Insurance Extraordinaires Of The World

Sometimes, it’s hard to price what we value most in life. But for many, it becomes an imperative exercise because they know it is better to be safe than sorry.

People and businesses purchase insurance to protect themselves from any financial hardship in case of loss or damage to their most valuable assets. To a music composer, his instruments. To a real estate tycoon, his properties. To a scientist, his discoveries. To a family man, the life and health of his family and himself.

But then we enter the glamorous world of celebrities and you have a slew of peculiar yet fantastic insurance covers that leave you wondering about the true value of your assets. Just as we take out home insurance against loss or damage of personal belongings and property, celebrities sign up for insurance that covers many millions of money to protect their prized possessions or even against possible diminished earning capacity if a particular body part is damaged! The bold and beautiful celebrities of the world have some spectacular insurance cover stories.

Rowan Atkinson

The actor who made his mark on the world playing the one and only Mr. Bean has another avatar beyond the one he dons on screen. Atkinson is well known for his love of fast cars and recorded the fastest lap time in a segment of the British show Top Gear. The actor and comedian fell off the road and crashed the high-powered McLaren F1 supercar into a tree in August 2011, suffering a fractured shoulder blade in the process. The damage? A whopping £910,000 ($1.23 Million!). Thankfully, Atkinson knew passion always came with a price and had advisedly taken out an appropriate car insurance for his beloved supercar.

Bruce Springsteen

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen is known to his fans as ‘The Boss’, but Springsteen knows that he could be demoted to part-time status with one case of laryngitis. In the 1960s, The Boss insured his monumental voice for $6 Million. But Springsteen was not the only celebrity who insured his vocal cords from loss or damage. Music legends like Rod Stewart and Bob Dylan did the same to protect themselves from a possible future where they could not rely on their voices to make money.

Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Lionel Messi? 

They all have their legs insured! Ronaldo told the press, “Football in England is different; it is more physical. There are some teams who know they can’t compete with you on a football level, so they kick you. It’s frustrating, and something needs to be done to protect the skilful players because one day someone will get seriously hurt.” Football players insuring their legs seems very plausible and logical to most people until they hear that supermodel Heidi Klum, singers Mariah Carey and musician Rihanna have their legs insured for millions as well. But have you seen the towering heels they wear on stage while doing powerful dance performances?

Daniel Craig

The latest heart-throb James Bond 007, has his entire body insured for $9.5 Million. However, while many stars insure parts of their body for publicity and to increase their market value, it is said that Craig was just being prudent. He took out this policy due to the risks involved in doing his own stunt work. Then why not use a body double? Unlike his predecessor Pierce Brosnan, Craig felt his audience was coming to see him and was adamant about doing his own stunts for his series of James Bond movies, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. A true performer!

Gene Simmons

Last but not least, there is the fire-breathing, blood splitting and larger-than-life co-founder of hard rock super-group KISS.  But there is one thing about Simmons that his fans will never forget – his tongue. Every concert, every interview and every magazine loved that moment when he would stick out his abnormally large tongue in a show of rebellious glamour. It’s no wonder that he had his greatest asset insured for $1 Million!

Glamour and glory aside, all the above insurances taken by celebrities are a testament to ensuring what is most valuable to you. It’s all a matter of ‘Insurable Interest’ – which is a principle that the insurance company applies when assessing the risk and financial loss associated with the insurance requirement.

When it comes to life insurance, a person has an insurable interest in the lives he is directly responsible for – his own life and the life of his loved ones. Similarly, when it comes to assets or ability protection, an insurance company will want to establish that you stand to suffer a direct financial loss if there is a claim. At Continental Insurance, for example, we have insured a collection of high-valued art, a winning racehorse, a family heirloom passed on for generations and more.

What is your most valuable asset? Is it worth taking the risk of loss and damage without taking precautions? If you have a company of employees that depend on you, or a family that counts on you, or if you have an expensive hobby that means the world to you – follow the lead of some of the greats and get yourself insured.