Anything Can Be Insured

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 31, 11 December 1950, Page 8

Anything Can Be Insured

The secretary of the Queensland Cricket Association has said, in regard to the test match at Brisbane, that insurance against rain was not taken out because the cost would have been £3 in every £IOO insured. In view of the fact that rain almost flooded the wicket, it would seem that even at that price it might have been worth while.

One can insure against anything provided the price is paid. Insurance against the possibility of cancellation of the Royal visit to New Zealand early last year could be had at 10 guineas for each £IOO of cover. The Royal Cabaret Club of Chicago insured its heavyweight chorus against getting slimmer. Moreover, when Pinero’s farce, “Dandy Dick,” was revived at a theatre in London, the management heard that a member of the audience had once laughed himself to death, so it took out an insurance against the risk of any member of the audience in the theatre dying of laughter. It was a near thing, too—it is recorded that eight people laughed until they became unconscious in one night.

Perhaps the most amusing “cover” was taken out by a man who insured a box of cigars against fire. He then smoked the lot and sent the ashes to the insurance company, claiming the money:. The insurance company paid him the money, and took out a charge against him for arson.. The man was sent to pi’ison for burning the cigars on purpose. In contrast, a golfer at Aucklend effected an insurance policy against holing out in one. Every time he did so he was to receive the sum of £5 to cover expenses spent in providing the time-honoured refreshments.