Insuring Talent

When the famous die, it is increasingly costly for insurers

The death of Carrie Fisher, a much-loved actor in the “Star Wars” movies, left a hole in the force for fans. It may also burn a hole in the pockets of underwriters, syndicated under Lloyds of London. They may have to fork out as much as $50m to meet Disney’s claim for its loss. The studio, which owns the sci-fi saga, had wisely taken out so-called contractual-protection insurance (CPI) in case death thwarted a contractual obligation: in Ms Fisher’s case to film and promote future “Star Wars” episodes.

Contrary to the headlines, 2016 was not an especially lethal year to be a celebrity. Like the rest of us, they do die. But unlike most of us, their employers can be left with astronomic bills. When Paul Walker, an actor in “The Fast and the Furious”, a series of action movies, died in 2013 while filming the seventh instalment, Universal Pictures had to spend considerable effort (and dollars) to make his on-screen persona live on. This included hiring body-doubles and digitally inserting Mr Walker into the movie with hundreds of computer-generated images.

Most workers are easier to replace. Employers can take out simple life insurance that pays a fixed lump sum. But the value of a film star to a studio, or a striker to a football club, is harder to calculate in advance. It depends on all sorts of things, especially timing. This is where contingency insurance, such as CPI, comes in. Unlike a life policy, how much of the $50m Disney receives depends on how it now calculates and justifies the losses caused by Ms Fisher’s death. This could include, for example, her role in boosting sales of storm-trooper figurines.

Insuring talent is becoming popular outside Hollywood. The aptly named Exceptional Risk Advisors, a company based in New Jersey that reportedly brokered the Fisher policy, also helps insure against the deaths of hedge-fund managers, company executives and sports teams’ star players. Publishers have taken out CPI in case bestselling authors die with books half-written.

Jonathan Thomas, from Munich Re, who has written contingency policies for over 30 years, says they are “exactly what Lloyd’s is good at”. The greatest change he has seen is in the sums involved. But some worry that underwriters are dropping their standards and taking on too much risk. This could well become a problem if contingency insurance grows much larger. But today it is still tiny compared with life insurance.

With rock stars remaining on stage into their dotage and long-running sequels one of the surest ways to make money in Tinseltown, the risks of losing a “key human” (or on occasion animal) are growing. That creates business opportunities for insurers, so long as they remain prudent and don’t become star-struck.

為演員投保

保險公司為名人離世付出的代價日益高昂

電影《星球大戰》中備受喜愛的演員凱麗·費雪(Carrie Fisher)離世，讓該系列電影的粉絲們“原力”受損，或許還會令保險公司元氣大傷。倫敦保險交易市場勞合社(Lloyds)的會員可能不得不掏出高達5000萬美元來滿足迪士尼公司提出的索賠要求。擁有《星戰》科幻系列電影版權的迪士尼公司此前為防范因死亡而無法履約的情形，明智地購買了所謂的“合約保護險”(CPI)。費雪的合約義務包括拍攝并宣傳未來的《星戰》續集。

不同于各種新聞頭條給人的印象，2016年對于明星而言并非什么特別不幸的年份。和我們其他人一樣，他們也終有一死。但和我們大部分人不同的是，他們的老板可能會因其死亡而花費天文數字。系列動作電影《速度與激情》的演員保羅·沃克(Paul Walker)在2013年拍攝該片第七部時死亡，環球影業不得不付出大量心血(和美元)讓他在熒幕上“復活”：雇用替身，并用成百上千的電腦成像把“沃克”置入電影中。

大部分員工都更易取代。雇主可以購買簡單的人壽保險，將會一次性獲賠固定的數額。但是電影公司的一個明星或足球俱樂部的一名前鋒的價值更難預先計算。其價值要視各種因素而定，尤其是時機。這里就輪到“合約保護險”這樣的意外險登場了。不同于人壽保險，迪士尼最后會拿到5000萬美元索賠中的多少，取決于它現在要如何計算和證明因費雪的死亡所造成的損失。比如，這可能包括她在提升帝國突擊隊人偶的銷售量中所起的作用。

為人才投保在好萊塢以外的領域也流行起來?？偛课挥谛聺晌鞯?ldquo;異常風險咨詢”有一個很貼切的公司名字。據稱它是費雪這一保單的中介。它還幫助為對沖基金經理人、企業高管、明星球員的死亡投保。出版商們也已經購買了合約保護險，以防暢銷書作者寫到一半就撒手而去。

慕尼黑再保險公司(Munich Re)的喬納森·托馬斯(Jonathan Thomas)簽訂意外險已逾三十年。他稱這類保險“正是勞合社的優勢所在”。他目睹的最大變化是其中涉及的金額。但一些人擔憂，保險商正在丟棄自己的標準而背負太大的風險。如果意外險的規模擴大很多，這很可能會成為一個麻煩。但目前它和人壽險的規模相比仍然微不足道。

搖滾巨星們一把年紀還在舞臺上瘋狂;好萊塢最保險的賺錢方式之一便是沒完沒了地拍續集。失去“關鍵人物”(或者有時是動物)的風險正在上升。這為保險商創造了機遇，只要它們保持審慎行事，別讓自己追星不成反而被死星砸到。

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