All of us boring old adult types are more than familiar with the classic insurances like health, home, auto, and even life itself. But, because celebrities are just so much cooler than us, even their insurance has some interesting spice to it.
Wow, if you would have told us that we’d one-day describe insurance as interesting, we’d shake our heads at the nerds we’d become.
Seriously though, with a public persona, celebrities need insurance for all kinds of reasons. To protect their income, their physical appearance and behavior need to be insured to protect their reputation and be employable. With that in mind, celebrities' liability coverage covers things like “public scrutiny” and “social media backlash,” which has been commonly referred to as “Cancel Culture Insurance.”
Here are a bunch of celebrities who at one point or another were such complete wild cards that insurance companies just passed.
1
Lindsay Lohan
Because of multiple DUIs, rehab stints, and erratic behavior, producers on "Herbie: Fully Loaded" and "Georgia Rule" struggled to get her insured. Oprah Winfrey had to intervene to help insure her for "Lindsay" (2014) on OWN.
2
Amy Winehouse
In June, 2011, after a disastrous show in Belgrade where she was intoxicated and booed, her team couldn’t get her insured on the rest of the tour. Promoters’ cancellation insurance ensured that her and her team would pay for cancelled shows.
3
Chris Farley
Farley's issues with drugs and alcohol were widely known, but his unpredictability and overall health issues had studios hesitant to insure him. For "Almost Heroes" (released posthumously in 1998), producers dealt with serious insurance complications just to get him on set.
4
Peter Sellers
Because of multiple heart attacks and difficult behavior, he was temporarily uninsurable during the production of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers."
5
Robert Downey Jr.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s, multiple arrests and rehab stints left him uninsurable by Hollywood standards. Mel Gibson personally paid his insurance bond so Downey could star in 2003’s "The Singing Detective."
6
Marlon Brando
Brando brought the film "Apocalypse Now" very close to being totally uninsurable. His conduct forced Francis Ford Coppola to mortgage assets, file claims, and navigate a tangled insurance landscape before the movie could be completed.
7
Charlie Sheen
In 2010 and 2011, substance abuse, legal issues, and public outbursts made him completely uninsurable. CBS and Warner Bros. eventually fired him from "Two and a Half Men."
8
Kanye West
For his "Saint Pablo" Tour in 2016, he cancelled 21 dates after an abrupt halt mid‑show in Sacramento, where he was hospitalized for mental health concerns. His team, Very Good Touring, purchased a cancellation policy worth nearly $10 million, but insurance companies refused to pay out.
9
Michael Jackson
During preparations for his "This Is It" tour, his health was such a concern that insurers were reluctant. So much so that insurance company Lloyd’s of London sued touring company AEG Live for failing to disclose Jackson’s ongoing prescription drug addiction.
10
Jennifer Lopez
Not for behavioral issues, but during "Gigli" and the “Bennifer” frenzy in the early 2000s, she briefly became uninsurable due to overexposure and risk of commercial failure. Some insurers reportedly balked at the string of terrible projects she was attached to.