Insurance company Swiftcover has drummed up some publicity with its £25m campaign featuring gnarled rocker Iggy Pop. Whether it’s the right kind of publicity is questionable, as it has emerged that Iggy couldn’t actually get insurance with the company. Swiftcover specialises in motor insurance, and musicians are one of the employment categories they won’t cover. Several musicians who were turned down have now complained to the Advertising Standards Authority.

But why not insure Iggy? “It’s a very common to take occupation into account when assessing risk,” says Tina Shortle, marketing director at Swiftcover. “We won’t insure people in the entertainment industry, because historically the cost of [injury] claims is much higher among that group.” Other exclusions include models, professional sports people, gamblers, bailiffs and bodyguards.

“There’s no [industry-wide] blacklist,” says Malcolm Tarling of the Association of British Insurers. “It’s up to each insurer.” For life and personal injury he cites scaffolders, publicans – because of the high incidence of alcohol problems – and deep-sea divers as occupations likely to be deemed high-risk.

“A rock musician would certainly wave some flags for us,” says Michael Whyte, chief underwriter at Norwich Union Life, “though Iggy looks very good for 61.” Whyte says the only occupation he would definitely turn down is mercenary (Norwich Union insures soldiers, builders and pilots). At the other end of the scale are “teachers, vicars, any office-based job”. And the occupation least likely to set bells ringing? “Underwriters,” says Whyte. “People are not concerned about their hedonistic lifestyles.”