The Weirdest Things People Have Insured: How Many Can You Guess?
Tongues, noses, crossed eyes, and even a sea monster. Step inside the strange world of one-of-a-kind insurance policies and test how well you can guess what was covered.
Most of us think of insurance as something sensible and a little boring: a policy for the car, the house, maybe our health. But in the world of specialty insurance, almost anything can be protected if someone is willing to pay the premium. Over the years, people and companies have insured body parts, lucky quirks, sporting prizes, and events that most of us would never dream of planning for.
Some of these policies were serious financial protection for careers that depended on a single talent. Others were clever marketing that grabbed headlines around the world. A few turned out to be surprisingly smart bets that paid off in a very big way.
In this quiz, you'll read the story behind 12 real policies and guess what was insured, or why. Choose an answer and the full story will unfold, along with the reported value where it's known. Let's see how sharp your instincts are.
How to Play
Each card is a “policy” with a short description of who took it out. Pick the answer you think is correct from the three choices. Your score updates in the bar that follows you as you scroll. Stuck? You can open the answer without guessing, but it won't add to your score.
Good to know: many celebrity policies were announced in the press rather than published in full, so exact values are often “reported” figures. Where a detail is uncertain, we say so.
Priceless Senses & Smiles
For some professionals, a single sense or feature is the whole job. These four policies prove that a talented tongue or a famous grin can be worth a fortune.
A master coffee taster, United Kingdom
Gennaro Pelliccia tasted and approved the coffee blends for a major UK coffee chain. In 2009, what part of him was insured for a reported £10 million?
Just show me the answer
Answer: B, his tongue. Pelliccia's job was to judge the flavor of coffee beans and make sure every blend tasted just right. His palate was so central to the business that his employer took out a policy through Lloyd's of London protecting his sense of taste.
The idea was simple: if he lost his ability to taste, the company would lose a key expert who had spent years training his palate. It also made headlines worldwide, which certainly didn't hurt the brand.
A winemaker, the Netherlands
In 2008, Dutch winemaker Ilja Gort insured one of his features for a reported €5 million. Which one?
Just show me the answer
Answer: A, his nose. Much of what we call “taste” actually comes from smell, and in winemaking, the nose does a huge amount of the work. Gort relied on his sense of smell to judge aromas and decide when a wine was ready.
News reports at the time said the policy came with lifestyle rules, such as avoiding risky activities like boxing and motorcycle riding, to reduce the chance of damage. Protecting a nose, it turns out, means living a bit more carefully.
A television actress, United States
In 2007, as part of an oral-care campaign, actress America Ferrera had a feature insured for a reported $10 million. What was it?
Just show me the answer
Answer: C, her smile. At the time, Ferrera was starring in a hit TV comedy and working with a toothpaste brand on a campaign about confidence and smiling. The policy was part of that promotion.
It's a good example of how insurance and marketing often overlap. A multimillion-dollar smile makes a memorable headline, and it ties neatly to a product that promises healthy teeth.
An American football star
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was famous on and off the field for one very recognizable feature. In 2010, what did a shampoo brand insure for a reported $1 million?
Just show me the answer
Answer: B, his hair. Polamalu's long, flowing curls spilled out from under his helmet and became his trademark. A shampoo company that featured him in ads insured his hair, turning his famous look into a marketing moment.
Fun detail: in football, long hair isn't just for style. Players can legally be tackled by hair that hangs out of the helmet, which made Polamalu's mane a talking point among fans.
Legends of Stage & Screen
Entertainment has a long history of insuring the features that made stars famous. Some of these policies date back to the early days of Hollywood.
A Hollywood star of the 1940s
Betty Grable was one of the most famous pin-up stars of World War II. Her film studio reportedly insured what for $1 million?
Just show me the answer
Answer: C, her legs. Grable's legs were a huge part of her public image, and her studio famously had them insured for a million dollars, a staggering sum in the 1940s. The story became one of the most repeated celebrity insurance tales of all time.
Many historians see it as a brilliant publicity move as much as a financial one. Either way, it helped start the long tradition of stars insuring the body parts they're known for.
A silent-film comedian
Silent-movie comic Ben Turpin was known for his dramatically crossed eyes. What was his unusual policy reportedly meant to protect against?
Just show me the answer
Answer: A, his eyes becoming uncrossed. Turpin's crossed eyes were his comedic signature, the thing audiences instantly recognized. According to the popular story, he took out a policy that would pay if his eyes ever straightened.
It's a perfect example of how “risk” depends on the person. For most people, uncrossed eyes would be good news. For Turpin, it could have meant the end of a career.
