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What are tastebuds worth?
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March 17, 1998: 2:42 p.m. ET
Specialty insurance can put a dollar figure on practically anything for you
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Tastebuds, Barbie dolls, your pet cobra: what are they worth?
The insurance industry says thousands of dollars.
"There's usually someone who will insure almost anything for the right price," said Martin Leach, a spokesman for Lloyd's of London.
Specialty insurance is almost as old as Lloyd's, a legendary underwriter with a rich history dating back to the 17th century.
Hollywood screen icon Betty Grable made headlines in the 1940s when she insured her legs with Lloyd's for $1 million. The policy was a publicity stunt, but it protected her if she damaged or lost her legs.
More recently, British food critic Egon Ronay insured his tastebuds for about $500,000, Leach said. He'd collect on the policy if his tastebuds failed and he couldn't work reviewing restaurants.
"He'd lose his means of livelihood if he lost his sense of smell and taste," Leach said. "Underwriters based his premium on the likelihood it happened and he lost his earnings."
Industry watchers say it's become much more widespread in recent years for people to buy special insurance policies.
"There's all sort of wild and weird things that people insure," said Jim Mooney, president of the Inland Marine Underwriters Association, a New York City-based organization of U.S. insurers.
"Inland marine" insurance, slightly different from a specialty policy, covers everything from your prized Picasso to your collection of Art Deco radios, Mooney said. Its name comes from its roots in maritime history, when people shipped goods by sea.
Premiums for inland marine insurance in the United States total about $5.5 billion a year, or about 2.5 percent of the $220 billion property liability insurance industry, Mooney said.
The insurance industry doesn't keep separate statistics on the growth of specialty or inland marine policies, Mooney and Leach said.
"They (inland marine policies) ebb and flow with the economy," Mooney said. "People have a lot of luxuries now."
Chubb & Son, an insurance company based in Warren, N.J., has written policies for collections of rare wine, Barbie dolls, and even political memorabilia, said Laura Rice, a marketing specialist.
"A lot of novices are insuring collections," Rice said. The insurer started seeing an increase in 1994, she said.
Other popular policies are for stamp collections and exotic pets like birds and snakes.
It will cost you about 42 cents for every $100 of coverage for a collection, Rice said. That would mean a $50,000 policy would cost you $210 in premiums. The insurance company will get expert opinions or appraisals to assess the value of the collection.
Chubb has a blanket policy for large collections where each piece is worth less than $1,000, Rice said. The advantage is you don't have to go through the tedium of assessing a collection with dozens or hundreds of parts.
The realm of specialty insurance has also widened to include athletes and celebrity appearances, Leach said. Pro athletes can take out disability policies in case they're forced onto the bench. Bruce Springsteen insured his voice for $7 million.
Even the possibility of an encounter with extraterrestrial life has triggered insurance policies, Mooney said.
"You can buy a UFO policy, or travel insurance for a trip to the moon in 20 years," Mooney said. "I'm constantly amazed by the things people insure." 
-- by staff writer Martine Costello
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