The famed Kurt Warner went from bagging and stocking groceries to playing in one of the most televised live events in American history. Warner's rise to prominence is another one of those tales of overcoming adversity through hard work and finding oneself in the perfect circumstance to succeed. Kurt Warner attended the University of Northern Iowa but had a less than remarkable career due to being third on the Panthers' quarterback depth chart up until his senior year where he finally got the chance to start. In that single season, Warner performed so well he was named the Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in communications.
With a less than stellar performance as a Northern Iowa Panthers, Kurt Warner went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft but got an opportunity to try out for the Green Bay Packers. Warner was cut from the team and went back to his hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa to bag groceries for a living. Eventually, Warner would make his way back to the field in the AFL where he played a single season with the Iowa Barnstormers. The following year, Warner participated in the NFL Europe before signing a contract with the St. Louis Rams where he would become a household name. In six seasons with the Rams, Warner became the first undrafted quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory (XXIV) and win Super Bowl MVP. Warner also holds three out of the five single-game passing yardages in a Super Bowl and led the Arizona Cardinals to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XLIII before retiring in January 2010. The now 4x Pro Bowler and Hall of Famer is considered the best-undrafted football player of all-time.
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.