Eric Strausman
Insurance is one of those funny things you buy hoping to never need. When I look at my family's list of insurance policies, it’s amazing how many we've accumulated. We have homeowners insurance, health insurance, car insurance, and an umbrella liability policy. Plus, we have an additional jewelry rider for my wife’s engagement ring.
Oh, we also have one of the creepiest-sounding types of insurance, too — accidental death and dismemberment. Many employers offer a version of AD&D, along with disability insurance, as a benefit.
If you thought “accidental death and dismemberment” was a wacky name for an insurance policy, just you wait. There are tons of weird types of insurance out there. You may never need them, but they can be great conversation starters!
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1. Fantasy-Football Insurance
Consider this staggering fact: More than 59 million people in North America played fantasy sports in 2017. As you’d expect with any large industry, someone will try to cash in on it.
The premise behind this type of insurance is that you can get coverage on any potential losses from your fantasy football athletes, including the best players in baseball, basketball, football, and even ice hockey. If any of your choices happen to be out of commission due to injury, you’ll receive your full league entry back.
2. Body-Part Insurance
Those who rely on certain body parts for their livelihood can get insurance in the event that body part is damaged. These policies can cover any body part — from your hands to your vocal cords, your legs to your posterior. You can even get coverage for your taste buds. Most of the people who get these are athletes and performers.
It’s been reported that Mariah Carey took out a multimillion-dollar policy for her voice during her Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour.
While much of a singer’s income may be passive, through record sales and digital streaming of their music, many still tour and rely on that tour income to sustain their lifestyle.
When your future earnings rely on your body, it pays to have an insurance policy just in case.
3. Paranormal Insurance
Yup, someone found themselves a paranormal insurance policy. It’s to insure against a ghost or other equally supernatural creature wreaking havoc on you.
Terry Meggs, the owner of the Royal Falcon Hotel in the U.K., actually filed a claim after there was a death in her establishment that was attributed to a ghost.
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4. A Death-by-Laughter Policy
Insurance company Lloyd’s of London insured a comedy troupe in case someone in their audience died from laughter. Rumor has it that the comedy troupe was so good at what they did that they wanted insurance just in case. No joke (sorry).
5. Lottery Insurance
Companies may want to consider this, especially if many of their employees play the lottery. If for any reason think your employees might enter a lottery pool, win, and leave the company en masse, you can get a policy that covers the hiring of new staff and temporary loss of productivity.
6. Kidnap-and-Ransom Insurance
Hopefully, you’ll never need to file a claim, but there is such a thing to insure you or a loved one against kidnapping. This policy will reimburse you for any expenses or ransom charges to free you or your child.
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7. Riot Insurance
Many countries, like Thailand, rely on money from tourism.
In 2010, Thailand was so fearful of losing tourism income because of protests and political upheaval that they offered riot insurance.
Tourists could get up to $100 each day for any travel delays caused by demonstrations, and even up to $10,000 if anyone experienced loss or damage because of riots.
8. Bicycle Insurance
It’s not the weirdest type of insurance on the list, but it’s probably not one you’ve heard of. It makes sense, though, considering that avid bikers spend thousands of dollars on equipment.
Sure, you can get homeowners or renters insurance, but that might not be enough. A bicycle policy covers any damage, loss, and liability. There might even be roadside assistance in case you need it.
9. Contest Insurance
Having eyeballs on your business is great, and having a contest can be a great way to make that happen. However, what if you don’t actually pay for the prize?
You guessed it — there’s a policy for that. Basically, businesses can take out a policy that ensures they don’t need to pay for the actual prize, and can provide something else instead.
A few years ago, Quicken Loans had a contest in which if someone chose a perfect NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament bracket, they would pay the winner $1 billion.
The odds of getting a perfect bracket is astronomical — about one in 9 quintillion — but Quicken Loans was taking no chances.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway insured the contest and would pay the winner should one emerge. Berkshire Hathaway collected around $10 million for the policy. No one got it right.
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10. “Key Person” Insurance
Imagine that you’re such a valued employee that your boss takes out an insurance policy in the event of your death or you leave the company. A “key person” policy offers funds to cover costs like training a successor or any loss of business in case you no longer work with the company.
Usually, this policy is for those who play a key role in generating profits for the company, such as the CEO or founder.
11. Surety Bond and Insurance
Have you ever heard the term licensed, bonded, and insured? Many contractors who may do work on your home must be licensed, bonded, and insured.
In order to get licensed, you must demonstrate your ability to perform that work to the licensing body in your jurisdiction. To be bonded, a contractor must have a surety bond, which is protection against a failure to fulfill a contract. And finally, to be insured, a contractor must have a policy in place in case something happens on the job.
A surety bond is a lot like an insurance policy, but it protects you, the homeowner if the contractor doesn’t perform the work. The contractor gets this from a third party, so you’ve probably never seen one before unless you’re a contractor.
12. Cold-Feet Insurance
Sometimes marriages don’t work out. Sometimes weddings don’t happen.
Yes, you can get a policy for someone who may have a change of heart. What would be just as bad is if you or your family spends thousands (let’s be honest, probably tens of thousands) of dollars on a wedding, only to have someone break off the engagement.
In case of cold feet, you can take out a policy, but only for the “innocent,” meaning the bride and groom’s parents. So if you’re the one getting married, you’re out of luck. And you can only file a claim if the wedding was canceled at least 365 days before the big date.
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Should You Get Any of These Weird Types of Insurance?
While you may not need to insure against ghosts and weddings, you’ll probably need some sort of insurance policy, considering how unpredictable life can be. Even if you do need to take out one of these weird types of insurance, nobody will judge you. Not even the ghost that’s living in your house.
