Insuring body parts

Question

In the past few months I have injured my hands 4 times since I started playing basketball. One break was particularly bad and I wasn't able to use that hand for programming. This slowed down my work during the period that I was healing.

I also get some enjoyment out of playing an instrument and I wasn't able to play during that period either.

I've heard stories of people insuring certain body parts, but I don't know a lot about it.

How difficult will it be to insure my hands?

Is it a common thing to insure a specific body part?

(I should mention that I already have regular health insurance & it paid for the break that I had a little while ago.)

Answer 1

You can get insurance for most anything, individual body parts included.

It's not particularly difficult, but you may find the bill disagreeable. The more specialized your coverage the smaller the underwriting market and therefore the higher the premiums relative to coverage.

With all insurance it's important to pay attention to the terms of the coverage. If going for very specific coverage this is even more important. Are wrists included in your hands-only coverage? What happens if you dislocate your shoulder? How long do you have to be affected before they pay out?

Unless you are a very highly paid athlete/musician/actor then specialized body-part coverage is likely not worthwhile to you.

A far more common approach is to carry disability insurance that will cover lost wages if you are unable to work. Often disability coverage is focused on either short-term or long-term disability (can't work for a month due to broken bone, vs can't work ever again due to something worse), having coverage for both is likely wise.

Answer 2

For limb insurance on models, celebrities, professional musicians, and the like Lloyds of London famously will insure a limb or part of a public persona with a bespoke policy.

For more commodity coverage, I recall the macabre joy of my elementary school cohort, on receiving an insurance sales flyer at the beginning of every school year year, noting which extremities were worth more from an accidental dismemberment; or marveling as the payouts increased from $2000 to $5000 for a lost limb or eye. In any case, Accidental Death and Dismemberment policies are fairly widespread. My employer includes AD&D coverage at no cost to me in my benefits.