Coastal Insurance offers policies catering to high-net worth individuals, including celebrities, public figures, politicians, and professional sports players. Conventional home insurance policies do not provide the coverage most high-net worth individuals need.
If you are a business manager or assistant shopping for home insurance for a celebrity, you need to know the coverage required and the best places to find that coverage.
What Do Celebrities and Public Figures Look for in Home Insurance?
Whether they are traveling or dining out, celebrities expect concierge-level service. Shopping for home insurance is no different. They want advice they can trust, round-the-clock service, and fast responses.Of course, these are the same things regular customers look for in their insurance agency, too.But the level of risk is vastly different.Celebrities have a lot more to lose if they get sued and their insurance policy doesn’t cover it.So they need an agent who understands the coverage and endorsements they need.
Additionally, security within the agency is important. The insurance agency should be discreet about its high-end clients, never revealing names or personal information. Celebrities should also be confident that their private information is secure on the insurance agency’s network.
The agency should have one or two people in the office who have a deep understanding of the celebrity’s risk profile, and who have developed a solid relationship with the celebrity’s business manager or administrator who is purchasing the policy.
This way, there will be someone available to answer their questions and provide guidance if changes to the policy are necessary or if the celebrity needs to make a claim.
Because celebrity insurance is a niche market, not every insurance agent has the knowledge, industry connections, and even the customer service skills necessary to understand and fill the needs of celebrity clients. Selling and servicing celebrity accounts requires a level of product knowledge and willingness to serve that many brokers and agencies have not attained.
Where Can You Find Insurance for Celebrities?
It isn’t likely you will find a home insurance policy for celebrities with a carrier like State Farm or All-State. While these companies provide good insurance products with reasonable premiums for regular people, celebrities have different needs in the type of insurance they require, as well as the level of service they expect.
Only a handful of insurance carriers write insurance policies for celebrities. These carriers include Chubb, AIG Private Client, PURE, and Cincinnati Insurance.
If you are shopping for insurance for celebrities, you should find an agency that has relationships with these major carriers in order to ensure the lowest premiums, the right coverage levels, and the coverage the celebrity needs without a lot of bells and whistles.
Celebrities have varying risk profiles or the likelihood that they might be sued for wrongdoing.
A celebrity who is known for wild parties, maybe even drinking and driving, and doesn’t consider their words carefully before posting on social media is more likely to be sued for any number of reasons than a celebrity who is typically a family-oriented person who is level-headed and stays focused on their career goals.
Most of us can name dozens of celebrities who fit into one of these camps.
If a celebrity is high-risk, it may be harder to find a policy at a reasonable price. That’s why it’s important to have an insurance agent you can trust to find a policy that will protect the celebrity’s assets in the event of a lawsuit.
Using an insurance agent who specializes in policies for high-net worth individuals and public figures can help guarantee you are getting the necessary coverage, concierge-level service, and fair prices.
Understanding the Insurance Coverage Celebrities and Public Figures Need
What policies and endorsements are necessary for celebrities and public figures such as politicians and professional athletes?
Like regular people, celebrities need home insurance policies that cover their dwellings, personal property, and other structures on their property, or Section I coverage. They also need Section II coverage with higher coverage limits than most people – and a few endorsements that average homeowners would not even consider.
Insuring Celebrities’ Homes and Household Goods
Most celebrities will structure each of their properties as a separate corporation. So, their home in the Hamptons, and all the assets within it, might be insured under a company called 555 Meadow Lane, LLC.
Their Park Avenue loft, on the other hand, might be structured as 123 Park Avenue, LLC.
An insurance agent specializing in high-net worth individuals and celebrities will know how to get the best premiums even when a celebrity is insuring multiple properties as separate business entities.
Celebrities may also need separate endorsements for high-cost items, including fine jewelry, artwork, wine, and other expensive collections.
High-net-worth insurance policies may have enhanced coverage options to reimburse for the loss of pricey collections, including collections like wine and artwork, which could appreciate in value over time.
These policies may also have higher deductibles, up to $500,000, since the coverage limits are so high.
It is important for celebrities to have an appraisal done on their valuable collections, as well as a home inventory to itemize and valuate their household goods, so they can ensure they get the maximum amount back if they need to make a claim.
Aside from the coverage limits and deductibles on Section I insurance for celebrities, Section I of home insurance policies for celebrities are similar to home insurance for regular people.
However, celebrities have vastly different needs for Section II home insurance coverage, the Personal Injury (PI) section of the policy, as well as other endorsements that can protect celebrities in many circumstances.
In addition to excess liability coverage, celebrities may want to consider endorsements for cyber-liability, travel coverage, kidnapping and ransom, and liability for domestic employees.
Let’s take a look at these types of insurance for celebrities that can help protect against catastrophic loss in the event of a security breach, personal injury or defamation lawsuit, injury or kidnapping while abroad, or the injury of a domestic employee on the job.
