There’s A Rate For Any Risk

This photograph from 1921 shows Millicent Woodward, a lady who took out a policy at Lloyd’s of London that year.

By Paul Miller

Lloyd’s & General Insurance Compliance Recruiter @ HFG / History Ambassador for the Insurance Museum

This photograph from 1921 shows Millicent Woodward, a lady who took out a policy at Lloyd’s of London that year. Ms. Woodward was Europe’s champion speed typist and could type at the rate of 173 words a minute from dictation, 169 blindfolded and 276 at memorised phrases.

She used a blank keyboard and her fingers were so quick that she insured them at Lloyd’s for £5,000. She greatly assisted Britain’s efforts during the Great War by carrying out the work of three people and was rewarded by drawing three salaries.

 Others to insure their fingers at Lloyd’s include a legal safe cracker (1959, £5,000) and Chinese screen artist, Anna Mae Wong, who included her long fingernails in her 1928 policy. They were insured for £50 each. Polish-born American violinist and conductor Alexander Hilsberg insured his hands in 1949 for £10,000. His Guarnerius, made in Verona in 1735 was covered at the same time for £15,000. A similar violin sold in 2014 for $16 million.

In 1979, a 15 year old boy insured his long-nailed, right hand index finger for $25,000. Known as Master Goalfinger, the Mexican lad arrived at Wembley to defend his ‘Table Soccer World Champion’ title armed with four bottles of red nail polish and a guard to prevent him from biting his nails