An insurance policy is meant to provide someone with financial security and peace of mind in the event of the worst case scenario. The average person is usually content with policies like home, auto and life insurance but over the years there have been some insurance policies that range from odd to just flat out outrageous. Here is a list of the most unbelievable insurance policies written for people who were worried they needed more than coverage for a fender bender.
Taste Buds: Egon Ronay was revered as one of the most distinguished food critics and restauranteurs in the world. In 1957, he wrote and published the first edition of the Egon Ronay Guide to British Eateries. His guides were so influential that they could either make or break any restaurant and were responsible for launching the careers of many celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsey. Ronay was able to take out an insurance police on his taste buds for $400,000. The policy covered his sense of taste, and was guaranteed payment if he had lost it.
Lottery Winner Insurance for Employers: In the United Kingdom, employers are able to purchase insurance in the event that their employees quit because they won the lottery. In order to file the claim, at least two of your employees must leave due to winning, each one winning at least $150,000 and have left their jobs within two weeks of winning. The odds of this policy paying out are actually worse than winning the lottery. Strangely enough, last year all ten of the employees at a recruitment agency in the UK failed to show up to work the day after winning $50 million in the National Lottery from a collective pool. Unfortunately, for the recruitment agency, they did not have a Lottery Winners Insurance policy.
Who wants to be a Millionaire? The American game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” is actually insured by the Goshawk Syndicate, a group of brokers at Lloyds of London, a British insurance group against the possibility of a contestant winning. Goshawk agreed to cover the award payments to anybody winning either $500,000 or $1 million. Buena Vista, the producer, has to pay a deductible of $1.5 million, but after that the Lloyd’s brokers are liable.
Heidi Klum’s legs: Heidi Klum is one of the world’s most famous super models since 1999, serving as the face of Victoria’s Secret and then starting her hit reality television show Project Runway. Apparently, she felt her legs were so important to her career that she had an insurance policy taken out. “Basically, I was in London, and I had to go to this place where they check out your legs. They would look at them and I had one scar here from when I fell on a glass, so this (left leg) isn’t as pricey as this (right) one.” Together her legs are insured for $2 Million.
Alien Abduction Insurance: As weird as it sounds, it is actually very possible to purchase insurance against alien abduction and more frequent then you would expect. There are over 20,000 people in the United States that pay a premium for Alien Abduction Insurance. Of course in order for an insurance company to pay out on this policy which is similar to life insurance, you will need to prove that you were actually abducted. There are a couple of companies that offer alien abduction insurance, with normal policies costing around $150 per $1.5 million in coverage. There is one company that offers a lifetime premium of $19.95. In the event that you are abducted and are able to prove it, they will pay you $1 per year for 10 million years or until you die. Apparently, in their 23-year history, they have had to pay out two claims, both in New York State.