Insurance claims aren’t all triggered by natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and erupting volcanoes – most involve everyday situations that go horribly wrong.
In fact, many claims are so bizarre that claims adjusters can only laugh.
To prove it, here is a collection of insurance claims that pop up despite good intentions. If anything can go wrong, it will.
take coconuts The old joke is that monkeys hide in palm trees and throw coconuts at passers-by.
Well, for some it’s no joke. About 150 people die each year when they are hit by falling coconuts and hundreds more are injured.
Strange insurance claims
Some insurers include payment for falling coconut injuries in their policies.
In one case, a Hawaii police officer was awarded $39,000 in compensation after a coconut hit him in the head while he was picking up fallen palm fronds from a sidewalk.
If you think the insurance claim was weird, read on:
- A farmer in Devon, UK, couldn’t find his smartphone after helping a cow give birth, so he called his number to try and locate the device. The plan worked – the phone rang, but unfortunately got stuck in the no longer pregnant mother. The insurer settled the damage.
- Insurance on the tools of your craft makes sense, but what if your tools are part of your body? Legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones once covered his hairy chest for $7 million, while food critic Egon Ronay insured his taste buds for nearly $400,000 and singer Jennifer Lopez covered her bum for $27 million.
- Most of us take out travel insurance when we go on vacation to cover claims for missed flights, hotel cancellations and lost luggage – but one cruise passenger has attempted a claim for lost dentures. The policy paid off when he claimed he lost his false teeth when he accidentally spat them over the side of the liner while he was seasick.
- Insurance claims can sometimes leave experts speechless. Take alien abduction specialist insurer St. Lawrence Agency, based in Florida, USA. The company sells coverage under the promise of paying $1 a year until death or a million years—whichever comes first—if you can prove you were abducted by aliens.
- Some people like to bet on the prospect of a white Christmas. A jewelry store in North Carolina, USA, was one of them and took out special insurance against snowfall. Just as well, because they promised to refund customers $500,000 worth of sales if three inches or more of snow fell in the city of Wilmington on Christmas Day. Eight inches fell and the policy paid out.
- What is the probability that a couple will have more than one pair of twins? Pretty good for a couple who collected from a Lloyds syndicate when they had twins, and again when they had a second pair.
- A court awarded a burglar $1 million for his mental illness after he robbed a home while the owner was on vacation. The former crook locked himself in the garage for a week. All he found to eat was cold dog food.
- A 71-year-old pensioner from Bath, UK, received a payout after trapping a badger in her garden shed. The creature immediately ate through the wall and escaped.
- Grandparents can never relax when children are around. A boy left alone for a minute spilled a glass of fizzy drink on his grandfather’s laptop. The problem got worse when grandpa tried to dry the device with a hair dryer, which melted the keyboard.
In another incident in Guildford, UK, a proud grandparent picked up his grandson to parade him in an online video call. The toddler became nauseous from the laptop, which ruined the device.
- Married couples have fond memories of their wedding days, but a bride in Australia has nightmares. Not only did her wedding dress catch fire when she stood too close to a barbecue, but her new husband picked her up and threw her into the sea to douse the flames.
These stories may be funny, but they show the importance of having the right insurance coverage. After all, you never know what’s going to happen – and no matter how bad you think it is, it can always get worse.
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