Celebrities Should Consider Cyber Liability Coverage
Many celebrities, public figures, athletes, politicians, and other high-net-worth individuals use smart home technology to streamline and simplify their lives.
From an Amazon Alexa to a full-fledged Control 4 or Crestron control system that operates the lighting, television, distributed sound, security, shading, and more, smart homes are now as common as stainless-steel appliances and marble countertops in high-end homes.
But these devices can open the users to cyber-attacks on their home networks.
Hackers can use these devices to breach a celebrity’s home network, gaining access to private financial files and other documents on their home computers, laptops, or mobile devices.
While all homeowners should invest in security and firewalls to protect their network, no security solution is proven to be 100% hacker-proof.
Cyber liability insurance helps protect against such threats and the substantial losses that could occur if a celebrity’s financial accounts are breached.
Travel Insurance Can Help Celebrities Get the Best Care and Protect their Collections
Celebrities tend to travel more than other people – for business or for vacations. Travel insurance can cover many aspects of a trip.
It can protect against financial loss if a trip is canceled, as well as the financial loss of high-value personal items if they are lost or damaged during a trip. Your trusted insurance broker can help make sure there is an appraisal on record for high-value items and collections, including wine, the celebrity’s wardrobe, jewelry and vehicles.
Travel concierge service that comes with travel insurance can help transport expensive designer clothing, car, and even pets from the U.S. to international locations safely.
Finally, if a celebrity becomes ill or injured away from home in a remote location, travel insurance can pay for a private jet to take the celebrity back to the U.S. or even to another location with better doctors and hospitals.
Kidnap and Ransom Insurance Protects Celebrities and Their Families
A lot can happen to celebrities at home or on the road – and there is a lot at stake if a celebrity doesn’t have the right insurance.
Some celebrities opt for kidnap and ransom insurance, which pays the ransom costs if they are abducted within the U.S. or overseas. Celebrities carry a card with a phone number for the kidnapper to call, and insurance will pay the ransom.
Of course, discretion is mandatory when selling and purchasing this insurance. The celebrity’s business manager should trust a local broker specializing in celebrity insurance coverage to keep the information safe.
Domestic Employee Coverage Can Supplement New York State-Mandated Workers’ Comp Insurance
Most celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals hire domestic help.
Whether they have a nanny, a personal chef, a housekeeper, a personal manager, a driver, or any combination of the above, celebrities need to think about home insurance coverage for their domestic employees.
High-value insurance policies can add an endorsement to extend workers’ compensation coverage to part-time or full time employees limited the celebrity’s liability if an employee is injured on the job.
Workers’ compensation limits the risk of employees’ suing for additional compensation over and beyond their workers’ compensation payout.
It is important to keep in mind that domestic employee coverage, including workers’ comp, only covers employees while they are working for you.
If a domestic worker is injured while they are in your home but not on the clock or providing services for the home’s residents, the worker would file a claim under the personal liability portion of the home insurance policy.
Celebrities should also make sure that their domestic workers have their own insurance coverage to protect the items they own that they keep within the celebrity’s house.
Personal Liability Insurance: The Most Important Part of a Celebrity Home Insurance Policy
As with regular home insurance policies, Part II coverage – Personal Liability coverage – compensates individuals who may be injured in your home.
Excess liability coverage, typically available in increments of $1 million up to $100 million for celebrity policies, is part of an Umbrella policy or Excess liability policy.
While celebrities do need protection against someone being injured on their property, they also need more protection than the average person against character defamation lawsuits.
This coverage is more important than ever before in today’s political climate and with the prevalence of social media.
A single tweet can ruin a celebrity’s life and livelihood if someone decides to sue them for character defamation. Not only will their reputation suffer, their career could be ruined, and they could lose millions of dollars or more in a lawsuit.
Increasing the personal injury liability limits to the maximum affordable amount may not be able to protect a celebrity’s reputation or un-do the negative public perceptions, but it could save money and headaches.
It could also prevent a lawsuit and all the additional negative publicity that comes with legal proceedings.
Even the most squeaky-clean celebrities and public figures should not skimp on this insurance.
A trusted insurance agency specializing in high-value home insurance can help increase coverage limits to ensure the celebrity is protected and can minimize financial loss in the event of a personal injury lawsuit against them.
Know the Right Questions to Ask
If you are shopping around for a home insurance policy for a celebrity, public figure, athlete, or politician, it is important to use an agency you can trust.
Ask the right questions, including:
- “What are the coverage level limits for personal injury lawsuits?”
- “Are domestic employees covered with an endorsement?”
- “Is it worth it to get cyber liability insurance?”
- “Is the celebrity protected during travel? What if they are injured or become ill in a different country? Are personal items covered during a trip?”
- “Is a ransom and kidnapping endorsement available?”
As a business manager for a celebrity, you have the important job of taking care of day-to-day administrative tasks that the public figure doesn’t have time to think about. Bringing on the right professionals to help is a substantial part of that job.
Trust Coastal Insurance to customize a high-value home insurance policy that will meet the unique needs of celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, and other public figures.
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