Not every piece of property fits into a neat category, making it necessary to customize coverage through bespoke insurance. Aircraft, satellites and various forms of pre- and post-construction on buildings often are insured through bespoke insurance. Very rare automobiles are often nearly priceless and it would be a foolish owner who covered a unique vintage car with standard liability insurance rather than acquiring a specially written policy.
International bespoke insurance coverage for aircraft is often not possible because of differing insurance licensing requirements in each country. Moreover, the physical location where the plant is usually stored may have different insurance regulations from the site of the plane’s operational area. Thus, bespoke insurance fills the gap.
Bespoke insurance may also be required to cover unique cargos carried by air or by water, while entertainers may have certain body parts insured against injury and scarring. A classic example was Betty Grable’s “million-dollar legs” during World War Two. In fact, public performers and artists make up a significant segment of bespoke insurance policies due to the individual needs. Models may require insurance coverage for their hands, faces, legs, feet, hair and other physical assets. Actors and singers may insure their voices, while musicians may require bespoke coverage not only for their instruments but also for their hands, fingers, lips and feet. It becomes a bit complicated, obviously.
Entertainment event promoters and the owners of performance venues also require various forms of bespoke insurance coverage. Insured categories include protection against an artist’s not appearing for a scheduled concert, insurance against failure of sound and television equipment, event cancellation because of weather or other disruptions and event liability in case of panic or riot.
Business and residential insurance is normally covered under property and casualty policies. However, these probably fail to cover unforeseen events such as discovering a valuable archaeological site in the course of excavating a hole for a structure’s foundation. For this reason, it is wise to have some form of bespoke coverage for delays not usually encountered during construction.
Strange things happen when any form of gambling takes place. For this reason, small games of chance at county fairs or bingo games at the church hall sometimes are covered by a type of bespoke insurance. Similarly, lotteries may also require this unique variety of protection.
In short, bespoke insurance offers loss protection for all those odd bits that don’t quite fit into other types of policies and yet require coverage. Given the extraordinary nature of some situation, a great deal of research and preparation goes into writing an insurance policy for these items. Consequently, the prospective client may expect a higher premium than he or she would for a more usual policy.
Unique and odd insurable objects and occurrences provide some entertainment value for the general public. Most of us wouldn’t think of buying extra insurance coverage for our legs, hands or nose at a significantly higher premium. On the other hand, if one’s professional livelihood depends on normal appearance and functioning, it becomes something less than a laughing matter.