Off the coast of Mexico in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig suffered a severe mechanical fault. Methane gas expanded within the drill and ignited, causing an enormous explosion which engulfed the entire platform. Sixteen of the workers posted on board suffered severe injuries in the blast. Worse still, a further eleven could not be accounted for after the explosion and are considered lost at sea.
Within hours of the explosion first occurring, the entire rig had sunk below the waves, leaking oil directly into the waters and flooding into the Gulf of Mexico. It remains the largest marine oil spill in world history and was still seen to be leaking two years after the accident. A further year later in 2013, infant dolphins were recorded to have a mortality rate six times higher than average, along with the death of many other marine species. BP, the company in charge of the rig, was fined $18.7bn for gross negligence.
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.