The most bizarre insured items

What’s the first thing you’d do if you hit a casino jackpot? Buy a new house? New car? New wardrobe? Go on holiday? The possibilities are endless! Of course, that’s not all the rich and famous choose to do with their fortunes – which you’ll find out once you become part of this elite group. Instead, many celebrities choose to insure elements that have led to them becoming as popular as they are, so they can protect their income against future risk. (It’s also an excellent idea to insure your new house/car/wardrobe as well!) But while some celebs insure fairly normal items, some go above and beyond the ordinary, veering into territory that’s unusual and often bizarre. Don’t believe us? Just have a look…

Legs
Honestly, who would insure their LEGS, of all things? More people than you think, that’s who. From Tina Turner and David Beckham to Michael Flatley and Betty Grable, stars have been protecting their pins from potential danger for decades. Just ask German supermodel Heidi Klum, who had her famous legs insured by Lloyds of London for $2.2 million. Sure, we understand why, as when your living depends on the way you look, being permanently injured or disfigured could have a significant impact on your earning potential. But $2.2 million? That’s some insurance policy right there!

Vocal chords
If you’re a singer, why wouldn’t you insure your vocal chords? And if you’re The Boss, why wouldn’t you go all out and insure them for $5.5 million? That’s exactly what Bruce Springsteen did when he took out an insurance policy covering his vocal chords against future damage – and it’s said that other singers like Rod Stewart and Bob Dylan have since followed his lead. When you consider the fact that Springsteen has sold over 64 million records in the US alone, you understand just how vital an insurance policy of this kind can be – and that it could even be undervalued, given just how many more albums Springsteen could still potentially release.

Smile
We’re not sure if this really counts, as this insurance policy was taken out by a company rather than the star themselves, but we’re still going to include it anyway, just because we can. Known for her roles in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants movies, as well as popular TV series like Ugly Betty and Superstore, actress America Ferrera is just as well-known for her bright, beautiful smile. It’s for this exact reason that toothpaste company Aquafresh insured her perfect smile for a massive $10 million, as part of a promotion for its Aquafresh White Trays teeth whitening product. It’s not all business and commerce though, as the promotion was initiated in order to raise money for the ‘Smiles for Success’ charity, a hugely worthy cause and one that’s more than worth the insurance policy.

Chest hair
After this, literally nothing will surprise us anymore. Because when you’re a singer, why insure your vocal chords when you can insure your chest hair instead? We’re looking at you here Tom Jones. Hugely popular in the 70s, and still to this day, Welsh singer Jones was as known for his luxurious chest hair as he was for his hit singles, so of course he took out an insurance policy on his most famed asset – one which would pay out in the case of his chest hair being damaged in any way. And how much was the policy worth? Only a whopping $5 million! Obviously Jones has never had to collect on the policy (as far as we’re aware), but we can’t help being curious as to what chest hair implants would look like if he’d ever needed to get them. What’s new, pussycat, indeed!

Tongue
Be honest, if you were to think of one person who would insure their tongue (of all things) who would it be? If you said Gene Simmons from the band KISS, you’d be correct! Known for his trademark black and white facepaint and ever-present tongue, Gene Simmons insured his appendage for $1 million, thereby ensuring a secondary source of income should any accidents ever take place. What kind of accidents would involve a tongue? Not a question we ever want answered, thanks!

Finger
Of course Keith Richards had to appear on this list, and of course it had to be for a reason that most of us would find completely bizarre. Rather than insuring his hands against accident or damage, the Rolling Stones guitarist insured only a single finger. And yes, you guessed it, the middle one. While you might think his reason was a superficial one, in fact according to Richards, the insurance policy was put in place in order to protect his guitar-playing abilities, to the tune (ha ha) of $1 million. The other use for his middle finger is more than likely just a bonus.

Body
When you’re David Beckham and you’re a professional athlete and model, you don’t mess around insuring individual body parts – you go for broke and insure your entire body. Not surprising when your entire career depends on performing physically and looking good physically as well. So how much did Beckham insure himself for? A colossal $195 million, one of the most valuable insurance policies of its kind. We don’t know who had to ‘inspect’ Beckham in order to settle upon that final figure, but if it’s ever necessary to do so again, we’ll happily volunteer for the task.

Um…
We really don’t know how to even broach this subject, but when it’s about David Lee Roth from Van Halen, you know it’s going to be good. Apparently, Roth was so concerned about groupies making pregnancy claims against him, he insured his ‘swimmers’ for $1 million. Why? So that he had the funds to cover child support, and any paternity suits that might follow. Better safe than sorry, although, question: wouldn’t using protection have been cheaper than the insurance payments he no doubt had to pay for every month? We’re not judging though…