In a world of increasing divorce rates, there are still couples who took their wedding vows very, very seriously. Here, in this picture, is a man called James Burke. He's on his deathbed, and he's gazing lovingly into the eyes of Lauretta, his wife of sixty four years.
His wife suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, which James didn't, so before getting ill he was his wife's carer and took charge of all their plans together. Facing death and knowing that his wife would outlive him and still require care after he was gone, he spent his final moments on this Earth re-writing his will, ensuring that everything she would need for the rest of her life would be provided for her. His family described a man who fought to stay alive because his wife needed him, and unable to do that, took every measure to make sure that she could still feel his love even after he was gone.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.