Although Lloyd's of London may be the most famous insurance company in the world, and its influence throughout history is widely known, it is not really an insurance company at all. It is an insurance marketplace, in which its brokers write policies in which syndicates and other parties (named parties) share the financial risks of various enterprises. Born in a London coffee house in the 17th century, it is still steeped in tradition and history, although modern business practices have made many of its formal practices, if not obsolete, certainly quaint.
Over the centuries, Lloyd's has earned a reputation for being a trustworthy company, able and willing to insure almost anything. Since the 18th century, ships have set sail, and investors on their voyages have been protected by the financial umbrella offered by Lloyd's underwriters. The famous clipper"Cutty Sark" once sailed under Lloyd's protection, in the 20th century the whiskey company of the same name used Lloyd's protection for another venture, quite apart from the perils of the sea. Here are some of the more unusual, even bizarre, items insured by the venerable Lloyd's of London, and a few examples of how the company met the insured's claims.
10. Body parts
A wise craftsman understands the role of his tools in achieving success. In the case of Keith Richards, guitarist and songwriter for the legendary Rolling Stones, his hands are an important instrument in his storied career. Richards’s gnarled, twisted, scarred, and arthritic hands are insured by Lloyd’s and, according to then-president of Lloyd’s North America Hank Watkins (2016), have been insured for a long time. Insuring body parts that are essential to success is nothing new. During World War II, actress and dancer Betty Grable, who replaced Rita Hayworth as the number one pin-up girl among American soldiers and sailors, insured her legs for $1 million. “I have two reasons for being successful, and I support both of them,” Grable said.
Irish dancer Michael Flatley also insured his legs, though not for the same reasons as Betty Grable. Lloyd's covered the risk. They also insured singer Tom Jones' chest hair in case it somehow got lost, which would hurt his earning power. Bette Davis, who was praised behind the scenes by singer Kim Carnes, chose to insure her 21-inch waist instead. Dolly Parton was long reported to have insured a couple of assets through Lloyd's, though she later denied the claims. She attributed them to rumors stemming from comments she made about Grable's famous leg insurance. Tom Jones also denied that his chest hair was insured, though no one knows if it was a publicity stunt.
9. Car insurance
Although other insurance companies dispute them, Lloyd's claims to have issued the first automobile insurance policy in 1904. At the time, the insured item was described not as a car, but as "a ship sailing on dry land." This phrase was used to describe the subject of the policy, which was identified as an automobile. However, according to the Insurance Journal, Travelers Insurance sold an automobile insurance policy to Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, New York, in 1898. At the time, Dr. Martin owned one of about 4,000 "automobiles" on American roads.
Another source attributes the first auto insurance policy to Travelers, but claims it was issued in Dayton, Ohio, in 1897, providing car owner Gilbert Loomis with $1,000 in liability coverage. Travelers' website claims its first policy is dated 1897, but does not indicate where or to whom it was issued. So, who knows?
Lloyd’s, rightly famous for marine insurance at the turn of the 20th century, used maritime jargon in its early nonmarine policies, forming the Nonmarine Underwriters’ Association in 1910 to serve the emerging automobile and aviation insurance markets. In 1919, Lloyd’s underwriter Cuthbert Heath founded the British Aviation Insurance Association. In 1927, Heath wrote a policy for Lloyd’s to cover Charles Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris. The early aviation policy would have netted its beneficiaries $18,000 had Lindy not been so lucky.
8. Bruce Springsteen's voice
Whether you're a fan of The Boss or not, you'll probably admit that his singing voice, while distinctive, doesn't rank with the all-time greats. Pavarotti doesn't. Nor does Sinatra, though Bruce is reportedly an unabashed fan of his Jersey pal. Springsteen's reputation was built on his hard-working, hard-rocking E-Street Band and his songwriting with an empathy for the common man.
Rolling Stone magazine named Springsteen "The Voice of the Decade" in a retrospective article published in November 1990, though it was his message that was cited, not his singing voice, which was hardly mellifluous. Despite this, Bruce Springsteen's voice was insured by Lloyd against any loss or damage that would interfere with his singing.
The Boss is certainly not the only performer to have insured his vocal cords against the possible loss of his singing ability. Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan and Mariah Carey all allegedly insured their voices; in the case of the latter, she also insured her legs. Pavarotti apparently did not buy voice insurance, which is odd since he sold insurance in his youth, partly to pay for voice lessons.
