Nessie Attack Publicity Stunt
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 21st, 2007
It’s a difficult time for Nessie. Stories about the Internet being hard on the Loch Ness Monsters are being written because fake photos can be instantly sent around the world. And debunked.
But the premise seems to be that Nessie is an “urban legend” to begin with in that article. If you start there, you might just end up there.
Now, what comes along next? A supposedly serious news item about people being insured against a Nessie attack. Come on. Cryptozoologists would never get behind something like this, and this publicity is as transparent as a glass of Scottish mountain water. Are the promoters of the “First Monster Duathlon” so hard up for publicity that they had to create this story?
Organizers of a duathlon in Scotland have taken out a one million pound (nearly $AU2.5 million) insurance policy against attack by or sighting of the fabled Loch Ness monster.
First Monster Duathlon race director Malcolm Sutherland said they were planning for all eventualities.
Transport operator FirstGroup said in a statement its policy with insurers Royal and Sun Alliance would pay out should “Nessie” emerge from the murky depths of the vast watercourse and/or attack one of the competitors.
“This is one of our more unusual requests but it certainly gave our team something to get their teeth into,” Royal and Sun Alliance trading director Jon Woodman said.
Any “proven sighting” has to be independently verified, subject to policy terms and conditions, the insurer said.
The September 2 event requires individuals in each team of four to complete two legs of the eight-legged event around the shores of Loch Ness, in northern Scotland — one 10-kilometre run and one 20-kilometre cycle.“Duathlon organisers insure against Loch Ness monster attack,”, Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:19pm AEST (Australian time), Agence France-Presse (AFP)
I note that with much silliness, the insurance policy would extend to having a “verified sighting” of a Loch Ness Monster too. But why? Does anyone need to be insured for merely having a nonviolent encounter? This is beyond the pale, if you ask me. Nessie deserves better than this, and especially from people using the “Monster” name in their event.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Agreed, Loren. Absurd.
It’s all about the almighty $$$ and publicity! To mention an insurance policy in regard to a sighting (or being harmed by) the Loch Ness Monster gets them all the publicity they can handle. Now how many people to date have reported a violent encounter with the Loch Ness Monster?
Why would they need a chunk of insurance money for a sighting?
Mental distress?
Idiotic. It’s a joke, of sorts. Not only has the monster not officially been proven to exist (speaking in legalities, not my own beliefs), it hasn’t, as far as I know, been violent towards humans at all.
It’s like everything having to do with the Loch must bring up the monster somehow. It’s for publicity, that’s all, and probably for a bunch of people to fake a “sighting” and try to collect the insurance.
I almost feel bad for that thing, whatever it is–it’s almost worse than Roswell. A genuine event/phenomenon overshadowed by human band wagoning and greed. If it’s a physical creature, I’m torn–I hope it’s caught or proven to exist so that cryptozoologists will be vindicated; but if it’s caught it’ll be in a cage open to tourists and probably die there.
I kind of like the giant eel theory–it can eat the tourists. THEN there’d be cause for insurance.
(Or perhaps I’m just in an angry mood tonight. That seems logical.)
Whatever. Live long, Nessie. Longer than this nonsense, at least.
Well I am a skeptic on lake monsters but I agree this is a going way too far.
okay then, I say we all get into wet suites and put on scuba gear and swim up underneath everyone participating and at least scare them so bad that they all think they had an encounter–thus bankrupting the insurance company who was stupid enough to go along with. The closest sighting I know that fits any kind of “attack” scenario would be one of the first. I’m thinking of the Priest who saw something large heading towards someone swimming in the lake. Other than that I haven’t heard of any attacks.
Hee hee. Can I get insured against aliens?
Now that I think of it – it’s a great business to get into.
Give me money. Then I promise to insure you against an attack by creatures that do not exist.
Sounds like a plan!
Why do you think the insurance industry is so rich and influential? Consider life insurance: In essence they’re betting you that you’ll live long enough to pay out more in premiums than you ever receive in benefits, and you’re betting them you’ll die early.
A lot of my Scottish friends are really disgusted with what a tourist trap Nessie has become. They advise to stay away from certain areas – not for fear of monsters but because of all the tourists and cheesy souvenir stands, etc. To see the real Scotland, go to one of the other lochs.
Cer – That’s a point that occurred to me early in life.
I have no insurance of any kind.
WOW! Really, if you proved you saw nessie, might as well say everyone has, and say she exists.
The person who thought this plan up must be a strong believer… Or a skeptic who wants to rip money off believers.
‘Nessie ‘ has become a well known brand, which is every advertisers goal. I’m sure if you asked the people involved they’d say “heh, it’s just harmless fun”. The more i see the discredited photo at the start of a LNM article, the sadder i feel about the whole nessie affair as potential ‘legitimate science’.