Insurance Coverage that is Out of this World

Insurance Coverage that is Out of this World

Insurance Coverage that is Out of this World

As lawyers, we deal with insurance companies a lot. Insurance companies sell a lot of different types of coverage, from general homeowners insurance, car insurance and health insurance to insurance covering professional athletes and celebrities’ physical features.  Did you know, however, that there are companies out there that sell alien abduction insurance?  That’s right, if E.T. comes to take you for a ride you can be covered.  In all honesty, the plans are bought for fun purposes.  The Saint Lawrence Agency in Altamonte Springs, Fla. started selling the polices in 1987 through its UFO Abduction Insurance Company.  A single lifetime premium of $19.95 gets you the coverage.  Most of us would consider this type of coverage a good natured gag and laugh at the gold embossed certificate of coverage you can hang on the wall.   The St. Lawrence Agency’s own website pokes good natured fun at itself.  Its slogan has been “Beam Me Up, I’m Covered.”  A successful claim would result in $1 per year payout until you die, subject, of course, to a $10,000,000 cap.  It has been reported that the St. Lawrence Agency has actually paid out on two of its policies! If only you could live that long! Amazingly, however, there are other companies that take the coverage way too seriously and/or prey on those extreme conspiracy theorists among us.  A company out of the London-based insurance market, Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson (GRIP), actually sold policies in the 1990s which cost $155 per year in premiums and would pay out $160,000 upon proof of abduction.  GRIP reported a claim pay out in the 1996 of $1.6 million dollars, but later admitted that the claim pay out was a publicity stunt.  Rumor has it that the Heaven’s Gate Cult also reportedly paid for abduction coverage up to $1 million for each of its members. Those of us of who have had to make insurance claims for damage to our homes or cars can imagine what the claims process would be like for abduction insurance.  What type of proof of abduction would you need?  How would the claim be investigated? Would Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the X-Files give you a call?  Our firm handles a lot of insurance bad faith litigation.  In those cases, we represent individuals who have been treated illegally and in bad faith by their insurance companies.  Think of the possible room for expansion for lawyers if people buy this coverage. Our firm has opened additional offices in West Virginia and Pennsylvania over the last few years, maybe the Mars or the Moon could be next.  We could fight for justice on a local, national and galactic basis!