (the Pac-10 till just last year) has long been a powerhouse of both academics and sports. It includes the following schools and teams:

• University of Arizona Wildcats, or just ‘Cats
• Arizona State University Sun Devils
• UC Berkeley, aka Cal Bears
• University of Colorado at Boulder Buffaloes
• University of Oregon Ducks
• Oregon State University Beavers
• Stanford University Cardinal
• UCLA Bruins
• University of Southern California Trojans
• University of Utah Runnin’ Utes and Utes (mens and womens teams)
• University of Washington Huskies
• Washington State Cougars

No other conference can boast more NCAA National Team Championships. And academically, the conference is just as competitive, with Stanford and UC Berkeley being particular standouts.

(What better place for smarter car insurance to hang out?)

Current Pac-12 standings (basketball)

Mens

*

Womens

*

To keep up-to-date with all the goings-on in the Conference of Champions, check out the official Pac-12 site and ESPN’s Pac-12 blog.

And if all this year’s excitement isn’t enough to sate your hunger for Pac-12 sports, don’t miss the excitement of National Signing Day today, when the next 4 years’ worth of Pac-12 stars will discover just where they’ll be playing (and learning)! To get warmed up for the big event, check out ESPN’s preview of National Signing Day for the future of football.

Related links

Get safety discounts on car insurance
3 car insurance discounts for being good

*The Pac-12 discount (also known as the Education discount in some states) is applied to individuals who have attained certain educational levels irrespective of school conference membership. Discount not available in some states, including Washington and California. Reduced rates for Pac-12 students and alumni are available in California.

As January draws to a close, chances are you’re still going strong on the resolutions you made for the new year. You know the ones — lose weight, quit smoking, do good, etc.

In this crazy-busy world, however, finding the time and energy to stick with your goals past February can be challenging. But did you know that sticking with them could not only improve your quality of life, it could also help you save on insurance? Here’s how.

Losing weight slims health insurance rates

In addition to fitting into those old jeans again, weight loss could help you lower your health insurance rates. Because excess weight contributes to a variety of health risks (which in turn make you riskier to insure), shrinking your body mass index (BMI) could also shrink your health insurance premiums.

In fact, a study by our health insurance partner, eHealthInsurance, shows that those who are overweight paid nearly 13 percent more on average than those with normal BMIs, while those with BMIs of 30 or greater averaged payments that were 22.6 percent higher (note: the “normal” range for BMI is 18.5–24.9).

So if you’re resolved to lose weight this year, hang in there! It’ll be more than worth it in the end.

Quitting smoking lowers life insurance premiums

As the saying goes, old habits die hard. But breaking some old habits, like smoking, can lead to a healthier, longer life as well as lower life insurance rates. In general, smokers pay more than nonsmokers for life insurance, so if you quit this year, you could lower your life insurance premiums in the years to come (and wind up with more years to come in the process).

No ifs, ands, or butts (pun intended), quitting smoking is one of the best things you could do for yourself in 2012.

Greening your commute puts more green in your pocket

Whether you go on foot, by bike, or via public transit, taking your car off the road even just one day a week could reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 800 pounds this year. And because the less you drive, the less likely you are to get into an accident, you could earn a better rate on your car insurance too.

If your goal is to do some good this year, why not try a different way of getting to work once a week? Who knows, you might even discover a more relaxing commute.

Whatever your resolutions for 2012, good luck and stay strong. (And just think of what you could do with all that extra money in your pocket.)

Related links

The truth about life insurance myths
Get the facts behind common life insurance misconceptions.

Save money and avoid the gym
Find out how you can save $387.03 and skip the gym this year.

4 tips for a greener commute
If you want a greener commute but aren’t sure where to begin, these tips can help.

What’s the BMI?
Get the facts about the body mass index: what it is, how it’s calculated, and what it could mean for you.

How BMI and smoking status affect health insurance premiums (PDF)
Read eHealthInsurance’s study on the relationship between higher health insurance rates and weight.