Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is perhaps best known for her lead role in the popular television series, Ghost Whisperer. Her career began at a really young age and for most of her life, she has worked as an actress. In 2013, while doing a promotional video for the tv show The Client, Hewitt was asked if she would ever insure her breasts to which she joked in response saying “I would need an insurance invitation” and then followed up by saying they – her breasts – cost $5 million.
This interview was followed by feedback of people who thought Jennifer Love Hewitt had either insured her breasts or was planning to in the future, spurring a more interesting conversation about body insurance which is not an uncommon occurrence. As seen with other celebrities, including footballers like David Beckham and goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, who insured their legs and hands for $195 million and $3.5 million, respectively. This unique form of self-insurance highlights the price many celebrities can pay to maintain a certain image or protect the things that they consider assets for their careers.
Understanding “Body Part” Insurance: What It is and How it Works
Body part insurance may seem like a frivolous indulgence to many, yet it is a surprisingly common practice in the entertainment industry. Celebrities, athletes and models and in some cases, surgeons – all these people cannot afford to take a chance with their careers which are largely built on the way they look, hence they may turn to body part insurance to protect themselves. Through these unique policies, individuals can be insured for millions of dollars for a range of body parts, including legs, hands, eyes, vocal cords, and of course, breasts. In some cases, their entire body.
Body part insurance policies work in a similar way to traditional insurance policies. The difference lies in the valuation process, as policyholders must determine the estimated value of their body parts. A specialist appraiser then values the asset and provides an estimated value. The body part being insured has to be relevant to the job that they do. While body part insurance might seem unusual, it is a crucial way for celebrities like Jennifer Love Hewitt and entertainers to protect themselves against potential career-ending injuries and ensure the security of their livelihood.
Is It Legal to Insure Body Parts?
While body part insurance is a common practice in the entertainment industry, it raises questions about the legality of such policies. Generally speaking, it is legal to insure one’s body as long as the individual has an insurable interest in the body part being insured. This essentially means that an individual must have a financial stake in the body part, making it a valuable asset and supporting its insurability. It’s important to note that these policies can be subject to scrutiny. Insurance companies often investigate claims to ensure that individuals are not engaging in fraud or other inappropriate behaviour to collect on the policy.
Jennifer Love Hewitt’s comment about insuring her breast may have just been a joke, but this does not mean it is not common practice for people to do this. Celebrities have found ways to protect their interests and ensure that they always have a way to make money. This practice might be strange, there are certainly stranger practices out there
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