When you think of insurance, the usual suspects like life, health, or car insurance probably pop into your head. But compared to what we’re about to present, these seem rather vanilla. You may not know that the world of insurance is full of quirky, unexpected, and downright bizarre policies you’d never imagine exist. Ready to dive into the weirdest ones? Let’s go!

Body Part Insurance

When you hear body part insurance, probably the first thought that comes to your mind is celebrities, isn’t it? If so, you’re not wrong. But we’ll get to that in a sec. Let’s start with a few words about what body part insurance actually is.

In simple terms, body part insurance is a safety net for people whose careers depend on specific physical traits. It’s important for athletes, musicians, models, actors—anyone who’d be in trouble if something happened to their key body part.

Take football players—they usually insure their legs. Actors? Their faces (or at least that’s what you’d expect). Singers? Vocal cords. And it’s not just them. Surgeons, pianists, guitarists—they all make sure their hands or fingers are covered. Makes sense, right? After all, when your livelihood’s on the line, you’d want to protect it.

So here are some examples of select few celebrities’ insured body parts (along with the alleged amount of money) you might have thought about:

• $2.2 million for Heidi Klum’s legs (apparently, because her left leg has a small scar, it’s insured for slightly less than her right)
• $27 million for J. Lo’s butt
• $40 million for Taylor Swift’s legs
• $144 million for Cristiano Ronaldo’s legs
• $9.5 million for Daniel Craig’s full body
• $30 million for Julia Roberts’ smile
• $10 million for America Ferrera’s smile
• $1.4 million for Miley Cyrus’ tongue

Taste Buds Insurance

Let’s treat this one as a subtype of body part insurance. Taste buds insurance is for people whose income relies on their sense of taste. It’s pretty rare, but if your palate is your money-maker, it makes sense to protect it.

For example, supposedly, food critic Egon Ronay had his taste buds insured for $393,000. How’s that for putting your money where your mouth is?

Facial Hair Insurance

Facial hair insurance might sound weird, but it’s an actual offshoot of body part insurance. It’s designed for people whose beards or moustaches are a big part of their personal or professional brand. Think celebrities, brand ambassadors, or anyone famous for their iconic facial hair.

This coverage steps in if something happens to their prized hairy assets, which could take a toll on their career or public image.

Can An Average Person Insure Their Body Parts?

For most people, getting body part insurance isn’t exactly easy. It’s not something you’d get instead of regular health insurance—it’s more of an add-on. Plus, to qualify, you’d have to prove that the body part in question isn’t just a limb or feature but a real asset. And that losing it or its function would cause a serious financial hit.

You’d also have to show that you’ve invested a lot of time, effort, and money into perfecting the skills tied to that body part and that your abilities are way above average in your field.

Celebrities, on the other hand, have it easier. With more disposable income, they can afford the premiums and have a better shot at insuring their “money-makers.”

Disgrace Insurance

Sticking to celebrities, there’s a type of weird insurance that’s called disgrace insurance. It helps businesses deal with the fallout from celebrity scandals. It usually covers the losses a company might face when a high-profile person goes off the rails. This type of coverage is especially popular with TV and movie studios since the risks—and the costs—just keep growing.

There’s a startup in Boston—SpottedRisk—that provides this type of coverage. 

SpottedRisk’s disgrace insurance offers up to $10 million in coverage, using predictive analytics to assess celebrity risk and insure almost all A-list and B-list talent. If a scandal hits, claims are triggered by a parametric system based on independent surveys that measure public awareness and the severity of the incident. The resulting “Public Outcry Score” determines payouts. Plus, the policy comes with crisis management support to help brands handle and bounce back from the fallout.

The Sky Is Falling

Asteroids, Meteors and Falling Sputnik

Ever had an asteroid or satellite crashed into your property? Probably not. Sure, with more satellites going up, there’s definitely more debris floating around, but the odds of it actually causing harm are still pretty slim. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen, though. And if it does, the damage might be enormous.

Good news is most standard home or business insurance policies cover damage from objects falling from outer space—yep, that includes Sputnik, meteors, and space junk. They’ll typically cover damage to your property and the belongings inside it.

And if, by any chance, space debris lands on your car, your comprehensive motor insurance should handle it. What if a falling debris hurts someone? Your health insurance has the medical bills covered. And if the worst happens, life insurance would step in to provide support.

