Insuring Body Parts and Other Unusual Types of Insurance

Insurance is something that most people in developed economies possess. To put it simply, insurance is a reimbursement one gets when they suffer some kind of loss. There are different types of insurance for different things. For example, one needs to get auto insurance for their car in case of an accident or maintenance needs. Health insurance will pay the medical bills or at least part of them. Life insurance is paid when a person dies, hence benefiting those they leave behind.

People pay premiums on the insurance policy against the belief that they would need a lump sum of money or a replacement for something in the future. This system gives them a sense of security, especially when large payments are required. However, there are certain groups of people who get very strange types of insurance. These could include specific body parts in addition to regular health insurance, but that’s not all.  Below are some of the most unusual kinds of insurance that people actually pay for:

Body Parts

The insurance of body parts is actually quite an old practice, but not practiced by the masses so much. It’s understandable for an athlete like a runner to insure their legs, for instance. A singer might insure their throats, while an actor might insure their face. Overall, it makes sense for famous people to have a backup for the very things that brought them fame and money.

Merv Hughes, for example, is a cricket player for Australia who’s insured his mustache for the hefty sum of $370,000. Since a mustache has nothing to do with cricket, the reason for this must be for his appearance. Julia Roberts had also taken out an insurance policy of $30 million for her smile, while Bruce Springsteen has apparently insured his valuable voice for around $6 million.

Weddings

WeddingsWith destination weddings and elaborate events on the rise, people are blowing their life savings and more on getting married. Wedding insurance does make a lot of sense if we intend to go all out for such events.

Since you’ve spent a lot of money on the venue, the caterers, and the dresses, a wedding getting canceled would cause some serious loss. The amounts are big enough to warranty insurance. If there’s a personal tragedy or the wedding gets called off due to some other reason, the insurance will protect one from the financial loss at any rate.

The reason for a wedding getting canceled or postponed could be due to some important people not being able to make it, like the mother of the bride. Other reasons could include illnesses, someone’s death, accidents, or natural disasters. The insurance may also cover mishaps such as the wedding cake getting lost or decoyed, the venue canceling, or even the honeymoon being canceled.

There’s even cold feet insurance, which is sold to the person who’s paying for all the festivities. If the bride or groom cancel the wedding at the last minute, the parents any other sponsor wouldn’t lose all that money. This also includes the counseling required to overcome the humiliation and grief.

Hole-in-One

Golf courses sometimes advertise that anyone getting a hole-in-one would get a cash price or something exciting like a new car. However, the organizers of golfing tournaments actually insure themselves against such occurrences in case they happen.

The insurance policy premiums for a hole-in-one are quite small. They’re based on how many people are playing in a tournament, the length of the hold, and the prize’s value the organizers are announcing. Getting a hole-in-one is quite rare, but it’s been known to happen several times. If it does happen in any case, the insurance coverage pays for the reward.

Multiple Births

Having a baby is a joyful experience, but it does increase a family’s expenses as well. The costs only increase when there are multiple births of two, three, or even more babies. In order to compensate for this, parents in Great Britain can take out an insurance policy for financial help.

People who have family histories of twins or other forms of multiple births are the best candidates for such insurance policies. Also applicable are people who‘ve already had at least one multiple birth and may not be able to afford more children. Most companies also require one to buy the policy in the early stages of pregnancy.

Employer Lottery

The risk of all a company’s employees winning a lottery and resigning from their jobs is slim, but it could happen. People in a workplace often get up lottery pools. If a company is quite small to begin with, losing a lot of employees in one go could be fatal to the business.

In case of such a situation arising, entrepreneurs and company owners in the UK have started looking into lottery insurance policies. This would protect them from the financial loss of losing most of their workforce at once. If the lottery pool situation does occur, the employer would get funds to pay temporary workers and also cover the cost of recruiting new employees.

Key Man

In any company or business, there is at least one employee who’s trusted to keep the whole thing running smoothly. If the organization loses this valuable employee, it could spell disaster for everyone. This could be the owner as well, but some key employees usually come into being once the business expands a bit.

For such people, business owners can take out an insurance policy against their leaving. If the key employee does resign, retire, or passes away, the policy would give the company a lump sum for training their successors.

Supernatural Beings

The horror movie genre is a popular one, as is horror fiction. With series like Twilight and other works, some people are convinced that supernatural beings like ghosts, werewolves, and vampires actually exist. The same goes for zombies, with several people readying themselves for the zombie apocalypse.

If people feel that they might die due to an attack by any of these beings, they now have the option of taking out insurance against this possibility. Lloyd’s of London provides such insurance as well as many other unusual types of insurance policies.

Alien Abduction

Along with fears of the supernatural, many people are also convinced that aliens exist and they can abduct people. In fact, several Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens and probed before being sent back. For such individuals, there are UFO and alien abduction insurance policies available. Such policies are most popular in places like the United States and Europe.

In fact, one insurer in Britain has sold around 30,000 policies of this nature. The types of policies are also varied, with some covering UFO crashes, alien examination, alien pregnancy, and getting killed by aliens.

Conclusion

Some of the insurance types above seem completely nonsensical; others actually make a lot of sense. However, they’re all pretty unusual and require a certain level of creativity to even think of. At the end of the day, it’s the insurance companies who most benefit from the fears of the masses.