7. Troy Polamalu's Hair
Troy Polamalu, although of American Samoan descent, was not born and raised in those U.S. territories, but in Southern California and Oregon. He excelled at football (and basketball) in high school and enrolled at the University of Southern California in 1999. At some point during his college career, he stopped cutting his hair. He attracted enough attention from the NFL to be selected in the first round, 16th overall, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Since the 2003 season, Polamalu has attracted attention both for his play on the field and for the ever-growing length of his hair. He has claimed that he has not cut his hair since 2010. His growing hair and his reputation as a powerful defensive back prompted Head and Shoulders Shampoo to hire Polamalu to promote their product on television and in print ads. In 2010, Proctor and Gamble, the maker of Head and Shoulders products, insured Polamalu's hair for $1 million with Lloyd's.
According to Guinness World Records, the amount insured on Polamalu's locks was a world record. In 2013, the football star ditched Head and Shoulders and endorsed a competitive product. He later returned to endorse a Proctor and Gamble product, although it is unclear whether his Samoan warrior hairstyle remains insured by Lloyd's.
6. Taylor-Burton Diamond
During their high-profile relationship, which included two marriages and divorces, numerous public spats, and more than one abuser on both sides, actor Richard Burton became famous for the jewelry he lavished on Elizabeth Taylor. There were many stunning pieces. In 1968, he gifted Taylor a 33+ carat diamond that had previously belonged to Vera, the wife of steel magnate Alfred Krupp. The rock was more or less everyday wear for the actress. She wore it as a ring, usually on her right hand.
The most famous of the diamonds given to Taylor by Richard Burton was the 69.42-carat stone known as the Taylor-Burton Diamond, which he purchased in 1969. Burton set the diamond in a necklace, partly to hide Elizabeth’s tracheotomy scar. Miss Taylor saw fit to wear the dress to Princess Grace of Monaco’s 40th birthday party. She also thoughtfully wore the Krupp Diamond, no doubt in honor of Princess Grace. The Burtons insured the mammoth stone through Lloyd’s, adding conditions to its public wear.
Lloyd's stipulated that the diamond could only be worn in public with armed guards and limited the number of times it could be worn per year. The stone was insured for $1 million. After purchasing the diamond, Taylor and Burton divorced, later remarried, and divorced a second time. Following the second divorce, Taylor sold the diamond to a New York jeweler in 1979.
5. Hindenburg
German airship"Hindenburg" is remembered today primarily for the dramatic manner in which it exploded in Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1937. It was captured on film, accompanied by frantic broadcasts describing its destruction, and has since become a symbol of utter disaster. The incident was doubly stunning because before it "Hindenburg" had a reputation for being a reliable and comfortable transatlantic transport, equal in comfort to ocean steamers, but considerably faster. The previous year, for the first time on a regular voyage, "Hindenburg" made 10 Atlantic crossings without incident. Airships seemed poised to claim a significant share of transatlantic traffic.
Although heavier-than-air transport was much faster than airships, and Pan American Airways flew its clippers from Europe to the United States, airships offered luxury that airplanes could not. The German Zeppelin Airline Company operated two zeppelins between Europe and America before the crash in Hindenburg , which, along with Germany's aggression in Europe, put an end to commercial lighter passenger flights than air travel. 36 killed in the crash Hindenburg , the exact cause of which was never determined, were the only casualties of the transatlantic airship era.
The Germans insured their operations through Lloyd's, as they were following a model based on maritime operations. This in itself is not surprising, given the British company's long experience in transoceanic insurance. Although liability for the disaster was not established, Lloyd's paid out claims for the loss of the Hindenburg totaling almost $80 million in today's dollars. A copy of the ten-page insurance document can be seen at the New York Fire Museum in Manhattan.
4. America Ferrera's Smile
Actress America Ferrera first rose to fame playing Betty Suarez in the television comedy"Ugly Betty", which she performed from 2006 to 2010. set of braces. However, Betty was not a teenager, but a young woman in her early twenties, trapped in her job in the world of high fashion.