Space Insurance

Space insurance (aka spaceship insurance) helps manage the financial risks that come with space exploration and utilisation. 

One of the companies offering this type of insurance is AXA XL. It provides a wide range of space insurance options:

• Pre-launch: it covers the risks of putting the spacecraft together, testing it, and getting it ready for launch. 
• Launch: it’s there to protect against any mishaps during the actual launch, covering everything from total loss to partial damage to the spacecraft.
• In-orbit: this kicks in once the spacecraft is in space, covering risks like collisions, technical issues, or anything else that could go wrong while it’s in orbit.
• Liability coverage: this covers you if the spacecraft causes any damage or injury to third parties, whether it’s on the ground or out in space, during its operations.

Falling Coconut Insurance

The sky might not be falling (yet), but coconuts might. 

Lounging on a tropical beach sounds relaxing. Getting smacked while doing so by a falling coconut, not so much. Believe it or not, there’s actually insurance for that. Pretty weird, huh? But if you’re heading somewhere with lots of palm trees, it could give you some peace of mind while you kick back, soaking up the sun.

In Hawaii and other tropical regions, there’s a popular (but not true!) saying: “You’re more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark.” It’s just a playful way to show how rare shark attacks really are. But how did this saying come to be?

This myth took off in 2001 when a researcher claimed falling coconuts kill 150 people a year—15 times more than sharks! Turns out that stat wasn’t true. While coconuts have caused a few injuries and fatalities, it’s far from common.

Even so, the saying has stuck around as a lighthearted reminder to watch out for coconuts, more for fun than as an actual warning.

Alien Abduction Insurance

Concerns about extraterrestrial encounters keep you up at night? Well, the Saint Lawrence Agency in Florida has got you covered… kind of. 

Since 1987, the Saint Lawrence Agency in Altamonte Springs, Florida, has been offering out-of-this-world alien abduction insurance. Run by Mike St. Lawrence, this quirky agency has sold nearly 6,000 policies, each promising $10 million in coverage for alien-related “incidents.” Here’s what’s included:

• Psychiatric care for post-abduction trauma.
• “Sarcasm coverage” for all the eye-rolls and jokes your friends and family will throw your way.
• Double identity protection for unexpected post-abduction complications.

You’d better read that fine print because here’s the fun part: the $10 million payout comes at $1 per year for 10 million years, so it’s more for laughs than a practical financial safety net. To file a claim, you’ll need proof—like a signature from an “on-board alien” or maybe a few photos.

Oh, and the fun doesn’t stop with aliens. The agency also offers:

• Reincarnation insurance
• Asteroid insurance
• Area 51 raid insurance (created during the “Storm Area 51” craze in 2019)

While these policies started as a joke, belief in aliens has grown over the years, and quite a number of the company’s customers now take it a bit too seriously.

Allegedly, Lloyd’s of London, one of the oldest and most iconic names in the insurance world, is also no stranger to offering such policies. 

Paranormal Insurance

Paranormal insurance? That for real? Given what has already been presented, I don’t know why I’m surprised at this point. Anyway, Ultraviolet, a UK insurance company, is known for its out-of-the-box policies, including Spooksafe. This policy covers you if you’re attacked by a spirit, werewolf, or vampire.

It might sound ridiculous to sceptics, but plenty of paranormal fans and cautious homeowners or business owners have taken the plunge. Provided you can prove the supernatural encounter, you get coverage of up to $1,000,000.

Spooksafe insurance covers a range of supernatural mishaps, including:

• Death caused by paranormal events
• Injuries from paranormal encounters
• Damage to personal property due to supernatural forces
• Attacks by vampires and/or werewolves

The word on the street is that Lloyd’s of London offers a similar cover. 

Ok, but has anyone ever actually claimed this? Surprisingly, yes. An American woman covered by a similar policy died after being thrown over a bannister in her home. The investigation concluded that it was a poltergeist attack, and the insurance company paid out $100,000.

Cold War Fallout Insurance

Back in the Cold War days, fallout shelter insurance popped up as a response to nuclear war fears. But let’s be real—it was more for show since most policies didn’t cover war-related events anyway.

