Usually, when I tell people that I write about insurance, people yawn. Insurance is not a topic that most people would describe as exciting, but I try my best to make it interesting. If you look around for a while, you can find information about some truly bizarre insurance policies. Truth can be stranger than fiction sometimes, even when it comes to insurance.
Most people have heard stories about celebrities that get an insurance policy on a body part. Troy Polamalu, NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had his long, flowing, black hair insured for $1 Million dollars by the Head and Shoulders company. America Ferrera, (star of the “Ugly Betty” television show), had her smile insured for $10 million dollars by Aquafresh. There is a long history of hollywood stars that have had their legs insured.
Although these types of insurance policies are not something that most people would consider getting for themselves, they have become more common among celebrities. Or, I should say, it isn’t that much of a surprise that large corporations are seeking these types of insurance policies on the celebrities who they have hired to endorse their product.
However, there are some insurance policies that are so unique that they can only be described as bizarre. In 1991, Lloyd’s of London insured a work of art that was purchased by Charles Saatchi, (who is the owner of an art gallery in London). Artwork often requires a specialized form of insurance, but this particular piece of art goes above and beyond your typical sculpture or painting.
The work of art that Charles Saatchi bought was created by artist Marc Quinn. It is a sculpture called “Self”, which is a life-sized cast of Marc Quinn’s head. To me, it sounds like “Self” is a very good title for a sculpture of the artist’s head.
If this sculpture was made of ceramic, or paper, or metal, it would still be interesting, but not incredibly remarkable. Perhaps this was the reason why Marc Quinn chose to create “Self” from nine pints of his own blood, instead of a typical art material. Charles Saatchi had to store the sculpture in a freezer in his home.
This worked out just fine, until one fateful day, nine years later. There was a kitchen renovation going on in Charles Saatchi’s home. One of the builders unplugged the freezer that was holding the artwork and this caused “Self” to melt. Fortunately, Charles Saatchi had taken out an insurance policy on the sculpture with Lloyd’s of London, which must have helped him recover his financial loss. The artwork itself, of course, cannot be repaired.
Image by Dennis M on Flickr