Sculpture of an extraterrestrial: Insurance offers protection against being abducted by aliens.Image: www.imago-images.de
Nothing is impossible: There seem to be hardly any limits to your imagination, especially when it comes to insurance. But not every strange protection is what it promises.
July 26, 2026, 04:22July 26, 2026, 04:22
Martin Thaler / t-online
Everyone has their own car insured; Many people also want their own home, expensive television or their own health to be protected. But apart from the standard risks, the insurance industry sometimes produces strange things. Practically everything can be insured as long as the insurer can calculate the risk.
If you look around, you will find protection against obscure risks all over the world. However, not every story on the Internet turns out to be true; some insurance policies are primarily seen as humorous. But what protection can you really get? And what is a legend? A trip around the world in four insurance policies.
Sea Monster Damages
Scotland is not only famous for high-proof whiskey and delicacies made from sheep offal. Even a single resident always makes the headlines – even if they are usually rare. The Loch Ness monster – affectionately nicknamed “Nessie” by the Scots – delights locals and tourists alike. At the same time, it also fuels fears.
The Scottish ferry company Jacobite Cruises, which cruises the legendary Loch Ness with its excursion steamers, had its ships insured against damage caused by Nessie. “I don’t know what the chances are that this will actually happen,” said owner Freda Newton in the Daily Mail. “But this is Loch Ness. How embarrassing would it be for us if it happened and we weren’t covered?” There is a million pounds in the event of an attack by Nessie – but so far there has been no payout.
View over Loch Ness: You can also insure yourself against the snake-like creature with fins that lives in the Scottish lake.Image: www.imago-images.de
Not only machines, but also people can be protected from the monster. The organizer of a swimming competition insured all participants against possible Nessie attacks. “With so many top athletes in the water at the same time, we can’t risk one of them being attacked by Nessie,” David Hart told the British newspaper The Guardian. The swimmers would cause a lot of noise and commotion in the water – activities that could potentially irritate a prehistoric sea monster, Hart argued.
In any case, the policyholders could be attracted by the media attention that their unusual insurance policies brought with them. Whether this was not the real reason for the insurance remains to be seen at this point.
Hungry blackheads
In contrast, the seagull insurance that the “Cheesy Toast Shack” offers its customers is comparatively tangible – including unrivaled fast payment in the event of a claim.
The snack bar in the Scottish town of St. Andrews offers its customers insurance in case seagulls pounce on their freshly purchased cheese sandwiches. If the customer pays an extra pound when purchasing, they will receive a refund for the stolen snack.
Seagull sits in front of a snack bar: In Scotland, a snack bar offers “insurance” against hungry birds.Image: www.imago-images.de
Snack bar owner Kate Carter-Lang was not motivated by the prospect of additional income. Instead, it was about making up for losses. Carter-Lang usually refunded stolen sandwiches free of charge. However, with around 30 seagull attacks a day, their own generosity cost money. With insurance, the extra expenses can now be better financed. There was also plenty of free advertising for the small sandwich shop located directly on the North Sea.
The concept has now caught on. The Swedish furniture giant Ikea introduced “chip theft insurance” for a limited time in 2025, and in Warnemünde, Baltic Sea visitors can now get stolen fish sandwiches from a snack bar replaced free of charge.
The mysterious poltergeist and the reincarnation of Jesus
Mysterious is probably the best word to describe a supposed insurance company that has numerous stories circulating on the Internet. According to English media reports, the owner of a hotel in Suffolk, England, has taken out “Spooksafe” insurance against poltergeists. The reason: According to owner Terry Meggs, the ghost of a monk is causing mischief in the “Royal Falcon Hotel”.
In return for a premium of 500 euros, the insurer – Ultraviolet – guaranteed him a payment of one million pounds if a guest was injured or even killed by the ghost. Media such as the BBC picked up the story. The problem here: There is no trace of an insurer called Ultraviolet. Suddenly there was nothing left to read about the supposed insurer on the Internet itself. It is highly doubtful whether this insurance was actually offered and sold.
The situation is similar with other strange insurance policies, about which a lot of material can be found on the Internet. Did you know that you can protect yourself against immaculate conception? Several British newspapers reported that in the early 2000s, three women from the Scottish town of Inverness took out a policy that would protect them from becoming the next Virgin Mary and giving birth to Jesus Christ. It was only when the Catholic Church intervened that the insurance company canceled the policy.
What even the BBC reported at the time has now turned out to be simply made up. Simon Burgess, the insurance manager supposedly responsible at the time, confessed this year in the “Insurance Covered” podcast that he had simply made up this and similar strange insurance policies. With actions like these he simply wanted to draw people’s attention to the topic of insurance and the really important life risks.
Out of this world
Footage of an alleged UFO: The question of the existence of extraterrestrial life has long concerned humanity.Image: imago stock&people
However, stories about strange insurance coverage are not completely out of thin air. For years in the USA you could insure yourself against alien abduction for $24.95. If extraterrestrial visitors kidnap the policy owner – and he then escapes – he would receive ten million dollars. However, only if the abduction could be completely proven using the extraterrestrial’s signatures or a picture.
According to Mike St. Lawrence, who sold insurance coverage against extraterrestrials through his office, there was even a payout once – simply because he liked the “evidence” presented so much. However, this did not cause St. Lawrence any financial difficulties, thanks to a clause in its insurance contracts. This said that the ten million dollars would be paid out in installments of one dollar per year. St. Lawrence paid his customer one dollar a year for ten years, after which contact broke off. It is not known whether the extraterrestrials returned or the customer was simply tired of the joke.
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