Ever wonder how celebrities insure their heads, shoulders, knees and toes for millions or who comes up with these prices? These unusual, high-risk policies fall under specialty lines insurance. The pioneer of such policies, a company called Lloyd’s of London, is far and away the industry leader and has insured everything from the first airplane, to food critics’ taste buds and countless other items.
We’ve scoured the internet and compiled a list of a few of our favorite over-the-top insurance policies.
1. Legs
While she wasn’t the first woman to ever insure her legs (that first occurred in 1940), it’s rumored that Mariah Carey took out a $1 billion policy on her legs after winning Gillette’s “Legs of a Goddess” campaign in 2006. And although her policy is not quite as impressive as Mariah’s, Heidi Klum’s legs are insured for $2 million dollars. Klum actually had to fly to London to be examined by underwriters to put a price on her long stems. The final results of the inspection: One leg is actually worth less due to a very, very small scar.
2. Hair
From Troy Polamalu’s $1 million mane to a policy that insures against the loss of chest hair, Lloyd’s has seen it all. The London based company even insures Santa’s Beard. In truth, they insure John Brady’s beard, the man who plays Santa Claus for Macy’s department store in New York City and have covered his whiskers for over a decade.
3. Zombie, Vampires and Werewolves, Oh My!
It’s been said that over 60,000 policies have been issued to insure against being abducted by aliens or turned into a werewolf or vampire. PropertyCasualty360 reports that the insurer is offering coverage “for a potential zombie apocalypse and the resulting cleaning costs.” We especially like this one because our first worry when facing a zombie apocalypse is definitely how we’re going to clean up all. that. mess…
4. Loch Ness Monster
In the 1970’s a Scottish whiskey company offered a $1.5 million reward to anyone who caught the Loch Ness Monster, a mythical creature said to have been spotted in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. A policy against finding the monster was issued, but Lloyd’s specified that the creature had to be at least 20 feet long and verified to be the monster by curator of the National Museum of History. No claims have yet to be made so if you find yourself to be in Scotland soon, happy hunting!
If you could take out an insurance policy on a strange item, what would it be and why?