Despite her appearance as Betty Suarez, or perhaps because of it, America Ferrera found herself in demand for a 2008 campaign for a teeth-whitening product. Betty is a brace-free model, with a portion of the profits going to Smiles for Success, which supports women who can't afford dental care. To minimize the risk of losing America's smile, she is insured for $10 million.
To secure the insurance, the group turned to Lloyd's, which insured the actress's smile, famous for her visibly braced smile. The policy covers the actress's teeth and gums, essentially giving her full dental coverage for the life of the policy. Dental insurance is, after all, more common than chest hair insurance, and it's the braces connection Ugly Betty more than just America Ferrera's smile, it makes this policy unusual.
3. RMS Titanic
In the 1997 film"Titanic" The Renault plays a prominent role. It serves as a place of, shall we say, temporary refuge for Rose and Jack while they are deep in the ship's hold. The ill-fated vessel did indeed carry a similar-looking Renault, a luxury model known as the Type CB Coupe de Ville, which belonged to William Carter. Mr. Carter survived the sinking of the Titanic. , as did his family, who traveled with him. His car did not, although it served as the inspiration and scene for a passionate handprint as the fictional version of the sinking began.
The real Mr Carter has filed a claim for the loss of his car with White Star Lines, the owner and operator of the Titanic. They turned it over to their insurance company, which settled the claim, as it did with all claims made after the loss of the ship. Mr. Carter received $5,000 in compensation for the lost car, paid to him by Lloyd's, which had insured the car by insuring the ship.
White Star paid a premium of approximately £7,500 ($1.13 million today) to ensure that Titanic and its contents on its maiden voyage, with the risk being spread among its several syndicates. After the disaster, it paid out more than £1 ($152 million), although it did pay out, with almost all claims being paid in full within 30 days of the ship's loss. The speed with which claims were paid is another staggering fact about the disaster Titanica , at least when looked at from a 21st century perspective.
2. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was much more than just a major seismological event. An earthquake, of course. It was also a major urban fire, like the more famous Chicago Fire. It was a complete breakdown of emergency services, an urban crisis in the days when the federal government had no means of providing relief short of using the military. And many of the insurance companies covering the region’s damage were financially unable to meet their obligations.
Even today, most insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage. But after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Lloyd's issued instructions (again, Cuthbert Heath) to its syndicates to pay all claims for damage caused by earthquakes and subsequent fires, "regardless of the terms of their policies." Many insurance companies went bankrupt rather than pay out claims. After the San Francisco disaster, Lloyd's paid out the equivalent of more than $1 billion to claimants.
Of course, calling it the San Francisco disaster is a misnomer, as the quake and its aftermath affected a huge swath of the United States from Oregon to central Nevada and Los Angeles. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire remained Lloyd's single-largest loss until the September 11 terrorist attacks, which made claims payment far less orderly. Even so, Lloyd's response to the attacks earned praise from government officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow, who acknowledged, "We owe you a debt of gratitude."
1. Competitions and awards
The Cutty Sark once held a competition in 1971, offering £1 million to anyone who would bring in (or be brought in by) the Loch Ness Monster. When the bosses expressed concern that they might have to actually pay the reward to some intrepid Nessie hunter, they approached Lloyd's to cover the reward. Lloyd's agreed after specifying the size of the captured animal, establishing its bona fides through the Natural History Museum, and establishing that the captured monster would become Lloyd's property. Nessie remains elusive more than fifty years later, the competition having long since expired.
Lloyd's is insured against paying out to winners of other competitions.Who wants to be a millionaire paid Lloyd's brokerage to cover the £1 million top prize for the original British version of the game show. At the time the program began airing in the United States, the top prize had never been won. After two contestants won the American equivalent of $1 million during the first season, Lloyd's brokerage group, Goshawk Syndicate, sued, claiming the American version had been deliberately made too easy to win. The American version was, in their view, too easy for the brokers to take the financial risk. The Lloyd's brokers were taking reasonable risks, but apparently did not see the point in being stupid.
As an example of the less complex nature of the questions in the American version of the programme, the Daily Telegraph published sample questions, including one from the American programme: "Which condiment is also known as Latin dance: mustard, mayonnaise, relish or salsa?" The quoted question from the British version was: "What is the SI unit of magnetic flux density?" For those who need the answers, that's salsa and tesla respectively. Perhaps Lloyd's was right.
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