Key features:

• Payouts for damage caused by nuclear war or radioactive fallout during the Cold War period
• Marketed as protection against nuclear attack consequences
• Often included provisions for shelter supplies or construction
• Some policies offered evacuation assistance

Bolt-on option: evacuation to remote locations

Some high-end insurance and survival services offered evacuation plans to remote locations as an added feature. These weren’t really practical for most people, but they were aimed at wealthy individuals worried about things like nuclear war.

“Change of Heart” Insurance

Change of heart insurance is a unique type of event cancellation coverage that kicks in if either the bride or the groom (or both) get cold feet and the wedding is called off. An important note: this is not to be mistaken with traditional wedding insurance. 

Who is it for?

This policy is for the “innocent financiers”—meaning anyone who’s contributed to the wedding costs (like parents, relatives, or close friends). The bride and groom themselves aren’t eligible for reimbursement.

What does it cover? 

The change of heart insurance covers any expenses the contributors have already paid, which are typically non-refundable deposits for things like venue, vendors, entertainment, travel expenses, and gifts.

Lottery Insurance

Let’s picture this scenario: your company’s running smoothly, then suddenly, a bunch of employees quit after winning the lottery. Sounds crazy, right? But it can happen. That’s where lottery insurance steps in.

It helps businesses avoid the financial pain when employees decide to walk away after hitting the jackpot. Replacing just one person can cost you a lot—sometimes up to half their salary—and if they’re a key part of your team, it could get even more expensive—it could be a real blow to your workforce and bottom line. With lottery insurance, you’re covered if the jackpot leads to a mass exodus.

Multiple Birth Insurance

Multiple birth insurance is there for parents who find themselves with more than one baby on the way. This coverage is bought early in pregnancy as a safety net. It helps cover the extra expenses that come with raising twins, triplets, or more—like extra medical bills, childcare costs, or even upgrades to your home so that it’s suitable for a larger family.

Immaculate Conception Insurance

Speaking of birth, there is a thing, or actually, there was a thing like immaculate conception insurance. To give you some context: in 2000, three devout Scottish sisters bought an “Immaculate Conception Insurance” policy from British Insurance. For just $150 a year, it promised a $1.5 million payout if one of them had a virgin birth. The money was meant to cover the costs of raising the child. 

Not anymore, though—when this hit the news in 2006, it caused a big uproar, especially with the Catholic Church, and the policy was eventually cancelled.

Death by Laughter Insurance

Death by laughter insurance is one of the weirdest insurance policies out there (which one on this list isn’t, though?). It’s a type of liability insurance designed to protect entertainers, like comedians, from the extremely rare (but not impossible) event that someone literally dies laughing during their performance. Talk about a killer set!

Can laughter really kill you?

Surprisingly, yes. The good thing is these situations are very rare. Here’s laughter can kill you:

• Ruptured brain aneurysms: Laughing too hard can put pressure on bulging blood vessels in the brain, causing them to burst.
• Asphyxiation: Ever laughed so hard you couldn’t catch your breath? In extreme cases, this can lead to suffocation.
• Syncope (fainting): Laughing too much can cut off proper blood flow to the brain, causing fainting. Fainting itself isn’t usually fatal. But if you happen to be zonking out while standing at the edge of a cliff, well, too bad.

Insurance for Criminals

There’s a UK-based underwriting agency called Midas that offers non-standard insurance, some may find it real gold. They offer things like household and motor coverage. Nothing surprising yet. Here’s the twist: apart from ordinary customers, this company also caters to people with criminal records or anyone who might have a hard time getting insured elsewhere.

Farmers Insurance Hall of Claims

A big name in the American insurance market, Farmers Insurance, is known for its series of Hall of Claims campaigns, which showcase some of the craziest insurance claims the company has dealt with. From a car landing on a house roof to a dog blowing up a home, these commercials are full of unbelievable, jaw-dropping—but—real stories.

Summary

Who knew insurance could get this bizarre? From insuring taste buds to alien abductions, these weird insurance policies show just how creative and adaptable the industry can get in meeting unique risks—sometimes even bordering on the absurd. Sure, most of us stick to the usual coverages, but it’s fun (and a bit mind-boggling) to see how far people are willing to go to protect what matters to them—even if it’s their moustache or fear of coconuts. 

Thinking about adding something unconventional to your offerings? Partnering with the right tech team can help you make it happen. Let’s talk about how to bring your boldest ideas to life! Reach out!