You'd like to think that if you were willing to strap yourself into the cockpit of a rocket car and drive it at speeds of over 200kph around dangerous, winding tracks, you would receive adequate financial compensation for doing so. Fortunately for Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso, you do.
Alonso is still active today as a veteran of the racing circuit but reached his peak whilst driving for the Renault team, where he won the World Championship twice in 2005 and 2006. Approaching the end of his career in F1, he's shown a desire to stay involved in racing, experimenting with both IndyCar and endurance racing in the past couple of years. His driving career has not been without controversy; his partnership with rookie driver Lewis Hamilton on the McClaren team in 2007 was intended to be a teacher-student relationship, but the ambitious Hamilton seemed more interested in racing against Alonso than learning from him, often leaving Alonso furious.
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.