A world-famous dancer
Irish dance star Michael Flatley, known for record-breaking tap speeds, reportedly insured which body part for around $40 million?
Just show me the answer
Answer: B, his legs. Flatley's lightning-fast footwork was the heart of his hugely successful dance shows. With entire international tours depending on his performance, his legs were reported to be insured for tens of millions of dollars.
For performers like him, an injury doesn't just mean time off. It can mean canceled shows, refunded tickets, and hundreds of crew members out of work, which is exactly the kind of risk insurance is designed for.
A supermodel and TV host
Heidi Klum's legs were reportedly insured for about $2 million. But one leg was said to be valued a little lower than the other. Why?
Just show me the answer
Answer: A, a small scar. According to widely shared reports, one of Klum's legs carries a small scar from childhood, so it was valued slightly less than the other. She has joked about the difference in interviews.
This shows how insurers think: value is based on the exact condition of the thing being insured. Even a tiny mark can change the numbers.
Events Nobody Expected to Insure
It's not only body parts. Organizers, sponsors, and even whisky makers have insured wild scenarios, and one of them paid off spectacularly.
The Wimbledon tennis championships
For about 17 years, Wimbledon's organizers paid for a special policy. In 2020, it reportedly paid out around £114 million. What did it cover?
Just show me the answer
Answer: C, a pandemic. After the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, the All England Club decided to add pandemic cover to its insurance. For years, it paid a premium, reportedly well over £1 million annually, for protection that many people probably thought it would never need.
Then in 2020, the tournament was canceled for the first time since World War II. The policy paid out a large sum and cushioned the financial blow. It's often cited as one of the smartest insurance decisions in sports history.
Golf tournament sponsors
Many golf events offer a car or big cash prize for a hole-in-one. Why do sponsors often buy “hole-in-one insurance”?
Just show me the answer
Answer: A, to cover the prize. A hole-in-one is rare, with odds for an amateur often cited in the range of around 1 in 12,500. Instead of risking a brand-new car, organizers pay an insurer a relatively small fee. If someone gets lucky, the insurer covers the prize.
The premium usually depends on the number of players, the length of the hole, and the prize value. This “prize indemnity” idea is also used for promotions like half-court basketball shots and million-dollar challenges.
Novelty insurers in the US and UK
Which of these strange policies have small companies actually sold to the public?
Just show me the answer
Answer: B, alien abduction. Believe it or not, alien abduction insurance has been sold by novelty insurers, especially from the 1990s onward. Policies were usually cheap, came with a certificate, and required proof that would be almost impossible to provide.
These policies were mainly bought as jokes, gifts, or conversation pieces. They're a reminder that not every policy is about serious risk. Some are simply about fun and curiosity.
A Scotch whisky brand, 1971
A whisky company offered a £1 million reward and then reportedly insured itself in case it had to pay. What was the reward for?
Just show me the answer
Answer: C, the Loch Ness Monster. In a famous promotional stunt, Cutty Sark whisky offered a huge reward to anyone who could capture “Nessie.” To be safe, the company reportedly arranged coverage through Lloyd's of London in case someone actually succeeded.
Nobody ever claimed the money, of course. But the campaign drew enormous publicity, and it remains one of the most charming examples of insurance meeting legend.
Policy review complete!
What Your Score Says About You
Add up your correct answers out of 12 and find your rank below. If you finished the quiz, your tier is already highlighted.
🏆 Chief Underwriter
You could run a specialty insurance desk. Strange risks don't surprise you one bit.
📈 Risk Expert
Impressive instincts. You read the clues well and only a few odd policies slipped past you.
🔍 Claims Investigator
A solid effort. You now know more bizarre insurance trivia than most people ever will.
🎩 Curious Client
These policies are strange by design, so don't worry. You've just collected a dozen great party stories.
How Do You Insure a Body Part?
Insuring a smile or a nose sounds like a joke, but the process follows the same basic logic as any insurance: someone estimates how likely a loss is, how much it would cost, and what the premium should be. The difference is that unusual risks need specialists who are willing to price them.
- Identify what's valuable. The body part or feature must be tied to real financial value, usually income. A hand model's hands, a taster's palate, or a dancer's legs are directly connected to earnings.
- Put a number on it. Underwriters look at how much money depends on that feature, often based on current earnings, contracts, and future potential.
- Assess the risks. They consider the person's lifestyle, health, and job. That's why some policies come with rules, like avoiding dangerous sports.
