More Unusual Insurance Coverage

Like my last post on some of the unusual coverage certain people have bought, here are some other interesting things for which you can actually purchase insurance. 

Lottery Winner Insurance For Employers:

In the United Kingdom, employers can purchase insurance against having 2 or more employees quitting because they won the National Lottery. This policy would only pay out if the company lost at least two employees during the same drawing, perhaps more of a risk than one might think based on the number of employee lottery pools that exist.

Alien Abduction:

For those people worried about being abducted by aliens, there's insurance to cover you, though proving it may be the toughest part of the equation.

T.V. Game Shows:

The television game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," has insurance coverage for the possibility of a contestant winning.

Hole In One:

Just like the insurance coverage for a winner of a t.v. game show, golf tournament prizes, like cash for hitting an ace on a specific hole, are covered by special insurance policies like that provided by BlueCircle's very own sister company "Hole In One Direct".

Monster Size Promotion:

The Cutty Sark Company wants you to know they'll pay out a prize of $1.5 million for anyone who captures the Loch Ness Monster alive. Just in case this ever happens, they have an insurance policy that will pay out the cash on their behalf.

You Want To Insure What???

I just read an interesting article in Insurance Business E-Zine about the weird and wonderful things people like to insure. 

The tag line was about insuring one's beard, which seemed like an odd thing until you consider that Christmas is fast approaching and perhaps Santa Claus may be worried about facial hair loss affecting his business!! haha

But seriously, there are many unusual things that people do get covered by insurance. 

Perhaps the trend started way back in the 1940's, when Hollywood celebrity Betty Grable was quite famous for her 'gams' and was the top earning female in the country.
Yes, Grable's legs were apparently perfectly proportioned and her studio had them insured for U.S. $1 million, though this was more of a publicity stunt than an actual insurance concern.

photo from Movie Story Magazine 1943

Bruce Springsteen apparently insures his unique voice for the cool sum of Can. $6 million

photo courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine

How about Dolly Parton insuring her recognizable 40DD breasts for Can. $6.5 million

photo courtesy of AnOther magazine

Keith Richards has his hands insured for Can. $2 million, although I also read that this is actually just for his middle finger, critical for playing those iconic riffs.

photo courtesy of WordPress

Gravity Glue Indeed!

photo courtesy of Gravity Glue / Michael Grab

After posting about Manu Topic in the post "Balancing Act", I discovered several other artists who work in the meditative area of rock balancing. 

One such artist is Michael Grab, a native of Edmonton Alberta but now based in Colorado. Grab has a slightly different approach to this subtle art form and did a cool video of him 'deconstructing' the formations, further proof that the only glue that holds these 'sculptures' together is gravity!

Public Service Announcement: Flood Zones And Used Cars

photo courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen

Buying a used car in the U.S. may have some appeal to a Canadian looking for a good bargain, but buyer beware. 

With all the recent flood damage done by hurricanes and tidal surges, there is an estimated one million vehicles in the States that were water damaged and classified as unrepairable. 

Sure, someone might take a vehicle, clean it up and sell it second hand for a seemingly reasonable price. 

Even if that vehicle was operable and didn't give you any immediate issues, if you're a Canadian buyer attempting to cross the border back into Canada, be prepared for possible entry denial! 

Technically, a vehicle with a U.S. designation with water damage can only be imported into Canada for scrap metal, or for designated parts. Canada Border Services has strict policies on imported vehicles and requires specific paperwork for any vehicle entering the country.

There is also the possibility of a water damaged vehicle not having been written off if the owner did not make an insurance claim, so the buyer may not even be aware this automobile had been involved in flooding. 

The owner could clean it up and sell it, with no-one the wiser until time elapses and corrosion begins to appear. 

This could even prove to be a safety issue if those corroding components are electronic, like airbag sensors and other such devices. 

In that case, here are 8 tips to help make a determination on whether a vehicle was flooded and that used car is truly a good deal.

