The list of weird celebrity insurance policies gets longer by the month, it seems. Now a British porn star has insured his -- well, it's not the family jewels, but it's close -- for $1 million with Lloyd's of London.
"For insurance companies guaranteeing celebrity body parts for sky-high sums of money, the risk is high," says a story about them on MSN Money. But sometimes we wonder. These reports never seem to identify how much the insurance premiums cost. Meanwhile, the publicity for the celebrity and the insurer, quite often Lloyd's of London, is priceless.
Let's take the example of said porn star. It's unclear what exactly Keiran Lee's policy covers -- on-the-job injuries? -- but he told Xbiz, a news site for the porn industry, that the only way the policy wouldn't pay would be "if I was to lose it."
This next part from the article is telling: "The native of Derby, England, who now resides in Los Angeles, said that the idea for the policy was conceived by Kate Miller, the manager of communications and marketing for Manwin, the parent company of Brazzers," which employs Lee and, we suspect, would be the beneficiary. (Emphasis added.)
While Lee seems to think he's the first to insure that particular anatomical part, Bankrate.com once said that a "British male stripper named Frankie Jakeman insured his penis for $1.6 million.")
Sometimes the risk that the insurer will have to pay out seems even more unlikely. When Head & Shoulders shampoo insured spokesman Troy Polamalu's gorgeous head of hair for $1 million with Lloyd's of London, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the details regarding the Steelers safety:
The defensive star would have to lose at least 60% of his hair to be compensated. Granted, he has a lot of hair to begin with -- reports indicate Mr. Polamalu hasn't had a haircut in more than seven years -- but that still would be a pretty major makeover.
Mr. Polamalu's hair is insured against on-field events only.
Hair loss or damage cannot be from natural causes. Hair torn out or being set on fire? Yes, of course one wonders how that might occur on the field.
See? It's great publicity for Head & Shoulders, Troy, and Lloyd's of London.
According to the MSN Money article, "Insiders speculate that insuring body parts is a way for a company to get media attention for a celebrity or ignite attention for a brand -- and to increase the overall dollar value of a highly profitable star."
And what lessons may be found here for the rest of us? Insure against possible events that could leave you or your family exposed to financial catastrophe should they occur. Another MSN Money article says: "Most people need to be concerned with insuring four areas: their possessions, their life, their health and their finances" -- not individual body parts, no matter how spectacular you think they are.
"For insurance companies guaranteeing celebrity body parts for sky-high sums of money, the risk is high," says a story about them on MSN Money. But sometimes we wonder. These reports never seem to identify how much the insurance premiums cost. Meanwhile, the publicity for the celebrity and the insurer, quite often Lloyd's of London, is priceless.
Let's take the example of said porn star. It's unclear what exactly Keiran Lee's policy covers -- on-the-job injuries? -- but he told Xbiz, a news site for the porn industry, that the only way the policy wouldn't pay would be "if I was to lose it."
This next part from the article is telling: "The native of Derby, England, who now resides in Los Angeles, said that the idea for the policy was conceived by Kate Miller, the manager of communications and marketing for Manwin, the parent company of Brazzers," which employs Lee and, we suspect, would be the beneficiary. (Emphasis added.)
While Lee seems to think he's the first to insure that particular anatomical part, Bankrate.com once said that a "British male stripper named Frankie Jakeman insured his penis for $1.6 million.")
Sometimes the risk that the insurer will have to pay out seems even more unlikely. When Head & Shoulders shampoo insured spokesman Troy Polamalu's gorgeous head of hair for $1 million with Lloyd's of London, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the details regarding the Steelers safety:
The defensive star would have to lose at least 60% of his hair to be compensated. Granted, he has a lot of hair to begin with -- reports indicate Mr. Polamalu hasn't had a haircut in more than seven years -- but that still would be a pretty major makeover.
Mr. Polamalu's hair is insured against on-field events only.
Hair loss or damage cannot be from natural causes. Hair torn out or being set on fire? Yes, of course one wonders how that might occur on the field.
See? It's great publicity for Head & Shoulders, Troy, and Lloyd's of London.
According to the MSN Money article, "Insiders speculate that insuring body parts is a way for a company to get media attention for a celebrity or ignite attention for a brand -- and to increase the overall dollar value of a highly profitable star."
And what lessons may be found here for the rest of us? Insure against possible events that could leave you or your family exposed to financial catastrophe should they occur. Another MSN Money article says: "Most people need to be concerned with insuring four areas: their possessions, their life, their health and their finances" -- not individual body parts, no matter how spectacular you think they are.
