Insurance claims adjusters must have steady nerves – or strong prescriptions. They get some pretty weird claims. See if you can identify the real story here.

Multiple choice.

1. A farmer in Devon, UK, put in a claim for a lost mobile. Where did he lose the item?
   
   • Inside one of 500 bales of hay.
   • In a posthole, somewhere on the perimeter of the farm.
   • Inside a cow.
   • He didn't: it was stolen by a badger.
2. A police officer in Hawaii was awarded $39,000 in damages for what mishap?
   
   • Losing his car to lava flow.
   • Being beaned by a flung pineapple at a luau.
   • Being abducted by a killer whale.
   • Having a coconut fall on his head.
3. 'It's Not Unusual'? What did singer Tom Jones insure with Lloyds' for $7m?
   
   • His voice.
   • His chest hair.
   • His piano.
   • His Grammy awards.
4. Egon Ronay insured something for $393,000. What was it?
   
   • His tonsils: he's a professional yodeler.
   • His biceps: he's a professional arm wrestler.
   • His priceless collection of vintage jaw harps: he's a collector.
   • His taste buds: he's a professional food critic.
5. An agency in Florida sells alien abduction insurance. What will they pay you, the insuree, if you can prove your claim of alien abduction?
   
   • $500,000 worth of tabloid interviews and TV appearances.
   • Cabfare home from Area 51.
   • A dollar a year until death, or for one million years.
   • 25 Alterian dollars a day for life, payable only offworld.
6. What will Lloyds of London insure prospective parents against?
   
   • Having alien babies.
   • Defective childcare requisites.
   • The cost of IVF.
   • Twins.
7. A British insurance company refused to pay a young woman's claim in Bristol when her mobile stopped working. What had happened to it?
   
   • It was damaged during a particularly raucous Heavy Metal concert when it was used as a backup instrument.
   • The woman was using the mobile as an 'adult toy'.
   • The woman had flung the mobile at a Tory politician during a demo.
   • The mobile had been swallowed by her pet alligator.
8. A couple vacationing in Malaysia filed a successful claim on their insurance. What had happened to them?
   
   • They were arrested for violating the local 'anti-chewing gum' ordinance.
   • Their clothing was stolen by monkeys.
   • They were misinformed about the time difference by the travel agency, and missed their flight home.
   • Their luggage was sent to Antarctica by mistake.
9. A homeowner in the southwestern US collected on his insurance when a saguaro cactus…
   
   • …failed to grow any taller in 10 years.
   • …was stolen by cactus rustlers.
   • …attracted bats, which took up residence in his garage.
   • …fell on his house, doing enormous damage.
10. An insurance company in the US paid off when a car owner's vehicle was seriously damaged by head-butting goats. Why were the goats so hostile?
    
    • They had a personal grudge against the driver, who had fenced off their favourite pasture.
    • There was a female goat in the back seat.
    • The car boot contained several bushels of apples.
    • The car had been washed and waxed, and the goats mistook their reflections for rival goats.

Headscratcher? Click the picture for answers.

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Dmitri Gheorgheni

09.04.18 Front Page

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