Shampoo Maker Buys $1 Million Insurance Policy to Protect NFL Player’s Hair

Troy Polamalu, a Pittsburgh Steelers safety, is known both for hitting hard on the gridiron and for his mane of long, curly black hair. His side gig as a shampoo spokesman prompted dandruff shampoo Head & Shoulders to purchase a $1 million insurance policy to protect his iconic head of hair.

Policies to protect individual body parts are not unusual, but it could be the first policy specifically for hair, said Lloyd's underwriter Jonathan Thomas, who put the policy together. Thomas is an underwriter at Watkins Syndicate, which is managed by Munich Re Underwriting Ltd.

The policy carries a premium of more than 1% of the coverage, and there's no coinsurance (deductible or retention) involved, Thomas said.

"Troy actually has a very, very clear and identifiable insurable interest in this hair because of the income stream that comes from it," Thomas said.

The policy would pay a lump sum of $1 million if Polamalu suffered an accident that cost him a permanent 60% loss of his hair while playing football. The policy has "the obvious" exclusions, Thomas said, such as loss of hair from nuclear, biological, chemical or radiation terrorism attacks and motorcycle riding.

Plus, "Troy is not allowed to take part in fire breathing," Thomas said. Also excluded is malicious contact with Polamalu's head off the gridiron.

"If he gets into a hair-pulling contest in a night club, I'm not going to cover it," Thomas said.

It's not unusual for corporate sponsors to seek out such coverage to protect a multimillion dollar advertising campaign, said Lori Shaw, director of Aon Risk Solution's entertainment practice.

"What we are finding is our clients are much more aware of how much money is being invested on their marketing and advertising side, and they are looking for ways to protect that investment," Shaw said. "Any time you are using a spokesperson who is associated with your brand, it's not uncommon for corporate sponsors to buy life, disability, disfigurement or specific body part insurance."

Insurance for specific body parts are not new. About a dozen years ago, Thomas said he wrote a policy to protect famed baseball hitter Mark McGwire's ankle. That policy included requirements such as taping the ankle, which had been injured, wearing orthotics, and even taking a type of steroid -- not a banned substance at the time -- to recover from the injury.

That policy "is unlikely to be repeated," Thomas said.

Other types of policies to cover specific body parts include a $7.8 million policy to protect the nose of Dutch wine expert Ilja Gort (Best's Review, May 2008).

Less well-known body parts coverage include coverage for hand and foot models, Thomas said.

"Each one of these policies are unusual, but they have similarities," he said. Gaining media exposure for buying such an unusual insurance policy is one more reason to buy the coverage, Thomas said.

Polamalu said he's pleased to have the coverage.

"Head & Shoulders has gone above and beyond this year by insuring my Samoan locks for a cool $1 million. This reinforces that my full and thick hair is unstoppable," Polamalu said in a written statement.

"Troy’s hair is so renowned that he has not cut it in over seven years, making his hair so ridiculously full and thick that end to end it spans 100 football fields," Head & Shoulders said in a statement announcing the insurance policy.

Lloyd's has a current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).

To hear the full interview with Jonathan Thomas, visit http://www.ambest.com/media/media.asp?RC=177380

(By Meg Green, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])