There are several reasons people have insurance. We can buy life insurance to make sure that our loved ones maintain their lifestyle after we have passed away, we buy home and auto insurance to protect our most valuable assets, and we buy medical and dental insurance to protect us in case of any unexpected life events.
Why do you have insurance?
Insurance is definitely an important part of financial planning. We want to have enough insurance to make sure that all of our needs are covered, but we definitely don’t want to be over-insured because the monthly insurance premiums can be costly.
There is an unwritten rule in financial planning that people should never benefit from insurance proceeds. Insurance should be purchased strictly for protection purposes. We purchase insurance to protect our assets and protect ourselves against potential losses. However, the value of an asset is in the eye of the beholder.
What do you insure?
MSN recently published an article about crazy things that people have insured. Would you pay a monthly premium to insure your most unusual assets?
Shirley MacLaine has a $25 million dollar insurance policy in case her fortune is ever abducted by aliens. I was unaware that we could protect ourselves against something that we are not even sure exists. My home insurance policy doesn’t even protect me against natural disasters such as hurricanes and other storms, but apparently we can protect ourselves against unnatural beings.
Gene Simmons insured his tongue for $1 million dollars. His tongue was a money maker for Kiss. Gene Simmons bought insurance to protect himself against any potential income loss in case his tongue ever becomes “unusable”.
Tom Jones allegedly insured his chest hair for $7 million dollars. I was unaware that we could insure something that is self sustainable. I thought that insurance was used to replace our losses. Apparently we can insure something that can replace itself. Tom Jones believes that his chest hair is crucial in his sex symbol status; he believes that he will be less sexy without it. Is Tom Jones sexy?
Dolly Parton insured her breasts for $300,000…each. I thought it was funny that she didn’t insure her vocal cords, being that she is a singer and all.
Keith Richards the lead guitarist for The Rolling Stones has reportedly insured the middle finger on his left hand for over $1 million dollars. I am assuming that he plays the guitar with his left hand but the article doesn’t specify. Since he earns his living as a guitarist, it makes sense that he protects himself against a potential loss of income.
David Lee Roth has insured his sperm for over $1 million dollars to protect himself against any potential paternity suits. Maybe he should stop having sex with groupies; then he could save money on unnecessary monthly insurance premiums.
America Ferrara’s teeth were insured by Aquafresh for $10 million dollars. I must admit, she does have a gorgeous smile. The insurance premiums are paid by the company and not by America Ferrara directly.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I recently wrote how life insurance shouldn’t be someones jackpot money. It should be used to replace a financial need when a provider dies. I have some to provide for a child. But when she is finished with college, then it’s bye-bye insurance.
A lot of people have it because it is relatively cheap. Term life insurance is ridiculously cheap for the most part. I can understand how it would allow people to sleep better knowing they have it.