The unusual and unlucky claims causing thousands of pounds worth of damage last year
The most careful people can often fall foul of the bizarre or unlucky, no matter how unlikely it may seem. Insurance provider Rias has poured through thousands of home insurance claims from the past year in order to reveal the top 10 strangest claims of 2015.
- That sinking feeling: A Bristol man was taking a delivery of chippings at his home. When the delivery lorry backed onto his property, the driveway sank causing over £8,000 worth of damage!
- Morris mayhem: Errant sticks and bells flying everywhere. It is clear that Morris dancing is fraught with danger as one man from Kingston-upon-Thames found out. A particularly enthusiastic number left him walking away with damage to his glasses to the tune of £385.
- An eggsplosion! If you thought you could leave a boiled egg unattended you were wrong as one Liverpool woman found out when an exploding egg somehow caused an ‘eggstreme’ amount of damage, totalling over £2,800.
- Wild horses: A quiet street in Birmingham was suddenly like a scene from epic blockbuster Ben-Hur when a spooked horse and cart ran off the road and through the fences and gardens of the local residents. One policyholder incurred £296 worth of damage as a result of the chaos
- Biting fire with fire: Adding another log on the fire is one way of beating the cold – however accidentally throwing your dentures on the fire can result in a £150 claim, as one Stoke-on-Trent man discovered.
- Signed, sealed, delivered: An unattended grandson with a marker pen is often asking for trouble as one Leicester grandmother found out when the child signed his name across the sofa causing £1,200 worth of damage.
- The crossbow challenge: On hearing a loud crash, one policyholder in Walsall rushed into the living room to find that their wall mounted crossbow had fallen down and bounced off the TV on its way down to the floor, causing £460 worth of damage.
- Scottish Ski Sunday: When setting up a ski machine in the living room, be sure to leave plenty of space. One policyholder in Falkirk managed to crack the TV screen whilst installing the equipment, causing over £600 worth of damage.
- The gate escape: When faced with a wrought iron gate blocking their path, one would-be burglar in Nottingham proceeded to steal the gate itself worth around £760 rather than turn back empty handed.
- Love is in the air: While large Valentine’s cards are one way of showing love for that special someone, they are also very good at catching a breeze from an open window that can then knock over your beloved’s Royal Dalton figurine worth £250.
Mark Hanson, Director of Marketing at Rias commented: “We help our customers with thousands of straightforward claims every year, but there are also some that stand out as the more bizarre and unfortunate. No matter how careful a person is, mishaps can happen from the most innocuous of sources and we are there to ensure our customers are supported through the strange claims, the simple claims, and everything in between.
