Life Insurance Should you insure your body parts? Written by Desiree Ghazi | Reviewed by John McCormick John McCormick John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology. | Updated on: August 14, 2023 Why you can trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing the timely, accurate and expert information consumers need to make smart insurance decisions. All our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. Our team carefully vets our rate data to ensure we only provide reliable and up-to-date insurance pricing. We follow the highest editorial standards. Our content is based solely on objective research and data gathering. We maintain strict editorial independence to ensure unbiased coverage of the insurance industry. Most people don’t need to worry about how much their body parts are worth. But some people, such as people who play professional sports, do. For example, a soccer’s players legs are vital to their livelihood and income. Because of this, a soccer player may have insurance on their legs. Bruce Springsteen once even insured his voice for $6 million. Who should insure their body parts? Most people don’t need to insure their body parts, but some people who have a body part that is their main moneymaker may consider it. Celebrities such as Barbara Streisand, Keith Richards, Mariah Carey, America Ferrera and Jennifer Lopez have insured their noses, eyes, legs, hands and other physical attributes for millions of dollars, according to Lloyd’s of London, the foremost celebrity-parts insurer. For celebrities or high earners who can attribute their success and income to a body part, body part insurance is a feasible option. But for the average individual, it is wiser to opt for disability or accidental death and dismemberment insurance (AD&D). With disability insurance coverage, you will receive a payout that replaces some of your income if you injure yourself or harm a body part. The reason body part insurance isn’t optimal for the average individual is because of its high cost. Body part insurance is typically bought from the surplus market line, which is where insurance policies that aren’t widely available can be bought. Specialty insurance products like body part insurance charge must higher premiums than insurance policies that are widely available, such as life and disability insurance. How do disability insurance and AD&D insurance work? An average AD&D policy limit ranges from $20,000 to $500,000. An AD&D policy will pay out if you die or lose a limb in an accident. “The payout you would receive from dismemberment tends to depend on how critical that part is to your ability to function,” says Jill Roman, a spokesperson for Otsuka Pharmaceutical Companies. “Benefit payouts for plans vary based on severity of the injury and the type of insurance a person selects.” If you can only opt for disability or AD&D insurance, you should go with disability insurance. AD&D insurance only pays out in severe circumstances. Meanwhile, disability insurance pays out even if you are temporarily disabled and can’t work. A qualifying disability can last anywhere from a few weeks to months or years. AD&D insurance can help close the gaps left by other insurance policies such as life, health, workers compensation and disability, but it shouldn’t be prioritized over these policies. Related Articles Give yourself the gift of financial security this holiday season By Karen Terry Term Life Insurance Index: Q3 premiums drop by 1% By Nupur Gambhir Life insurance and autism: What you need to know By Satta Sarmah-Hightower The Santa Index 2024: St. Nick’s salary increases by almost 5% to $178,620 By Sarah Sharkey How much term life insurance costs By Huma Naeem The 10 largest life insurance companies By Chris Kissell ZIP Code Please enter valid ZIP See rates