Vampires bites, zombie attacks, and alien abductions – believe it, or not, all of these things and weirder have been insured before by the infamous specialty insurance market, Lloyd’s of London. In fact, Lloyd’s covers a vast array of paranormal oddities in 200 different countries – quite a few of which originated right here in the United States. You can get your own life insurance quote with the help of GIO and their online help system.
As of yet, I’ve yet to hear about any claims actually getting turned in as a result of a loved one getting bitten by a vampire, or attacked by a werewolf, but it’s always good to be prepared right?! Right!
This ideology is what Lloyd’s has made their millions on and the true believers will gladly cover their paranormal bases – and in some cases, their legs, taste buds, and their… buckteeth? Just keep reading!
Vampires, Werewolves, & Poltergeists… Oh My!
At the Royal Falcon Hotel in Lowestoft, England, there’s apparently all kinds of paranormal menace afoot! Why else would the hotel take out insurance covering both their staff and guests should bump-in-the-night horrors come knocking? We’re not talking a small – make some headlines and gain some publicity – coverage, either. One doesn’t purchase $1.5 million in coverage for just a bit of novelty fun!
What could possibly be going on over there? They seem to have everything covered accept alien abductions – not to worry, though, there’s plenty of individuals hitting up Lloyd’s for that!
Close Encounters of the Insured Kind
Lloyd’s proudly claims to have sold over 40,000 insurance policies to individuals who either claim to have been abducted by aliens, or feel as though they’ll be taken any day. It sounds a bit crazy, but if you think about it, it’s actually kind of thoughtful – these dear souls don’t want their families left financially stranded should they get sucked up into the sky via a beam of bright light.
It’s sweet, and oddly responsible. My question was: how exactly does one file a claim and actually prove that an abduction took place?
Well, apparently, Lloyd’s has quite the sophisticated screening and investigative process set in place before any claims will be paid. This includes a lie detector test and video documentation of the abduction and/or witnesses, who I’m sure are questioned and subjected to lie detector tests, as well.
Those Precious, Precious… Taste Buds?
I’m not sure why I put a question mark at the end of that – I consider my own taste buds very precious indeed, I’m just not sure I would go so far as to insure them! However, I’ve also never been world-famous food critic like Egon Ronay.
Back in the 1950’s, Ronay wrote the Egon Ray Guide to British Eateries and it’s still wildly popular even today – he was an authority on all things delicious and restaurants fell at his feet for a good review. With this being his entire livelihood, Ronay decided to insure his interests with Lloyd’s of London, taking out a $400,000 insurance policy on those little taste buds of his.
Honestly, I’m not even sure I know what could happen to your taste buds!
Million Dollar Legs… Literally!
In the 1940’s, Betty Grable’s legs were the envy of every woman in the world and the desire of every man; due to this, they were also a major source of revenue for 20th Century Fox. In fact, Betty Grable brought in such a substantial amount for Fox, they went to Lloyd’s to have those legs insured for a million dollars EACH!
You Ain’t Nothing Without those Buckteeth!
Said no one, ever, right? Wrong! From 1967 to 1992, Ken Dodd reigned the stage as a British comedian known for his incredibly hilarious buckteeth! He also broke the Guinness Record for telling 1,500 jokes within three and a half hours, but… who cares! It’s all about those teeth!
When Ken sold his 100 millionth record, he started to realize that his teeth were integral to his success, so he sought out Lloyd’s to insure those bad boys for an insane $7.4 million dollars!
That’s a wild story, but I just can’t help but think that there was a pretty huge open window for insurance fraud! Luckily, old Ken wasn’t in it for the money… but the funny!
It seems a bit crazy but if your livelihood depends on it, it makes sense to insure some parts of your body. off to insure my hands! 🙂
That was a hold up for Lance Armstrong (so I read) when he was deciding whether to begin riding again after his cancer treatments. Because he was collecting insurance on his riding, he’d lose a bunch of money and had no clue whether he’d ride well again (apparently pharmaceuticals helped him achieve some great victories afterward!).
So here’s the question: If you can insure against alien abduction, vampire bites and werewolf attacks – I wonder if we can get insurance to cover zombie and vampire foreclosures? Somehow I think that these would be a little easier to prove than being mauled by a werewolf.
Reference: http://www.bankforeclosuressale.com/wp/article-10074437.html
Ha! Can you imagine the claims process, Simon?