Bruce Springsteen, known to his fans as “The Boss,” knows how important his ability to sing is … so much so that in the 1980’s he insured his voice for $6 million.
Who is insuring “The Boss” continues to earn some sort of income in the event he loses is voice? Probably Lloyd’s of London
Officially Lloyd’s of London is Lloyd’s
While most auctioneers earn less income than Bruce Springsteen, many earn a sizable income from their bid calling ability nonetheless.
Insurance for an auctioneer would pay out if the auctioneer became unable to bid call in a prior fashion or became unable to bid call at all. We wrote about how much some auctioneers earn for their bid calling ability here:http://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/bid-calling-matters/
Such insurance coverage would depend on several factors including the auctioneer’s life history, age, general health, as well as statistical tables and analysis regarding the risk of vocal cord and related injury. Then too, as the amount of coverage the auctioneer desired would be directly proportional to the rate charged.
For an average auctioneer in the United States (a 58 year-old male) in good (vocal) health, $1 million of this type of insurance coverage might only cost about $2,500 annually.
A complete loss of voice would most likely be caused by severe laryngitis. Such severe cases typically involve a virus, allergies, and/or overuse causing lesions.
The odds of someone (generally) losing their voice permanently from such an ailment are about 1 in 212,000 (about 0.0005%) in the United States. I suspect auctioneers have a slightly higher chance of vocal problems, but still the odds are not high.
Of course, another way for our average auctioneer to insure against losing his bid calling ability is to take care of himself and his vocal cords. We wrote about auctioneer voice care here:http://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/auctioneer-voice-care/
As premiums for high-quality bid calling abilities continue to rise, it may be prudent for those auctioneers to consider some type of vocal cord insurance.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Keller Williams Auctions and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. His Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/mbauctioneer. He serves as Adjunct Faculty at Columbus State Community College and is Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School.
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