Lessons From Weird Insurance Policies

If a nuclear apocalypse brought the end of the world as we know it, do you know how you’d survive? Do you know how you’ll fight off the zombie horde or where your wasteland settlement will go? And most importantly — will you insure your post-apocalyptic bunker? That’s only one of the several weird insurance policies out there.

We’re all going to have some experience with the big three of insurance — health, home and auto. But did you know that there are all kinds of other forms of insurance? We don’t simply mean boat or life insurance policies. We’re talking about a solid alien abduction policy. Make sure to bundle it with a good zombie invasion policy, too, in case The Walking Dead was in fact a historical drama from the future.

Weird Insurance Policies for the Unknown

The world is an unpredictable place, and the right insurance policy often is a financial lifesaver. But maybe, there are some policies that are just a little weird and frivolous. But even the most wild and out there insurance policies can teach us something.

Alien Abduction Insurance

What do you think Lloyd’s of London, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious insurance providers, and Florida’s St. Lawrence Agency, a small office operating out of Altamonte Springs, have in common? Aside from being part of the same industry, both of them offer an alien abduction policy. Lloyd’s policy was offered for $155 and promised a payout of $160,000 in the event an extraterrestrial abducted you. St. Lawrence’s policy sells for $19.95 and offers as much as a $10 million payout, in case you’re in the market.

To remove tongue from cheek, the companies offered these policies as a gag and marketing stunt. The mastermind behind Lloyd’s policy, Simon Burgess, stated, “Let’s face it— insurance is so tedious that if I can enlighten my dreary life with a bit of humour every now and again, I will.”

While these policies are little more than eye-catching advertisements, people can steal, or abduct, your stuff at any time. If someone nabs your wallet from your car or home, it’s doubtful the culprit is a little green man, but you can make sure you’re covered. Auto insurance policies can offer payouts for items stolen from your car as an optional coverage. Most homeowners policies will already cover items stolen from the home as part of personal property protection.

Ghost Insurance

The fear of the supernatural has long had a place in society. For a brief moment in time, however, the UK insurance company Ultraviolet offered Spooksafe. The policy covered attacks from supernatural entities including ghosts, vampires and werewolves.

Much like an unsettled spirit, Ultraviolet has mysteriously vanished. It offered its last policy in 2002. Some say that on quiet nights at your local Progressive or GEICO office, you can still hear them reading off the policy agreement. And while it may be a bit, shall we say, ghoulish to suggest, you can look into coverage while still on the corporeal plane. Looking for a good life insurance policy now has a lot of benefits not only for you, but your family and loved ones.

Body Part Insurance

Many of us are a little curious about the spending habits of celebrities. Wait until you see what they spend on insurance. Heidi Klum insured her legs for $2 million; Gene Simmons’ tongue is insured for $1 million; $10 million for America Ferrera’s teeth; Rod Stewart took out a $6 million policy on his voice; and the late esteemed food critic Egon Ronay had his taste buds insured for the comparatively modest $393,000. Lloyd’s of London insured another world-wide celebrity by providing a policy for Santa Claus’ beard. And famous father Nick Cannon recently announced his testicles’ insurance policy is worth $10 million.

This is body part insurance, a policy that covers a specific body part deemed essential for a person’s career or a defining part of their public persona. If Rod Stewart’s voice is in any way damaged, for example, his career as a singer would essentially be over. In this, body part insurance could be seen as an extension of disability insurance.

Naturally, the rest of us can’t command millions of dollars for a golden policy in case something happens to our taste buds, but disability insurance may be worth looking into. Accessible through Social Security, disability insurance can cover you if an injury or debilitating condition keeps you from work. If you support family or worry about becoming a financial burden in the event of an injury or sickness, it could give you peace of mind.

Spaceship Insurance

Unlike some of the other policies listed here, this one could be a lot more viable in just a few decades, if any number of science fiction writers are finally right about personal spaceships or colonies on Mars. Spaceship insurance is here for all your intergalactic travel needs, covering the craft itself, launch and development.

But while we wait to shop for a policy for our own personal Millennium Falcon, we will have to contend ourselves with going to the far corners of the world. Be it by flight, cruise or train, when going on long distance travel, many travel companies, airlines and cruise companies will offer travel insurance. It will cover costs related to damages, delays or any other troubles related to travel. You won’t need travel insurance for every trip, but keeping it in mind as an option to protect your assets on the road.

Zombie Apocalypse Insurance

Back to supernatural horrors — in the last decade, zombies were everywhere. With the rise of hit shows like Walking Dead, you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a brain-hungry revenant. With that came a blitz of advertisements for insurance plans that will cover you in the event of a zombie apocalypse. These policies, much like the Alien Abduction policies, make for great reading online. However, they are mostly tongue-in-cheek. Many insurance providers used it as a way to advertise more viable insurance policies as well.

However, the initial idea of zombie apocalypse insurance isn’t entirely unrealistic. Preparing for a disaster makes sense under any condition. There are policies available to cover any reasonable disaster that may strike your area. Looking into hurricane protection if you live in Florida, for example, is a good idea to keep in mind.

Other Types of Weird Insurance

The weird insurance policies have existed almost as long the typical ones. The first insurance policy, for example, dates back to the Code of Hammurabi in 1750 BC. The terms of that policy had a non-zero chance of the payout involving the death of an offending party, so we have come a long way since then.

In more recent history, in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite Sputnik, panicked citizens in the United States and Great Britain bought protection in case Sputnik fell out of the sky and hit them. Much like the Red Scare and lead paint, this was one idea that was best left in the past.

The weird insurance policies we see out there make for a good laugh. However, it’s important to remember most of these were still real products that people essentially wasted money on. As always, shop smartly, and think before you buy.

William Fewox has worked as a freelance writer since 2017, and his work is featured in literary magazines such as The Aquarian, The Navigator and The Historian.