10 curious insurance cases
Most often, people buy insurance against some clear and obvious things. For example, insurance in case of an accident or loss of health. Someone insures his life and the lives of children or, for example, a house from a fire. And if the event has occurred, people go to the insurance company for payment. It would seem that everything is simple and understandable, but sometimes insurance companies have to face really difficult and very unusual situations.
1. Paula Catelli from Italy insured her expensive handmade wedding dress in case it was stolen. At the wedding, she got so carried away that she got too close to the barbecue grill. The fabric of the dress instantly burst into flames, but the resourceful and brave groom picked up the bride and jumped with her from the cliff into the sea. The dress was hopelessly damaged, and although there was no such insured event in the contract, the insurance company still paid 50% of the cost of the dress.
2. A lawyer from North Carolina bought a box of expensive cigars and insured them against literally everything. After the cigars were smoked, the lawyer demanded damages, arguing that the cigars were damaged by fire. The insurers refused to pay, but the lawyer won the court, having managed to prove that this insured event does not contradict the contract, and received $ 15,000. However, the lawyers of the insurance company challenged the court's decision on the grounds that the client intentionally destroyed the insured property. For fraud, the lawyer received 2 years in prison and paid a fine of 24 thousand dollars.
3. After buying an iPhone, farmer Ivor Bennett from the UK immediately insured the purchase. After a while, the smartphone stopped working, and the farmer turned to insurers. It turned out that Bennett used an iPhone as a flashlight when he delivered a cow, and in the process, the smartphone even managed to visit the inside of the animal. The insurance company reimbursed the farmer the full cost of the phone, finding no reason to refuse.
4. A resident of the United States appealed to insurers with a statement in which he reported that a boat 30 feet long had been stolen from a closed garage. However, the length of the garage was only 24 feet and a 30-foot boat simply could not fit there. The fraudster received a year of suspended sentence and paid a fine.
5. A married couple, traveling in the jungles of Malaysia, decided to retire in a tent. The clothes they left outside were immediately stolen by monkeys. The insurance company, apparently, laughed for a long time, but the damage was fully compensated.
6. Ben Kotler from Indiana was rushing home for Christmas dinner. Suddenly, a huge Christmas tree flew straight into Ben's windshield. It turned out that someone was carrying the Christmas tree on the roof of the car, and it just fell off at the turn. As a result, Ben bought a new windshield on insurance, and he was happy to keep the Christmas tree for himself: the culprit of the incident could not be found.
7. The theatrical comedy troupe insured itself in case someone from the audience suddenly dies of laughter during the performance.
8. The first car was insured in 1901. At that time, cars were still a completely new type of transport, so there were no special policies or insurance conditions yet. The owner of the car was issued a regular marine policy based on the fact that the car is a ship that moves on land.
9. The management of one cottage settlement asked to insure a local landmark — an oak tree more than 120 years old. The tree was valued at 200 thousand rubles and insured against fire, lightning strike, illegal actions of third parties and hit-and-run vehicles.
10. A woman vacationing in Antalya did not quite have a successful vacation. In a statement to insurers , she wrote the following: "I ask you to compensate me for the moral damage caused by the replacement of a 3* hotel with half board for 4* — all inclusive. As a result of such a vacation, I got fat to the point of indecency and my husband left me." It is not known whether compensation was paid.