Move over, Dolly Parton

What do I have in common with the Titanic, Gertrude Ederle’s swim across the English Channel, and Betty Grable’s legs?

Insurance by Lloyd’s of London, that’s what.

Lloyd’s is not actually an insurance company. It was started in 1686 by a dude named Edward Lloyd who owned a coffee shop on Tower Street in London. Lots of sailors and ship owners hung out there, and he and some other guys decided they would offer financial backing for maritime enterprises, for a fee, of course. Today Lloyd’s basically comprises syndicates that share the risks for underwriting all manner of things. Much of it is routine, like the policy I just bought to cover the property I inherited from my recently-deceased aunt in Washington state.

But Lloyd’s has gained a reputation for being willing to underwrite all sorts of unusual things, like Dolly Parton’s breasts, David Beckham’s legs, and Tom Jones’ chest hair. They also wrote the first automobile policy in 1904, which at the time seemed pretty strange.

For the record, the legs of Pin-up Girl Betty Grable were insured for $1 million. When Gertrude Ederle came ashore after her swim in 1926, Lloyd’s forked over £1,863. And the Titanic cost them $10 million, which was a bundle in 1912.

I was pretty excited to learn that my aunt had also left me her shares in 21st Century Fox, the Murdoch mass media company. I started thinking about how I would spend my share of the profits. They brought in $28.5 billion last year.

Then among her papers I found the stubs from the dividend checks. Last year her 21st Century Fox stock earned her $5.76.

Oh, well. Maybe I'm just not ready for show biz.