How much is a pair of legs, a bottom or someone's hair worth? The answer is that it depends whose they are!
The world of celebrity insurance has raised more than a few eyebrows over the years and caused many to shout out "How much?!!" after learning about the numbers attributed to the different parts of the body of our stars.
You may find yourself saying the same by the time you finish our list of the most quirky celebrity insurance policies. But before we get into our who's who of protected physical assets, let us try to break down why they do it in the first place.
Why Do Celebrities Insure Body Parts?
The key to taking out insurance on anything is to protect against any unforeseen financial losses.
For most of us, we rely on the skills that we have acquired after study or on the job to keep the money rolling in, and not so much on our bodies.
But for sports stars and other entertainment celebrities, if their legs, voices or hands fail in some way, they wouldn't be able to fulfill the jobs that they are getting paid for. Even worse, the chances for more work in the future can go out of the window!
For that reason, many decide to take out different celebrity insurance policies. Most of them make sense, but the weird celebrity insurance policies are what make the headlines. Such as...
Mariah Carey’s Legs
INSURED BODY PARTS
Legs: $1 Billion insurance policy
Voice: $35 Million
She's been called a diva, an icon and is a vocal virtuoso.
But if there was one word to describe Mariah Carey, inconspicuous wouldn't be it. We mean that not many people would look at ease at the unveiling of a 16ft replica of their legs in front of a live audience. But Mariah looked totally at home upon receiving her "Legs of a Goddess" award from Gillette in 2006.
The 5 time Grammy award winner became the face of a Gillette advertising campaign, and to ensure her assets forevermore she reportedly took out a $1 billion insurance policy on them. How much? You read that right.
She also has a $35 million policy on her voice, so there can be no doubt that she is one woman who knows her value!
Jennifer Lopez’s Bottom
INSURED BODY PART
Bottom: $27 Million
Jennifer Lopez has been back in the news recently.
This is due to her making everyone feel like they have stepped into a DeLorean and woken up in 2003 due to her reportedly dating Ben Affleck again. But (no pun intended), it was around the early 2000's that rumours started circulating that she had taken out a $27 million insurance policy on the part of her body that she became famed for, her derrière.
The superstar has a career branching everything from singing acting and very recently, directing. But throughout her time of being a tabloid darling, talk of her backside has never been too far away.
The astronomical amount her bottom was insured for has been denied by J Lo since, but that doesn't change the fact that she will be enshrined in celebrity insurance folklore forever.
Miley Cyrus’s Tongue
INSURED BODY PART
Tongue: $1 Million
After starring as Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus was able to follow in the footsteps of other Disney Channel alumni before her and hit the big time with a successful singing career.
Fame and fortune have followed but according to an interview with Ellen, she has never felt comfortable taking photos. She started sticking out her tongue for this reason but little did she know that it would become her trademark.
After spending years of hearing photographers cry out "Do the tongue thing!" it seems she cottoned onto how important it was to her overall image.
In 2013 she got it insured for a cool $1 million, and in the process joined the list of the other celebrity insurance cases.
Troy Polamalu’s Hair
INSURED BODY PART
Hair: $1 Million
There was always one unmistakable sight on Heinz Field if you went to see the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2003 up to 2014. One player who, amongst the helmets and the football jerseys everyone was able to spot.
Troy Polamalu.
His luscious looks were his trademark, something that he kept long to honour his Samoan ancestry. But keeping them long also worked out well for his bank account as they led to him getting a sponsorship deal with Head and Shoulders.
There was one problem though. In the NFL it is legal to tackle someone by the hair, meaning that one freak incident on the field could mean bad news for all involved. Therefore, to protect their asset they took out a celebrity insurance policy on his hair!
The Pro Football Hall of Famer has since retired but still is an ambassador for the shampoo, although he seems to have passed on the baton to Kansas Chief's QB Patrick Mahomes. We think Patrick may need to grow his hair out a little bit more before Head and Shoulders consider insuring his hair too though.
