Clients insure their biggest assets – usually their car or home. But for the world’s most famous and glamorous, what they consider valuable may come as a surprise.
Celebrities depend on their bodies for their income and appeal, so it is only natural that they want to protect that valuable asset. According to Steve Nicastro of NerdWallet, celebrities have insured everything from their legs to their flowing locks.
Here are five of the weirdest celebrity insurance policies:
Dolly Parton: The country singer, songwriter and actress is well-known for her powerful voice, her bright blonde hair and her two ‘biggest’ assets - her famous 40DD breasts - which she first insured in the 1970s for $600,000.
Since then the practice of insuring body parts has become at least a bit more common: Holly Madison and Madonna have had their breasts insured, while Rihanna and Heidi Klum have both insured their legs.
As Parton once told Sunday Magazine: “I’m in showbiz. I look at my boobs like they’re show horses or show dogs. You’ve got to keep them groomed.”
Bruce Springsteen: The New Jersey singer and songwriter, best known for hits like ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ and ‘Born to Run,’ insured his voice with Lloyd’s of London in the 1980s. Springsteen has sold more than 64 million records in the U.S., which makes him the 15th highest-selling artist of all time, according to RIAA.
At age 64, he is still going strong, performing live across the country. If anything were to happen to Springsteen’s voice, he would be set to receive a $6 million payout, according to Time.
Troy Polamalu: The Pittsburgh Steelers' strong safety is well-known on the football field for both his bone-crushing hits and his long hair, a tribute to his Samoan heritage. Following an endorsement deal with Head and Shoulders shampoo, the company obtained insurance on the eight-time Pro Bowler’s hair for $1 million.
“Head and Shoulders have gone above and beyond by insuring my Samoan locks for a cool $1 million,” said Polamalu. “This reinforces that my full and thick hair is unstoppable.”
Polamalu’s hair is so long that if all his hair was laid end to end, they would span 100 football fields, the company said.
Daniel Craig: The English actor insured his body for $9.5 million while filming ‘Quantum of Solace,’ the 22nd film installment in the James Bond series, according to MSN Money. Since Craig performed most of his own stunts in the film, the insurance policy was taken out for protection against injury.
Craig later starred in his third Bond film, ‘Skyfall,’ which was released in 2012, and has committed to at least two more movies in the series.
Julia Roberts: Roberts is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, commanding $25 million per film for most of her career. She has been named to People magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People in the World’ 11 times, and in 2011 she made it onto Men’s Health’s ‘The 100 Hottest Women of All Time.’
Hoping that neither her star nor her dazzling smile would soon fade, the Academy Award-winner insured her teeth for $30 million
Steve Nicastro is a financial writer for NerdWallet.com, where he covers topics such as investing, credit cards, mortgages and insurance.
