Top 10 Craziest Insurance Claims (Car And Home)
From the sublime to the ridiculous, and everything in between, welcome to the crazy, 'you couldn't make this stuff up' world of car and home insurance claims! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 craziest insurance claims. For this list, we've ranked the weirdest, most wonderful, most famous and most far-fetched claims out there!
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Top 10 Craziest Insurance Claims
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From the sublime to the ridiculous, and everything in between; welcome to the crazy, ‘you couldn’t make this stuff up’ world of car and home insurance claims! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, andtoday we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 craziest insurance claims. For this list, we’ve ranked the weirdest, most wonderful, most famous and most far-fetched claims out there! They may seem unbelievable and it's entirely possible they have been embellished over time, but all are at least based in fact. After, the truth IS stranger than fiction…
#10: Shampoo Fuel
Depending where you are in the world, some car insurance policies offer a ‘misfuelling cover,’ for those annoying (and slightly embarrassing) times when you fill up with the wrong type of gas. But as long as you haven’t inflicted even more damage by driving your vehicle very far, those insurers will pay to drain and clean the engine. However, what if you’ve misfuelled magnificently badly and filled up with something else entirely? That’s what happened to one British woman, who claimed she mistook her shampoo bottle for a gasoline container, and filled up on premium Herbal Essences. The ads say it’ll ‘take your hair to paradise,’ but don’t expect it to help drive you there!
#9: Hammers & Hail
Mother nature can cause a lotta damage. So, when one Louisville, Kentucky resident submitted a claim that his car had fallen victim to hail, the insurers expected a routine payout. But clearly the claimant had never seen a real-life hail-beaten vehicle, as someone had done a very poor job of recreating the effect. His insurers knew instantly that this wasn’t weather-related, and that someone had taken a hammer to the car. They assumed that “someone” was the owner himself. However, he was unperturbed, and filed a slightly more reputable claim shortly afterwards, declaring that someone else had attacked his ride! As it was impossible to prove who had actually caused the damage, the money was eventually paid out – but his premiums likely went through the roof!
#8: Getting Greedy
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We’re no experts on the subject, but surely one of the first rules of insurance fraud is to ‘know when to stop.’ One Delaware man forgot that advice when he claimed he was trying to move burning coals in his home and inadvertently caused over $50,000 in damages. He was ultimately found out, however, when he concocted a storyline more suitable for a slapstick routine! While trying to throw the coals out, he threw a bucket-full of them outside, conveniently onto his convertible; and then while running through his house in a panic, he somehow managed to throw a second bucket-full onto his couch. When will these people learn?? Stop seeing dollar signs; start seeing sense!
#7: Skyrockets in Flight
Of course, not every ridiculous claim is flat out fraud; sometimes they’re just honest, but stupid, accidents. One such claim was made one 4th of July, when a driver had packed his truck bed with several thousand dollars-worth of fireworks. He’d intended to stage a huge and impressive show in a nearby field, but instead held a costly and dangerous series of explosions en route. Thanks to a stray cigarette he tossed out of the driver’s window, the rockets launched way earlier than expected. We assume no one was hurt, but the car was a write off!
#6: Hot Wheels Claim
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For one wannabe hustler, his experience with attempted fraud was anything but child’s play; in fact, it was just a series of schoolboy errors. Theoretically, the idea could’ve worked – he’d claimed that thieves had stolen parts from his car – but the execution was unbelievably amateurish. The so-called victim submitted phony invoices to his insurance company, listing what he wished to be reimbursed for. But things got slightly second-grade-arts-and-crafts-project when the accompanied photos showed parts from a toy car that was the same color and make as the claimant’s… In the end, his Hot Wheels landed him in very hot water – maybe he was sent to his room without dinner?
#5: Horse Lick
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Some people like to spend their vacation time getting a little closer to nature, but one couple allowed their car to get a little too close to a particular group of horses. The sightseeing pair was busy travelling through England’s Dartmoor National Park when they parked so they could do a little more exploring on foot. When they returned to their ride, however, it looked a little different… Because some (presumably very hungry) ponies had licked away its paintwork. We’ve also heard this same tale told about some paint-licking cows in France, but either way the claimants cars still ran, so they didn’t need to hoof it.
#4: Water Heater Blasts Off
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You might not think the water heater is the most dangerous appliance in your house, or the most mobile, but for one unlucky insurance claimant it turned out to be a literal home wrecker. After the home owner attempted an ill-advised home repair on his water heater, a buildup of pressure caused it to rocket through all the floors of the house, like an oversized bullet, before careening out into the outside world. The destruction didn’t stop there, as it also damaged nearby cars parked in the street – an accident which we expect caused many an ironically heated conversation between neighbors!
#3: Mid-Accident Insurance
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With insurance, it pays to be prepared, and you should always try to arrange a policy before an accident happens. Let’s say your uninsured car randomly catches fire. You’d probably try your best to think on your feet. But would you attempt to purchase insurance over the phone, right then and there? One couple apparently did. And, as the story goes, they might’ve gotten away with it too, if the car fire hadn’t threatened to blaze out of control. While the husband tried to complete his panic purchase on the phone, his wife could be heard screaming in the background about her fears of an explosion! We’re assuming the insurance company quickly lost interest in the sale.
#2: Hot Dog
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Pet dogs can be a real pain sometimes, especially when you’re trying to eat. They’ll stop at nothing until they steal at least a little of what’s on your plate. But for one pet owner, their puppy’s hunger couldn’t even wait until dinner was served – with disastrous consequences. According to one insurance claim, while trying to steal food from the stove one ravenous pooch turned all the burners on high, and caused a major kitchen fire when an unwatched pizza box was set ablaze. We should say that no animals were actually harmed in the filing of this claim, although we can’t promise that the pup’s owner was too happy with him! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - Chemistry Teacher Conspires A high school chemistry teacher picked two failing students for some extracurricular activity… She got them to steal and torch her Chevy Malibu! - Horses Ate My Car! An Australian man said he saw three horses munching on his car door seals, spoiler, mirrors and more. Even worse, the horses’ tongues scraped the paint! - Bear-glar A woman had her vacation home ransacked and completely destroyed, but nothing was taken. This wasn’t the work of a human criminal, but a troublesome bear! - Snake in the Gas Tank The driver of a 1971 Jaguar E-Type was dismayed when his car broke down. The mechanic was even more horrified to find a snake wrapped up in the engine, causing all the problems!
#1: Submarine vs. Car
Unfortunately, car accidents happen all the time, and cars are irreparably damaged every day. But, as we’ve proved today, car insurance claims aren’t always simple affairs. Our winner sees someone’s ride written off after an unexpected collision with a submarine – an occurrence that was apparently not uncommon in WWII-era London. The unbelievable incident apparently took place when the wife of a submariner drove to see her husband’s Navy vessel arrive in port. Only she got a little too close to the action when the inexperienced crewman driving the sub accidentally rammed her parking spot, causing the car to slip into the water. It wasn’t quite the homecoming the husband was expecting! Do you agree with our list? Which insurance claim did we overlook? For more crazy-but-true top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
