The nine strangest things ever insured

Robert Powell reveals nine of the weirdest insurance policies ever taken out...

We’re always banging on about how important it is to have good insurance policies in place. After all, you never know what’s round the corner!

But while home, car, life and travel insurance will protect against most of life’s little surprises; have you ever thought hope you’d cope financially if you were abducted by an alien? Or injured by a piece of falling satellite?

No? Well the good news is that insurers are now offering a whole host of strange policies that will reassure even the most paranoid people. Here are nine of them...

Body parts

From £18m bottoms to £25m feet; we ran down all the priciest body part plans in Most valuable celebrity body parts.

My personal favourite has to be the Australian cricketer Merv Hughes who insured his trademark walrus moustache for a whopping £205,000! I wonder if he can file a claim if he wakes up one day and fancies the clean shaven look!?

But if you are planning on taking out a policy against a body part it’s always worth reading the terms and conditions of your cover. Some insurers will encourage sensible footwear if your policy is to protect your legs or feet!

Alien abduction

Insurers now offer a host of policies to stem your fear of being abducted by little green men. You can purchase specific policies to protect yourself against alien examination, death caused by aliens and even alien pregnancy!

There are also policies to protect against transformation into a werewolf or vampire.  But if you are claiming on your werewolf cover I’d advise you to phone up your provider while you’re in human form!

Satellites

Back in 2008 the tabloid press went crazy for all of a few minutes when NASA revealed that an out of control spy satellite was hurtling towards earth.  In fact, old satellites plummet back to earth all the time and are usually disposed of via controlled re-entry into the Pacific Ocean.

However if you are still worried, Lloyd's of London offer policies that cover for death or injury caused by a piece of disintegrating satellite falling from space. But whether it covers you if you’re injured by a satellite while on a cruise in the Pacific Ocean is unclear!

Winning the lottery

Ever the insurance pioneers, Lloyd's also offers policies that will protect an employer if two or more of their staff win the lottery and decide not to return to work. Essential cover for bosses whose employees play the lottery in a syndicate every week!

Loch Ness monster

Cutty Sark Whisky ran a competition back in the 70s offering £1m to anyone who could capture the Loch Ness monster alive. But fearing that someone would actually turn up with Nessy wedged into their boot expecting the prize, the company also took out a policy insuring against anyone capturing the famous Scottish beast!

Surprise surprise the policy was taken out with Lloyd's and specified that it would only pay out if the captured creature was over 20 feet in length and was verified as the Loch Ness monster by the curators of the Natural History Museum.

ET device

Cutty Sark’s Loch Ness Monster trick obviously worked well because they also began offering a £1m prize to anyone who could produce an authentic extra-terrestrial device. And again, they also took out a policy to protect themselves against anyone actually winning!

Immaculate Conception

I’ve often wondered if a flood insurance policy would pay out in the event of a religious flood equivalent to that experienced by Noah. It should! After all, insurance is now available that allows women protect their chastity against Immaculate Conception.

According to an insurance insider, there are around 100 of these biblical policies in place and they’re particularly popular among women named Mary!

Cigar

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, smoking will definitely push up your life insurance premiums. But life insurance premiums aren’t the only worry for the owner of the world’s largest cigar!

Presumably the contents insurance for the Skansen museum in Stockholm doesn’t cover twelve and half foot cigars as the museum owner had to take out a separate policy to insure the 110kg beast! I wonder if the policy covers fire damage?!

Rear!

You may think if you could insure a giant cigar or a moustache you’d be able to insure anything! Well, you’d be wrong, as it appears that insurers draw the line at musical bottoms.

Yes, unfortunately for Macclesfield musical flatulist Mr Methane, insurers weren’t able to offer a policy that would provide adequate cover for his performing derriere. Meaning that the rear responsible for unique renditions of In the Air Tonight and Flight of the Bumblebee is still wandering around uninsured!

Insurance tips

Whether you’re thinking of insuring a body part, your chastity or just your home or car; they’re still some tips you should always follow to make sure you get the best deal. Here’s a few of them:

Get the right amount cover: If you’re buying home insurance make sure you use the rebuild value of your property, not the market value. It’s also worth checking if your policy covers for accidental damage and flooding and will pay out for damaged or stolen jewellery and computers.

Get the right term: You can save money on your life insurance policy by only taking the exact length of cover you need. So if your policy is aimed at protecting your partner, make sure it lasts until they’re eligible for a pension. Or if you have children, make sure your covered until they’re financially independent.

Pay in full, upfront: If an insurer offers you a full upfront rate for a set term of cover, it will almost certainly be cheaper than paying month by month. If you haven’t got the cash available to make the payment consider using a 0% credit card and paying off the balance before the interest free period ends; read The best credit cards for spending for some more information.

Keep shopping around: Insurance companies will offer the best rates to new customers, so keep shopping around for the cheapest policies every year or so. You can get all of the market leadings rates for car, home, life and travel insurance right here at lovemoney.com.

Read ALL the terms and conditions: Insurers are notorious for putting sneaky clauses into policies that may invalidate a claim. So before taking out any cover make sure you read all of the small print fully!

More: Protect your home from costly winter crises | What celebrities can teach us about money