Insurance company Lloyd’s of London is known for issuing unusual insurance policies. For decades, Lloyd’s has underwritten insurance policies for bizarre things—everything from hole-in-one insurance for golf games, to vampire and werewolf bite insurance. Lately, wedding insurance is becoming more commonplace to cover non-refundable expenses in the event of a cancellation, and some would-be parents even buy policies that pay out if they conceive more than one baby at a time.
Here are 5 of the most unusual types of insurance policies you can buy:
Body parts
Body part insurance goes back to early Hollywood, when film studios would insure their biggest stars’ great legs or waistlines. Several years ago, Jennifer Lopez insured her impressive behind, and Rihanna has an insurance policy on her legs. Advertisers are now taking out insurance on the key body parts of their spokespeople as well. Aquafresh insured actress America Ferrera’s smile for $10 million, Head & Shoulders insured NFL player Troy Polamalu’s hair for $1 million, and Braun took out a $2.2 million policy on model Heidi Klum’s legs.
It gets weirder, though. While football player Peyton Manning’s throwing arm insurance makes a lot of sense, would you insure his chest hair? Lloyd’s offers a policy that pays out if your career is impacted by the loss of 85% or more of it.
Talent
Having money-making body parts is one thing, but what if you lose your talent? Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is insured for being able to play the guitar, and Bruce Springsteen insured his voice. Coffee taster Gennaro Pelliccia must have one discerning palate, because his tongue is now insured. Likewise, wine-maker Ilja Gort took out a policy on his nose—or rather, its ability to correctly smell wine.
Space junk and aliens
In 2004, Lloyd’s insured SpaceShipOne, the first private aircraft to leave the earth’s atmosphere, for $100 million. But what about those of us still on the ground? If you’re worried about being randomly maimed or killed by pieces of disintegrating satellites falling out of the sky, there’s a policy that will cover you. Lloyd’s is reportedly also working on a policy for businesses who may be negatively impacted by power-disrupting space weather, as well.
Perhaps the most interesting space-related insurance policy is alien abduction insurance. Some 40,000 people have purchased policies that pay out if they can prove they’ve been abducted by aliens. How you would prove that is unclear, but a few of these policies have actually been paid.
Ransom
If you spend a lot of time worrying that you or a loved one will be kidnapped and you won’t be able to pay the ransom, why not pick up some ransom insurance? Then, in the event of a kidnapping, the insurance company will cover the full cost of the ransom, plus additional fees such as the costs of professional negotiators, ransom delivery, rewards, and any money that becomes lost in transit. For the average person, ransom insurance might seem a little over the top. But for the very wealthy or those working in high-risk areas such as Mexico, it makes more sense.
Ghosts
Some insurance companies are now ensuring businesses against accidents caused by spirits from beyond the grave. If your property comes with a ill-natured poltergeist, you may want to pick up one of these policies just in case.
Most of us have auto, homeowners, and health insurance to protect us from financial devastation in the event of an accident, theft, act of God, or illness. Life insurance is pretty common, too. But insurance can be purchased for any number of potential disasters—and is, more often than you would think.
