6 Unusual Types of Insurance You Didn't Know Existed
Insurance policies, while a great thing to have, are usually pretty boring. Do a little digging, though, and you might be surprised to learn there are actually some really weird forms of insurance out there.
Unfortunately, none of the really unusual types of insurance are available in Canada, and some of them are absolutely worthless in everyday life. However, these 6 forms of insurance are some of the oddest insurance policies that have ever existed:
Body Part Insurance
You’ve probably actually heard many examples of this, from Taylor Swift’s $40 million dollar legs to pianists who insure against loss of their fingers. There’s a long tradition of celebrities who get parts of their body insured for millions of dollars including Bette Davis in the 1940s (insured against gaining too much weight) and Gene Simmons and his million-dollar tongue.
Body part insurance is real, we are assured, but extremely complex and expensive – and probably completely unnecessary. But hey, it grabs headlines!
Alien Abduction Insurance
Everyone knows alien abductions ain’t no joke. They can seriously mess up your head, ruin your crop fields, and even impregnate you. Who is going to have your back when you’re carrying an otherworldly baby in your body? Apparently GRIP, a London-based insurance firm that boasts of having sold over 30,000 alien abduction policies, and The St. Lawrence Agency in Florida. This is one of the more unusual types of insurance that you can buy. Some people might even say it’s unbelievable.
If you can prove that you were taken by extraterrestrial beings, GRIP promises a payout of $160,000 and double that if the insured is impregnated during the abduction, whether they are a man or a woman, because who really knows what these aliens could be capable of?
Rain Insurance
If you ran a travelling fair or circus I doubt you’d feel good about being forced to close down business due to rain. Film productions may also opt to get rain insurance in case weather shuts down production. While it isn’t as goofy as some of the other things on this list, it is an often unheard of type of coverage.
Snow Insurance
I bet a lot of Canadians wish they had access to this policy among the unusual types of insurance. Snow removal insurance is a rarely found policy that protects airports, condominiums, and other properties against the financial burdens of heavy snowfall.
It can also be used to insure against a lack of snow. Let’s say you own a ski resort and will miss out on crucial revenue if not enough snow falls. As with rainfall insurance, snow insurance can also be used to insure against an event cancellation.
Wedding Insurance
Weddings may feel magical, but I’m pretty sure nobody has an actual fairy godparent to cover the sometimes-astronomical cost of getting hitched. And what happens if you put thousands of dollars into your perfect day and unexpectedly fall ill and have to cancel? Or maybe the officiant is just MIA?
Wedding insurance will cover any non-refundable losses from a wedding cancellation due to things out of your control. One policy even comes with “change of heart” coverage, although it doesn’t allow for any Runaway Bride-type shenanigans. It only pays out if one of the couples decides against going through it ahead of time.
Employer Lottery Insurance
In the UK employers who are afraid of losing workers due to their winning the lottery and quitting can get themselves insured against that very thing. If two or more people win the lottery and stop showing up the insurance policy will help in the acquisition of replacements.
Insurance is awesome, right? Maybe you should get some.