Can you insure individual body parts like celebrities do?
In short
Yes, you can insure individual body parts like celebrities do, but only as a one-off contract on the London market, and only if your income depends on that body part. In Germany, ordinary people use private accident insurance (Unfallversicherung) instead: its limb schedule (Gliedertaxe) gives every hand, leg and eye a fixed percentage. Good cover with EUR 100,000 sum insured starts at about EUR 100 a year.
Real celebrity policies are negotiated individually and not published. For ordinary people, accident insurance premiums are what counts.
Example
Typical range
Adult, private accident insurance, EUR 100,000 sum insured, rated good in a consumer test
from about EUR 100 a year
Extra premium for 500 percent progression, office worker aged 42
up to about EUR 10 a month
Loss of a hand, EUR 100,000 sum insured, GDV value 55 percent, no progression
EUR 55,000 payout
Loss of a hand, same sum, improved limb schedule with 100 percent
EUR 100,000 payout
Guide values as of October 2026 from published test results and worked examples.
Your premium depends on job, age and sum insured.
Payout examples are guide values from everyday quoting practice.
Worked example
Carpenter, 38, wants to protect his hands
He takes out accident insurance with EUR 150,000 sum insured and a limb schedule that rates a hand at 70 percent.
Sum insured
EUR 150,000
Loss of the right hand in a saw accident
70 percent
Payout without progression
EUR 105,000
Loss of the thumb only, rate 20 percent
EUR 30,000
The hand pays EUR 105,000, more with progression. He does not need a celebrity style contract for that.
What celebrity body part policies really are
Stories about insured legs, hands or voices of stars almost always lead to the insurance market in London. There, individual body parts are insured one by one: a trigger is agreed, such as permanent loss of the singing voice, and once it is met the policy pays.
Part of it is publicity. The market does not publish client lists, and some celebrity body part policies reported in the press have never been confirmed. The principle is real: if you earn money with a body part, that loss can be insured specifically.
How Germans insure body parts: the Gliedertaxe
If you want to insure individual body parts without a stage career, the specialist market will rarely quote you, because it looks at the income tied to the body part. In Germany, private accident insurance (Unfallversicherung) does the job, as it already values every body part in a table.
This table is called Gliedertaxe. If an accident costs you a hand or its full function, the policy pays the listed percentage of your sum insured. Partial loss pays a share of that percentage.
Body part
GDV recommendation
Payout at EUR 100,000 without progression
One arm
70 percent
EUR 70,000
One hand
55 percent
EUR 55,000
Thumb
20 percent
EUR 20,000
Index finger
10 percent
EUR 10,000
Leg above mid thigh
70 percent
EUR 70,000
One foot
40 percent
EUR 40,000
One eye
50 percent
EUR 50,000
Voice
0 percent
nothing from the table
The improved limb schedule for your most valuable body part
The values of the German insurers' association (GDV) are only recommendations. Many tariffs pay much more for hands, fingers or eyes, some up to 100 percent for a hand. For people who work with their hands, this improved schedule is the realistic way to insure body parts like celebrities do.
The model table rates the voice at zero percent. If you earn your living speaking or singing, do not rely on accident insurance for your voice; look at income protection insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung) that also pays after illness.
Where accident insurance does not protect your body parts
Accident insurance only pays after an accident. If a pianist loses finger mobility through arthritis, the limb schedule pays nothing. That is what income protection insurance covers, because it includes illness.
Looks cannot be insured through the limb schedule either. A scar on the face or a broken tooth may change your appearance, but the body part usually keeps working, so the table pays little or nothing.
Step by step
Work out which body part carries your income: hands, eyes, legs or voice.
For hands, fingers and eyes choose accident insurance with an improved limb schedule.
For your voice or illness risks, look at income protection insurance.
Pick a sum insured that would pay for rebuilding your working life.
Only ask the specialist market for a one-off policy if you have real stage or sports income.
Checklist
Limb schedule for hand and fingers above the GDV values
Progression of at least 350 percent
Your job stated correctly in the application
Illness covered through income protection insurance
Sum insured of at least EUR 100,000
Common mistakes
Assuming your voice is protected by accident insurance
Looking only at the premium and not reading the limb schedule
Searching for an expensive one-off policy for a body part that earns you nothing
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How much does it cost to insure your legs like a star?
There is no price list.
These contracts are negotiated per person and only offered where there is provable income.
Ordinary people cover their legs through accident insurance.
Can I insure my hands in Germany?
Yes, through private accident insurance.
Look for an improved limb schedule that rates a hand well above the 55 percent of the model table.
Can you insure your voice?
Not through the limb schedule, which rates it at zero percent.
Singers and speakers use income protection insurance; professionals sometimes buy one-off policies.
Does accident insurance pay after illness?
No, only if an accident permanently damages the body part.
Illness is covered by income protection insurance.
Are the celebrity stories true?
Some are, some are not.
The London market does not name clients, and several famous policies have never been confirmed.
