Wacky Insurance Claims
Have you ever filed an insurance claim? Many of us who purchase an auto or homeowner’s insurance policy may never ever file a claim. But for most people, there’s some type of accident or event that can be covered by insurance. That’s why we have insurance – for the unexpected events in our lives. Most claims are small – minor fender benders for auto insurance and minor weather related claims for homeowner’s insurance. Some claims are serious like a motor vehicle accident where someone dies or a total loss to a residence by fire. Again, that’s what insurance is for. And some claims are just plain wacky. They may be big or small, but they’re all quite unusual. Take a look at the following article for some wacky claims:
Wacky Insurance Claims
Posted 18. Sep, 2010 by Forest in General Articles, Opinion
Insurance is something we all don’t want to pay but can come in handy in situations that we never planned for. In many cases (like home and car insurance) it’s a necessary evil and although I hate extra monthly expenses it has saved my butt a few times!
Most insurance claims are straight up damage claims of the most common nature. Minor car crash, small storm damage, stolen cell phone and similar. However insurance can cover a wide gamut of situations and sometimes some trulelu wacky insurance claims are filed. Not all get paid but believe it or not some do manage to.
List of Wacky Insurance Claims
The wackiest thing I ever claimed for was falling through a loft and landing on top of the fridge in the kitchen! The fridge probably saved me a hospital visit but it’s not that uncommon to fall through roofs (Ok that statement is a huge assumption, maybe it’s just me that is so clumsy!).
This is a list of the funniest and wackiest insurance claims that I could find from an article on Yahoo (wackiest insurance claims), An article on eList Mania (10 bizarre insurance claims) and and article on Barrington Insurance Brokers (funny insurance claims).
- A farmers herd of cows got into his games room and went nuts causing $3000 (AUD) worth of damage. The claim was paid!
- A pet poodle swallowed it’s owners false teeth resulting in a $1500 (AUD) claim that again was paid.
- A wasp flew up a drivers trousers and got in his underwear causing him to panic and put his foot in the accelerator at a stop light, causing a traffic accident!
- A grandmother took off her opal ring whilst babysitting her grand daughter. The grand daughter decided the ring matched the cats eyes and tied it to the cats collar. The cat ran off into some nearby forest and the ring was never seen again!
- A closed bus station toilet was claimed as the cause of a man soiling his underwear and claiming for a new pair of trousers! I think this claim was likely refused.
- A man pulled out of his drive and hit a bus. He claimed that the bus was 5 minutes early and that was why it wasn’t his fault!
- Voodoo was claimed as a possible cause of a broken windscreen.
- Hitting a pedestrian was justified by someone as they said they had to to avoid hitting the bumper of the car infront of them.
- Power steering was blamed by someone knew to it for doing a small turn that ended with their vehicle facing the wrong way!
- Another person claimed that the pedestrian they had hit admitted it was their fault because they had been hit before.
Some of these are hilarious but I bet they are no where near the weirdest. I am sure insurance companies process some unbelievable claims.
Purchase and Maintain Your Fire Extinguishers
The homeowner’s insurance policy covers your home and personal property for many types of losses – theft, wind and water damage just to name a few. But the most common type of loss is fire. Fire losses can be devastating and costly. Homeowners should be prepared by installing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. For more on fire extinguishers, please read the following article:
Purchase and Maintain Your Fire Extinguishers
According to a National Fire Protection Association study, there are approximately 400,000 house fires each year in the United States, which account for 75 percent of all structure fires. This study also indicated that residential fires result in over 3,700 deaths per year. Indeed, fires typically kill more Americans than all other natural disasters combined.
Having properly placed fire extinguishers in your home is an excellent loss control measure that targets the most common cause of property loss.
Before purchasing fire extinguishers, learn about the different types of fire extinguishers. There are four basic types, as follows.
- Class A extinguishers put out fires in ordinary combustibles, such as wood and paper.
- Class B extinguishers should be used on fires involving flammable liquids, such as grease, gasoline, and oil.
- Class C extinguishers are suitable for electrically energized fires.
- Class D extinguishers should be used on flammable metals and are typically specific for the type of metal in question.
The following are some tips concerning this important fire protection device.
- Most home fire safety experts recommend medium size, multipurpose fire extinguishers that are labeled as suitable for use on class A, class B, and class C fires.
- A fire extinguisher should be kept in your garage, kitchen, and on each floor of your home.
- You and other potential users in your household should thoroughly read the extinguisher’s instructions on a periodic basis.
- A professional fire equipment supplier should inspect each extinguisher annually.
Note that prices on fire extinguishers start at around $20. Many insurers offer modest premium credits to encourage homeowners to purchase and maintain extinguishers.
Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.
Copyright 2010
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
Protect Your Landscape Investment
Do you own a home with a yard? If the answer is yes, did you spend some time and money landscaping your yard? Many homeowners including myself have spent a lot of time tending to their yards. Many spent a lot of money as well. Does your homeowner’s insurance policy cover landscaping? The answer is very little if any. Check out the following article for details.
Protect Your Landscape Investment
One of the more common complaints heard from insureds after a major property loss is a lack of homeowners coverage for valuable trees and landscaping. Most homeowners policies provide only limited coverage (with restricted perils) for this loss exposure—usually 5 percent of the dwelling limit subject to a maximum of $500 per tree or shrub. Peril restrictions may also preclude coverage; for example, there is no landscaping coverage for a loss to landscape arising out of windstorm. Unfortunately, many trees, in particular, can be valued in the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. To protect this investment, consider the following risk management tips.
- If you have valuable mature trees, consider asking a licensed or certified arborist to appraise their value. Trained arborists use guidelines to value these trees, and such guidelines are recognized by insurance companies, the courts, and, in most cases, the Internal Revenue Service.
- Once you have the valuation, consider asking for an endorsement to provide higher limits and enhanced coverage for your valuable trees and other landscaping.
- Practice sound loss control for your trees. For example, topping of trees should be avoided. (Topping is the indiscriminate cutting of trees to stubs or lateral branches that are not large enough to sustain the remaining branch.)
- Hire a tree specialist to properly prune and thin out your mature trees. This action makes your trees less susceptible to disease and insects. For extremely valuable trees, consider hiring an arborist for this work. When selecting an arborist, check for his or her membership in professional organizations such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), or the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA).
- Recognize tree hazards to avoid injuries and damage to property. For examples, dead or dying trees are more likely to fall into utility lines, which could cause power outages, surges, and fires. Dead or dying trees are also likely to damage homes and could even injure people should they fall. Hiring a reputable tree specialist to remove dead or dying trees is a smart move. Get copies of the contractor’s certificates of insurance for workers compensation and general liability before work begins.
Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.
Copyright 2010
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
