Zombie Apocalypse, Virgin Birth & Loch Ness Monster: The Weirdest Real Insurance Policies Ever Sold

Last Updated on September 14, 2026 by Syed Sarim Naqvi

Quick answer: Real insurers really have written policies for zombie apocalypses, a virgin birth, Santa Claus’s beard, and the Loch Ness Monster — none of these are April Fools’ jokes. They’re novelty products built on the same underwriting logic as any specialty policy: if a risk can be priced, however unlikely, someone will sell coverage for it.

The List at a Glance
The Stories
Why Insurers Sell Policies for the Impossible
FAQ

The List at a Glance

Policy	Who Bought It	What It Covers
Loch Ness Monster capture	Cutty Sark whisky / cruise companies	A cash prize payout if “Nessie” is ever caught alive
Zombie apocalypse	UK insurer (novelty product)	Cleanup and liability costs from a hypothetical outbreak
Virgin birth / Second Coming	Multiple UK policyholders (1999, 2006)	A payout in the event of an immaculate conception
Santa Claus’s beard	A professional department-store Santa	Damage to his signature beard
Alien abduction	Tens of thousands of policyholders	A token payout on “credible evidence” of abduction
Space shuttle launches	Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and others	Catastrophic loss during launch (a real, serious risk)

The Stories

The Loch Ness Monster Insurance Policy

In the 1970s, Scottish whisky company Cutty Sark offered a $1.5 million reward to anyone who could capture the Loch Ness Monster alive — and, being a sensible business, took out an insurance policy to cover the payout if someone actually succeeded. The policy reportedly specified the creature had to be verified as genuine by natural history museum curators and meet a minimum length requirement. Decades later, at least one Loch Ness cruise operator reportedly took out a similar policy covering damage to its boats from the monster. No claim has ever been filed on either.

Zombie Apocalypse Insurance

A UK insurer has reportedly sold a novelty policy specifically covering cleanup and liability costs in the event of a zombie virus outbreak. It sounds absurd, but it follows the exact same commercial logic as haunted-house and zombie-run event insurance, which is a genuine, non-novelty product covering real injury risk at horror-themed attractions.

Insurance Against a Virgin Birth

Perhaps the strangest entry on this list: in 1999 and again in 2006, UK insurers reportedly sold policies that would pay out if a policyholder conceived as a virgin and gave birth to a second Messiah. It’s a genuinely bizarre product, but a low-risk one for the insurer to write — which is exactly why it exists.

Santa Claus’s Beard

Lloyd’s of London has reportedly insured the beard of a professional department-store Santa Claus, given how central it is to his seasonal job seating thousands of children on his lap each December. It’s a small, silly cousin of the same “signature feature equals income” logic behind celebrity body-part insurance.

Alien Abduction Insurance

Tens of thousands of people have reportedly purchased alien abduction insurance over the decades. One well-documented Florida policy pays out just $1 per year for 10 million years to an approved claimant — a structure clearly designed to generate headlines rather than ever actually pay a meaningful sum.

Space Shuttle Launch Insurance — The Serious Cousin of This List

Not everything on this list is a joke. Companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX pay real, substantial premiums to insure rocket launches, and for good reason — roughly one in twenty launches historically ends in failure. It’s a useful reminder that “unusual” and “novelty” aren’t the same thing: this is a serious, high-stakes specialty policy hiding in the same conversation as zombie insurance.

Why Insurers Sell Policies for the Impossible

Every policy on this list — silly or serious — follows the same underwriting principle: if a risk’s probability can be estimated, even as “vanishingly small,” a premium can be calculated against it. For genuinely near-impossible risks (aliens, zombies, virgin births), insurers price the premium so low relative to the payout structure that the product is effectively guaranteed to be profitable — the value to the insurer is publicity, not risk transfer. It’s the same logic behind hole-in-one prize insurance and other novelty products we cover in 10 Strangest Insurance Policies Lloyd’s of London Has Ever Written.

FAQ

Has anyone ever actually collected on alien abduction insurance?

No verified claim has ever been paid out at a meaningful amount — these policies are structured so that a payout, even if approved, is minimal.

Is zombie apocalypse insurance a real, purchasable product today?

Novelty versions have been sold by UK insurers as marketing products. It should not be confused with the very real (and serious) insurance market for haunted-house and horror-attraction event liability.

Why would a serious company like Cutty Sark buy Loch Ness Monster insurance?

It’s a publicity mechanism — a low-cost policy that generates media coverage far exceeding its price, with almost zero real chance of ever being paid out.