When your limbs are your main source of income, you better insure them and insure them well!
From the legs of athletes to the fingers of musicians, celebrities taking out insurance on their body parts is far from being a new thing. In fact, it’s a practice that goes back to at least 1915, when Charlie Chaplin insured his twinkle toes for $150,000 which would be more than $3 million today. Let’s take a look at some other A-list celebrities who have insured their most famous assets.
Daniel Craig
While on the set of Quantum Solace, James Bond actor Daniel Craig performed many of his own stunts and came to realize that he was not actually as invincible as Mr. Bond would have us believe. As a result, Craig decided to take out an insurance policy on his whole body that guaranteed him a $9.5 million payout in case he was seriously injured. That may not have been a very Bond-like thing to do, but we certainly don’t blame him!
Dolly Parton
Country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton is hard to miss for two… err… very large reasons. Her ‘biggest’ assets which she affectionately refers to as “the girls” are her famous 40DD breasts. Just to be sure that nothing bad happens to them, Dolly first had them insured for $600,000 in the 1970s. Today they are insured for a whopping $3.8 million.
Oliver Lewis
The fastest violinist in the world knows exactly what his ten best assets are. That’s why Oliver Lewis insured his fingers for $100,000…each! Lewis spoke of his pricey digits saying, “I won’t go chopping up coconuts with a machete. It’s common sense, really. My fingers are the tools of my trade and I’d be lost without them.” Amazingly, Lewis is far from having the most expensive fingers in the world. The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards had just his guitar-strumming middle finger insured for a cool $1.6 million. My guess is that he also isn’t too fond of cutting coconuts.
Julia Roberts
It’s only natural that the star of Mona Lisa Smile would want to protect her pearly whites! Oscar-winner Julia Roberts is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, and she makes a pretty penny off her ability to light up a room. Fortunately, Roberts won’t be out of pocket if her dazzling smile ever does fade as she’s had her chompers insured for $30 million.
Tom Jones
In 2008, Tom Jones added yet another accolade to his already impressive list of career recognitions. The Welsh-born singer can proudly claim to have the most expensive chest hair in the world! (Congratulations?) As bizarre as it sounds, Jones insured the mane of hair on his chest for $7 million, and although his manager claimed that Jones was “working far too hard in the recording studio” for something like that, Lloyd’s of London confirmed that the policy actually existed.
America Ferrera
Julia Roberts isn’t the only celebrity with a 1,000-watt grin! At the time of filming Ugly Betty, America Ferreira became a spokesperson for Aquafresh White Trays, a teeth whitening manufacturer. After Ferrera agreed to work with the company on a new charity campaign, they had her smile insured for £7 million ($10 million). Ferrera spoke of the insurance saying, “It’s very flattering to have my smile insured for $10 million; it’s not something that I ever imagined happening. I’ll try my hardest to take care of it.”
Fernando Alonso
Sometimes an outrageous insurance policy is all part of a publicity stunt which was the case for Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso. Known for his victorious thumbs-up pose, Alonso had his thumbs insured for 10 million euros ($13.3 million) as part of an insurance campaign by Spanish-based bank Santander. The bank spoke of the deal saying Alonso’s thumbs are both essential to F1 driving and “a sign of victory and that everything is under control and well-protected.”
Heidi Klum
A two-million-dollar insurance policy for your legs may sound like a lot of money, but that’s pocket change for former Victoria’s Secret model and Project Runway host Heidi Klum. At almost 5’10”, Klum has strut the catwalk on numerous occasions, but each of her legs are actually insured at different amounts. Her left leg is only worth $1 million because of a tiny scar, whereas her right is worth $1.2 million.
Miley Cyrus
Sticking out her tongue has become something of an iconic feature for Miley Cyrus which is why she had it insured for $1 million. The former Disney star began sticking out her tongue as a defense mechanism for when there was a lot of paparazzi around and she didn’t quite know what to do with her face. Cyrus spoke of the habit saying eventually “it became a rebellious, punk rock thing.” Perhaps deep down inside she’s just trying to channel the next celebrity on our list…
Gene Simmons
When it comes to a conversation about famous tongues, we would be remiss not to talk about the one and only Gene Simmons. The legendary bassist and vocalist for Kiss has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and become famous for his iconic tongue which measures in at seven inches long. In fact, Kiss’ God of Thunder had such an impressive tongue that a popular rumor in the seventies was that he had grafted a cow tongue onto his own to give him some extra length. Needless to say, Simmons decided to have his impressive licker insured for $1 million.
Mariah Carey
In 2006, Gillette Razors brought Mariah Carey on as the face of their “Legs of a Goddess” campaign for its Venus razor blades. After landing the contract, Carey had her legs insured for a whopping $1 billion. Yes, you read that right. BILLION. Not Million. Billion, with a “B.” This means Carey’s legs are worth more than our next celebrity who actually uses his for a living.
David Beckham
Top soccer players constantly face the risk of career-ending injuries when they’re out on the field, so it makes sense to insure their legs against any mishaps. Case in point, no one can bend it like David Beckham, and at the height of his success, Beckham had his legs insured for $70 million. Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo also makes his millions kicking a ball around, and his former team Real Madrid wanted to keep it that way when they insured his golden legs for more than twice as much at $144 million.