David Lee Roth’s Sperm
INSURED BODY PART
Sperm: $1 Million
If there is one thing that is synonymous with rock star living, it is the image of their promiscuous lifestyle. But along with that lies a chance that "little rock stars" could be made in the process.
This seems to be the motivation behind David Lee Roth deciding to take out a reported $1 million policy on his sperm. That's right, his sperm! A staple on all weird celebrity insurance policies lists, the apparent thinking was that this policy would be able to cover any expenses should he happen to make someone pregnant.
With the cost to raise a child until 18 in Canada costing $257,364 in today's money, it seems like David certainly had some wiggle room to cover him for more than one close shave.
Kim Kardashian’s Curves
INSURED BODY PART
Curves: $21 Million
Any conversation about Kim Kardashian inevitably will lead to talk of her body. The modern icon has been at the forefront of the fuller figure phenomenon for more than a decade, with countless women trying to get curves like Kim.
Recognizing the asset that it was, reportedly her now ex-husband Kanye West encouraged her to take out "celebrity insurance" on her backside. The amount? A whopping $21 million.
In fairness, not many backsides can claim to have "broken the internet" as Kim did after her now-infamous 2014 Paper magazine shoot.
Madonna’s Breasts
INSURED BODY PART
Breast: $2 Million
In comparison to what we see today, looking back on Madonna's antics in the early '90s may seem rather tame. But at the time she pushed the boundaries of what was expected from a pop star/sex symbol.
Always at the cutting edge of what was cool and never afraid to reinvent herself, Madonna's stardom shot up through the stratosphere during this period.
This was especially the case after her iconic cone bra outfit was designed by the equally emblematic designer Jean-Paul Gautier. After this point (pun very much intended) she recognized the importance of her breasts to her image and decided to insure them for $2 million.
Apparently, they were so intertwined with her public image she couldn't afford anything to happen to them!
Taylor Swift's Legs
INSURED BODY PART
Legs: $ 40 Million
Apparently, Taylor Swift wants us to know just how important her legs are. Swift has gained worldwide fame with her pop princess appeal, a stunningly beautiful look, iconic fashion sense and a voice that can blast the roof off of any stadium she sells out.
While many rumours have been tossed around about this star such as having no belly button, being pregnant, that she's not really 5' 10", there's one that is most definitely true. Taylor Swift's legs are worth a cool $20 million a pop. You read that right. Those
$40 million dollar stems are walking her all the way to Truth Town.
Tom Jones Chest Hair
INSURED BODY PART
Chest Hair: $3.5 Million
From one legendary sex symbol to another, if we went back to the 60's just saying the name Tom Jones would have been enough to get his fans swooning.
The tall, dark, and handsome crooner from the Valleys had a set of lungs to match his persona but there was one part of his body that seemed to set hearts racing more than any other.
His chest hair.
The fashion of low-cut tops on men boded well for those with a bit of fluff in the chest area, and Tom Jones was a prime beneficiary.
It is always hard to put a number on parts of the body, but the magic number $3.5 million seemed the right amount of celebrity insurance needed to cover his chest hair. He certainly took advantage of it, with glimpses of his bare chest adorning a number of his album covers over the years.
While his place among weird celebrity insurance policies is well deserved there is one thing we have seen to be the case throughout this article. It may be strange, but it's not unusual.
Lessons to Be Learned From Celebrity Insurance
While most of us balk at the idea of the different types of celebrity insurance, one thing is for sure. They know the value of the things that are their own, something that we can all learn from.
While most of us don't bank on our legs, hair or other parts of our body, it does pay to assess what is important in our lives. When we do, it can only lead to peace of mind a precious commodity in today's world.
We at Insurdinary specialize in helping you to get whatever type of insurance policies you may need. While they may not make the headlines, we can help you find security by getting a quote through us.