• check for a musty or moldy smell inside the car or trunk
• be suspicious of an overly strong smell of car deodorizer or air freshener scents, possibly masking musty odours
• lift the corners of carpeting in trunks, spare tire wells, or interior floors to see if there is any sand or silt residue left over from flood waters
• check for rust and corrosion on screws and brackets in areas that typically do not come into contact with water, like the centre console
• look for condensation behind the dashboard glass or inside headlights
• look for high water mark stains on seats and other upholstry
• ask for CarProof or other such VIN check service reports
• check to see where a vehicle was registered to determine if this was a flooded area which may have affected the automobile. 

Balancing Act

Gravity defying might be the best way to describe the creations of artist Manu Topic aka Numa Picto. 

I'm not sure which one is an anagram and which one is the his real name, if either, as my research turns up nothing but these incredible photos and a Facebook page. But seeing his surreal 'sculptures' of delicately balanced stones gives one cause for wonder and amazement, regardless of his actual name. 

If you want to see more, check out the photo gallery of Manu Topic. And check out the video at the bottom of this page to see the artist at work, sitting in a creek and patiently finding the connections between the rocks and stones with a steady hand. As mentioned, gravity defying!

Did I Say "Winter Is Coming"?

After my last post "Winter Slap!", it seems appropriate to write a little about two specific topics related to motorcycles and the impact of cold and snow on your bike. 

One can say the riding season is pretty much over, though we all know there will be days when it is still possible to go for a ride. I've been out on the bike well into the month of November and when we get Chinooks here in Calgary it is quite possible to ride in every single month of Winter, though black ice or lots of gravel on the road is always a concern.

Say no, to snow!

Of course, that leads me to point number one, insuring your motorcycle all year long. If you want lots of details on why you need to keep your coverage active all year, even though you won't necessarily be riding your bike, follow this link to the BlueCircle site and "Why You Want To Keep Your Motorcycle Insurance All year Round" . That page is part of a whole lot of content that anyone, clients or non-clients alike, can use as a resource for many topics. But, for this particular discussion, there are many upsides to keeping your motorcycle coverage going all year and we highly recommend this for all riders. Even if a bike is stored inside a garage, the potential for loss by things like fire or theft is still there and would not becovered by home insurance. Better safe than sorry!

Another topic that comes to mind when thinking about your motorcycle and Winter is how best to prep your bike for storage, especially if you don't intend to ride it until Spring. 

Again, our BlueCircle website has that awesome resource page to give you details via "The Rider Workshop/Winterizing Your Motorcycle". To summarize, consider the basics of ensuring you don't have a tank full of stale fuel and your battery will be fresh and ready to start your bike when the time comes to ride. So many issues can be avoided with just a few proactive measures and you'll be out enjoying the ride instead of grumbling over a bike that won't run, or won't run properly.

Winter Slap!

Someone had a lot of patience, or a lot of help, building this crowd!

It's one thing to have Winter approaching and see the weather gradually change as temperatures drop. Even that first snowfall is tolerable when you know it will melt away in the sun the next morning. But slapped is the best way to describe the sudden appearance of Winter like weather as we just begin the month of November here in Calgary. 

In fact, pretty much the entire province of Alberta took a slap upside the head when the snow started to fall and the temperatures dipped into minus double digits last week. And there's no reprieve for at least another week, with the forecast being much the same until the 12th or 13th.

So, what is one to do when things like this happen. You sure can't change the weather ( unless you have the luxury of flying south for the Winter) so it's best to take it all with a grain of salt, make the best of what you're facing, and have some fun with the fluffy white stuff! Enjoy this bunch of photos of some creative people doing just that, having some fun and making the best of the chilly situation.

An interesting 'sculpture', or a well prepared arsenal for a snowball fight.

I didn't know rabbits could climb tress!

Twins

Snoop Snow Dog

Jurrasic

Tree beard

This guy won't get much colder while waiting for the bus

The beer is nice and chilled

Hitchin' a ride

We all feel like our world is turned upside down with this Winter weather

Best just to call a cab or Uber

Bill Viola Exhibite Montreal

While on a recent visit to Quebec we stopped in at DHC/ART Fondation Pour L'art Contemporain in Old Montreal. The gallery was celebrating their 10 year anniversary and exhibited contemporary video artist Bill Viola's newest work, "Inverted Birth", plus several other pieces of this "new media" art. 

Here's a snippet of one of Viola's other creations, though any of the small versions you might see online do not do any real justice to his full sized pieces, either visually or with sound.