By now, the Kim Kardashian robbery is not exactly news. We’ve all heard about it. We’ve all felt sorry for her, in that vague, nebulous way you empathize with someone who you know nothing about. We’ve all wondered how she allowed her security arrangements to become so lax, and whether they might have been in on it… And then most of us stopped caring altogether because her life is not our life.
And then there are those of us who live in a different world. At Effective Coverage, insurance and risk is our world, and our worldview is colored by those filters. We realized that parents don’t exactly want their daughters to idolize Kim K, but even still there might be a few teachable moments to be found here. We’ve put together five lessons you actually want your kids to learn from Kim K. It turns out she can help them to become more responsible and risk-aware adults.
Five Lessons You Actually Want Your Kids To Learn From Kim K
Lesson One: Only Display What You Can Afford To Lose
This is one of those hard lessons that many people learned the hard way as early as grade school. If you couldn’t afford to lose an electronic device, you didn’t take it to school. That holds true for anything valuable or electronic. If you have nicer stuff than other people do, and you show it off, someone will at least think about trying to take it from you.
Living an ostentatious reality TV lifestyle means that it’s common knowledge that Kim has nicer property than 99% of the people in the world. When every single person you meet knows that you have something worth taking, the risk of that actually happening increases exponentially.
Lesson Two: Not Everyone Is Who They Seem To Be. Trust, But Verify
Early accounts indicate that Kim K was robbed by people dressed as police officers. Finding a passable uniform and bumbling your way through what appear to be the correct procedures is not challenging. Would an American really know what a French cop should look and sound like, or whether they’re obligated to admit them into a hotel room? Of course not.
The lesson here is that, even when someone appears to belong, you have the right to verify they are who they claim to be. This should always be done before admitting them to your home or hotel room. No law enforcement officer is going to be offended by you asking for identification. The same applies to utility company employees, delivery drivers, and anyone else who requires access.
Lesson Three: If It Can Happen To Kim K, It Can Happen To Anyone
Five Lessons You Actually Want Your Kids To Learn From Kim K And Her Recent Robbery
This isn’t just a lesson for your kids, it’s a reminder for adults as well. Your lawyer is a professional, and quite competent. Your insurance agent is a professional, and well-versed in risk management. There are professional criminals, as well. Many criminals are just as competent at their “jobs” as any professional, and frequently those core competencies involve distraction and speed. If something doesn’t seem right, especially in an unfamiliar situation, it probably isn’t right. Listen to your intuition.
Consider the amount of money that Kim and Kanye spend on security. Consider the level of security talent they’ve hired and take with them anywhere they go. Even with the best precautions, this robbery was still possible and stood a strong enough chance of success to be worth the risk to the criminals. No one is immune to the threat of crime, no matter how lucky you’ve been thus far in life.
Lesson Four: It’s Just Stuff. That’s Why You Have Insurance
The jewelry stolen in the Kim K robbery was worth a substantial amount of money – millions of dollars. However, taken in relation to her total net worth, you may be surprised to find that the robbery is little different from an average person having their engagement ring stolen. Sure, Kim is worth a ton of money, but so was the jewelry. Theft can happen to anyone, and that’s why you have insurance.
Whether you’re traveling abroad or in your own home, your Renters Insurance protects you. If you have valuable jewelry, you can endorse that onto your policy or get a personal articles floater policy for higher value items – our Jewelry Coverage Guide offers details on how to best protect your valuables. Insurance is not expensive, even for high-value property. It makes far more sense to pay for the insurance you need rather than taking the risk of loss or theft of something that’s important to you.
Lesson Five: Don’t Lie And Don’t Commit Insurance Fraud
To be clear, no reputable source has published an allegation that the Kim K robbery was staged. We don’t mean to lend credibility to the suspicion, as we rate it highly unlikely. But others have asked the question. Diana Falzone published a hit piece in the Entertainment section of the Fox News website which explores the possibility of it being staged or embellished, and even compares her to the disgraced US swimmer Ryan Lochte.
If she embellished in the press, so be it. She’s a reality TV star, we expect nothing less. Interviews given to journalists are not under oath. Interviews given to police and insurance companies, however, often are under oath. While the general public can speculate all they want based on public statements, what’s important is the information provided to law enforcement and insurance.
Time will tell, as we have no doubt that an insurance company, several law enforcement agencies, and their personal security are all investigating. But there may be a teachable moment and a lesson for your kids in that hit piece – ask them they think would happen to her if she had made the whole thing up. It’s a good opportunity to talk to your kids about why both honesty and insurance are critically important.
Just this once, you might find something about the Kardashians relevant to your own life.