Almost all of us have some assets worth insuring -- our homes, our cars, our health. But the insurance business goes far beyond the basics. If your possessions are worth a bit more, you might have separate policies for your jewelry or art. Businesses take out insurance to protect their executives against lawsuits. And when they consider certain employees to be vital to their bottom lines, they may even take out life insurance policies on them.
Celebrities are no different. They take out insurance to protect their most important assets -- themselves.
If your living depends on a specific body part, be it your hands, legs or smile, you can't take chances. You can take out a policy.
This unusual segment of the business has been around for quite some time. Movie stars Betty Grable and Fred Astaire both had insurance policies on their legs in the first half of the 20th century. Astaire's $150,000 insurance coverage wasn't much compared to Grable's cool $1 million policy. These days celebrity insurance regularly covers much more than that.
So who's doing it today? 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of nine of the largest and most interesting insurance policies taken by or on behalf of celebrities.
America Ferrera
Insured asset: Smile
Amount: $10 million
Best known for her title role on the hit television show Ugly Betty -- in which she portrays a nerdy young woman with a mouthful of braces -- in reality, Ferrara has a megawatt smile. Aquafresh White Trays, a teeth whitening product, insured that smile with Lloyds of London as part of a promotion to raise money for charity program Smiles for Success. According to the BBC, the actress responded by saying, "It's very flattering to have my smile insured for $10 million, it's not something that I ever imagined happening."
David Beckham
Insured asset: Entire body
Amount: $195 million
The former Manchester United soccer superstar, who now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, is one of the most popular soccer players in the world. To cover himself from any accidents that may hurt this position, Beckham took out the "biggest personal insurance policy in sporting history," according to the London Times. The $195 million policy covers him against injury and illness, as well as disfigurement, since many of Beckham's endorsement deals rely on his looks
Mariah Carey
Insured asset: Legs
Amount: $1 billion
Singer Mariah Carey has also been blessed with good looks and especially fine legs. In 2006, the singer agreed to front for Gillette's Legs of a Goddess campaign. To protect this position, Carey took out a $1 billion insurance policy on her legs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One source told Britain's Daily Mirror at the time that "the sum reflects her popularity. She's about to start a U.S. tour and she'll have to be careful."
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