People buy life insurance, auto insurance, medical insurance, house insurance and the like, which are normal and most companies sell them and many people purchase them. But there is another category of insurable and insured items which only a few have done and these are quite weird types of insurance.

Well-known people and film and TV stars are known to have insured their body parts. These public celebrities take no chance on getting any part of their body changed or disfigured and hence they buy insurance for it. These people depend on their bodies for their livelihood. And insurance companies offer insurance policies that will pay if something damages the appearance or the functionality of some body part.

Professional athletes too buy insurance. Peyton Manning has insurance on his right arm, it is reported. The following are some of the body parts that are known to have been insured:-

•Ken Dodd’s extremely big buckteeth for $ 7.4 million!
•13-year-old World Yo-Yo champion Harvey Lowe’s hands for $ 150,000!
•Australia’s cricket player Merv Hughes’ walrus moustache for $ 370,000!
•20th century Fox insured actress Betty Grable’s legs for $ 1 million each!
•Michael Flatley of Lord of the Dance and Riverdance for $ 47 million
•Food critic Egon Ronay’s taste buds for $ 400,000!
•Bruce Springsteen’s voice for $ 6 million
•Comedy partners Bud Abbott and Lou Costello for $250,000!
•Jennifer Lopez’s ass for $ 1 billion!

The list can go on increasing. We have tea taster’s nose and tongue being insured and so also someone’s eyes. Another not so common but weird is insuring a game of golf. They have a hole-in-one prize. Anyone who scores a shot is awarded a prize which can be cash, an automobile, a video or anything. There are many other strings to the bow and many companies think of such things. They do not lose money, in fact they and the people insured have all the publicity they want. Hence it can be worth it. For both, the insurer and the insured.

Kidnapping youngsters and even adults has become so frequent that the well to do people are buying insurance against kidnapping and ransom. People working at high risk jobs also buy insurance. These policies are held by businessmen who work in dangerous areas and they offer indemnity coverage for any loss incurred by whoever pays the ransom. This includes the ransom money, money lost in transit, expenses incurred while delivering the ransom, hiring of professionals like negotiators and rewards offered for the safe return of the victims.

Lloyd’s of London has sold insurance policies against the oddest of demands. They have sold policies for vampire bites, werewolf attacks, alien abduction and the like. There are more than 400,000 policies sold to insure against alien abduction. If you can prove it (pass a lie detector test or have a video or a witness to support the claim of being kidnapped by an alien) then compensation of one million pounds will be given by the insurance company!

Can you believe that 8.3 million Americans were the victims of identity theft in 2005? And the number is rising. It’s true that in approximately half the incidents, thieves only obtained goods or services worth $500 or less; but in 10 percent of cases, thieves got at least $6,000 worth of goods or services. How is this possible and what can we do to protect ourselves?

What happens is that identity thieves take personal information and use it to impersonate a victim, stealing from bank accounts, establishing phony insurance policies, opening unauthorized credit cards or obtaining unauthorized bank loans.

The use of stolen credit card numbers is among the most common forms of identity theft, but some schemes use electronic means, including online scams like "phishing," in which thieves use email inquiries purporting to be from financial or other online organizations, to obtain sensitive account information. Others might use more old-fashioned methods, such as “dumpster diving”, meaning rooting around in people’s garbage to collect financial information. The advent of new, “no-swipe” credit cards that transmit account and user information through radio frequency identification may make it possible for identity thieves to use a simple electronic device to capture the information.

Identity theft can be covered by insurance. Some companies include coverage for identity theft as part of their homeowner’s insurance policy; others sell it as either a stand-alone policy or as an endorsement to a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy.

How does one go about avoiding identity theft? Here are some tips:

Keep the amount of personal information in your purse or wallet to the bare minimum. Carry the least number of credit cards and other personal information.

Guard your credit card when making purchases. Shield your hand when using ATM machines or making long distance phone calls with phone cards. Don’t fall prey to “shoulder surfers” who may be behind you. Always take credit card or ATM receipts.

Proceed with caution when shopping online. Make sure that you are buying from a reputable retailer with a secure network. Monitor your accounts. If you suspect a problem, contact your Credit Card Company or bank immediately. Shred any documents containing personal information.

Password protect your credit card, bank and phone accounts if you can. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, any part of your Social Security number or phone number, or any series of consecutive numbers. Don't give out personal information.