- Define exactly what counts as a loss. A policy usually pays only for specific events, such as an injury that permanently prevents the person from working. Everyday wear and tear or aging typically isn't covered.
- Set the premium. The higher the value and the greater the risk, the more expensive the coverage. The client then decides whether the protection is worth the price.
Why Lloyd's of London keeps showing up
You may have noticed the name Lloyd's appearing again and again. Lloyd's began in the late 1600s in a London coffee house run by Edward Lloyd, where merchants and ship owners gathered to share news and arrange cover for sea voyages. Today it's an insurance marketplace made up of many specialist groups, called syndicates, that are known for taking on unusual and complex risks. When a celebrity wants to insure their voice or legs, it's often this kind of specialty market that makes it possible.
Real Protection or Publicity Stunt?
Here's a secret of the celebrity insurance world: many of these stories are both. A policy can offer genuine protection and also be a brilliant way to make headlines. Here's how to tell what's usually going on:
Real protection
When a career truly depends on one ability, like a professional taster, surgeon, or touring performer, insurance can protect income if that ability is lost.
Marketing magic
When a brand announces a huge policy during an ad campaign, the headline itself is part of the value. A “$10 million smile” is unforgettable.
Big numbers, small print
The headline value is the maximum payout, not what anyone actually receives. Payouts usually require very specific conditions.
Smart bets
Some policies, like Wimbledon's pandemic cover, prove that insuring an “unlikely” event can be wise planning rather than a gimmick.
Takeaway: when you see a headline about a multimillion-dollar body part, remember that the number often tells you as much about publicity as about risk.
Can Ordinary People Insure Unusual Things?
You don't need to be famous to protect something special. While a policy on your eyebrows is unlikely to be worth it, many everyday people use specialty coverage for things that matter to their work or passions:
Musicians
Valuable instruments are commonly insured against theft, accidental damage, and loss while traveling.
Hand-dependent jobs
Surgeons, dentists, and other specialists often choose disability insurance that protects them if an injury stops them from doing their specific job.
Collectors
Jewelry, art, rare coins, and collectibles can often be added to a policy as individually listed items with their own value.
Big events
Weddings, concerts, and festivals can be covered against cancellation, bad weather, or vendor problems, depending on the policy.
If you're thinking about insuring something unusual, compare options and read the terms carefully, especially what counts as a covered loss. A licensed insurance professional can explain what's available where you live.
The Insured Oddities Cheat Sheet
All 12 answers in one place, perfect for checking your score or sharing with a friend.
| # | Who | What was insured | Reported value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gennaro Pelliccia (coffee taster) | Tongue / sense of taste | £10 million |
| 2 | Ilja Gort (winemaker) | Nose | €5 million |
| 3 | America Ferrera (actress) | Smile | $10 million |
| 4 | Troy Polamalu (NFL player) | Hair | $1 million |
| 5 | Betty Grable (film star) | Legs | $1 million |
| 6 | Ben Turpin (silent-film comic) | Crossed eyes staying crossed | Reports vary |
| 7 | Michael Flatley (dancer) | Legs | Around $40 million |
| 8 | Heidi Klum (model) | Legs (one valued lower due to a scar) | About $2 million total |
| 9 | Wimbledon | Pandemic cancellation | About £114 million payout |
| 10 | Golf sponsors | Hole-in-one prizes | Varies by prize |
| 11 | Novelty insurers | Alien abduction | Novelty coverage |
| 12 | Cutty Sark whisky | Loch Ness Monster reward | £1 million prize |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really insure any body part?
In principle, a specialty insurer can cover almost anything if the value can be measured and the client pays the premium. In practice, insurers want a clear financial reason, such as a career that depends on that body part, and they set strict conditions on what counts as a loss.
Has a celebrity body-part policy ever paid out?
Payouts on famous body-part policies are rarely made public, and many policies are never claimed. That's partly because they usually cover only severe, specific injuries. Event policies, like Wimbledon's pandemic cover, are where large, well-documented payouts have happened.
Why are the values often described as “reported”?
Insurance contracts are private. Most figures come from press releases, interviews, or news coverage rather than the actual policy documents, so they're best treated as widely reported numbers rather than confirmed totals.
Is alien abduction insurance a real product?
Yes, but it's a novelty item. Small companies have sold these policies mostly as jokes or gifts, with claim requirements that are practically impossible to meet. It's entertainment, not serious protection.
What's the difference between insurance and a publicity stunt?
They can overlap. A real policy offers financial protection, while a stunt focuses on attention. Many famous policies do both: the coverage is real, but the announcement is timed and designed to promote a person or product.