A friend of ours used to live on the outskirts of a small Canadian town. Quite often she would leave for work with her door unlocked, because she more or less knew everybody and knew that it was a safe and crime-free place. She didn't have to worry. One day, though, she returned to find her place completely trashed. Her front door had been opened, everything torn apart, her fridge ripped open and everything eaten, and a big old bear poo in the middle of her living room.
The moral of the story? Bears are just like humans. They know how to turn a door handle, and they sure as hell know a ripe opportunity when they see one. Sure, out in the wild, they'll hunt that salmon with all of their keen senses and whip-sharp reflexes. But if a salmon just jumps out and lands straight in their mouth? Well, just like us they're not going to say no to a free lunch.
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.