Britain's bizarre home insurance claims

Apr 26, 2014
A woman locked a badger in her shed, which then managed to bash a hole in the wall to escape. The head-banging mammal is just one of many weird incidents happening to householders according to specialist insurance provider RIAS. Even a harmless snail can cause havoc in the home. RIAS has revealed its most bizarre home insurance claims during 2012 -2013, which resulted in some quite significant damage. This list of strange incidents was among 400,000 successful insurance claims dealt with by the company in 2012-13. Barking mad: After seeing a dog on the TV screen, a dog in Galashiels decided to jump into the screen after it Melting madness: A small child spilt a glass of coke on his granddad’s laptop. Drying it with a hairdryer melted the keys, causing £239 worth of damage Snail trail: A snail ate £78 worth of carpet in the home of a 73-year-old man from Preston Winds of damage: Gusty winds blew glasses off a man's face, which were then immediately run over by a car, resulting in £469 worth of damage Squirrel away! A trapped squirrel in the garage of an 86-year-old woman from Exeter managed to crack a window and escape Skype sickness: A grandfather in Guildford held his baby grandson up to show him off over Skype. The baby then threw up on the laptop causing £437 worth of damage Pigeon post: A pigeon fell down a chimney and flew into a house, damaging the carpet, ornaments and sofa to the tune of over £8,000 Puppy panic: A seven month old puppy in Cardiff stole a one litre bottle of oil from the kitchen, dragged it to the living room and chewed it on the sofa, causing £953 worth of damage Deer me: A deer fell into the swimming pool of a 74-year-old man from Guildford, damaging the cover. Peter Corfield, Managing Director at RIAS: “While we go out of our way to ensure that our homes and gardens are safe and secure, sometimes it’s the most unlikely events that can end up causing real damage. Not all claims are straightforward and sometimes we do see some bizarre scenarios. Babies and animals are often the culprits!”  
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