You can imagine that he last thing an army officer wants to do is go face to face with his own citizens, and yet during times of civil unrest, that's often exactly what happens. There were protests on the streets of Brazil, and the army had been called in to restore order. Ordinary people came face to face with armed soldiers, and things could have become very dark very quickly. But instead, something incredible happened.
Instead of pointing his guns at the crowd, this general simply told them that he didn't want to fight with them today, because it was his birthday. The crowd of protesters responded with kindness. Someone found a birthday cake and handed it over to the general. It was enough to bring a tear to the old soldier's eyes, and in an instant, tension had dissolved and people were smiling, clapping and taking pictures. A dangerous moment had become a beautiful one instead.
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.