The Cost of Insuring Britain's Most Valuable Footballer

THE COST OF INSURING BRITAIN'S MOST VALUABLE FOOTBALLER All of us have insurance on at least a few of the important things in our lives (car and home insurance being the most common.) Yet these are hardly the only types of insurance out there. Celebrities and sports stars, for example, routinely insure the body parts that are critical to their success and earning power. Of course, this level of insurance comes at a steep price - it costs a lot more to insure Heidi Klum's legs than your Ford Focus. But how much, exactly? Today, we'll look at the cost of insuring Britain's most valuable footballer: 10 WAYNE ROONEY ROONEY'S SALARY Like any insurable asset, we begin by assessing what Wayne Rooney is worth. What is his market value? One measure is his weekly salary. According to The Sun, the 25-year-old football star re-signed with Manchester United on a five-year contract that will pay upwards of £250,000 per week. Over the life of the deal, that equates to: £65M (or £13M annually.) ROONEY'S EXTRA INCOME We can also assess Rooney's market value by looking at his income from other sources as well. Although the football star does not totally disclose this figure (for obvious privacy reasons) the financial press has done a good job of estimating it. In September 2010, This Is Money tallied up not just Rooney's salary, but also his image rights, publishing deals and commercial endorsements: Image Rights | £7.3M Commerical Endorsement | £1.83M I Publishing | £750,000 FOOTBALL STAR COMPARABLES Another method underwriters use to price insurance policies is looking at comparables, or similar assets in the marketplace. Insurance on a Lamborghini gets priced (somewhat) relative to insurance on a Ferrari. In Wayne Rooney's case, we might look at David Beckham, another high-flying football star. Beckham has reportedly insured his ankle bone with Lloyd's of London. Though the value and premiums of Beckham's policy are not published, they would certainly be consulted in pricing a policy for Rooney. ESPN'S QUOTE 10 With a market value established, the question becomes what, exactly, are we insuring? After all, Rooney cannot just walk into Lloyds of London and insure "himself" as a whole. Like other celebrities, he can only insure specific body parts or appendages critical to his earnings. In Wayne's case, what would likely be insured are his feet. ESPN provides an estimate: Estimated Yearly Income | £22.9M Premium Body Part | Feet + Injury History Broken metatarsal in right foot, June 2004 & April 2006; Broken metatarsal in left foot, August 2007 Insurance Quote | £308,185* "Annually Confused.com Sources: thesun.co.uk | thisismoney.co.uk | thisislondon.co.uk