Wild and woolly

Monkey business

1920s Silent film comedian Ben Turpin famously bought a $25,000 insurance policy with Lloyd's, payable if his trademark crossed eyes ever uncrossed. How serious this was is open to conjecture; such publicity stunts, centred around a performer’s trademark, were common attention-getters at the time.

When it comes to what people feel they need to insure, some things perhaps sit best in the ‘unbelieveable truth’ section.

• Forty members of a Derbyshire Whiskers Club insured their beards against fire and theft.
• According to novelist and inventor Arthur C Clarke, director Stanley Kubrick wanted to take out insurance with Lloyd’s to protect himself against losses in the event that extraterrestrial intelligence was discovered before his movie, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ was released. Lloyd’s refused.
• A Householder‘s Comprehensive policy from 1914 covered damage caused by aeroplanes, airships, riots, strikes – and suffragists.
• One policy was taken out by the owner of a presumably quite lively saloon against injuries his customers might afflict on others – a claim which led to fraud when a fight was staged and the claims money split between the combatants.
• Amongst many others, Lloyd's myth has it that  60,000 people have taken out policies just in case they’re turned into a vampire or a werewolf. The Twilight series has a lot to answer for.