Funny Insurance Claims

Always read what you have written down before submitting it to the insurance company. Today, from the dusty archives of the Rives Law Offices where records are kept on actual paper, we share with you some insurance claims made by people who are not familiar with the concept of proofreading. These are some examples taken from real insurance claims where claimants were not careful what they said. A driver describes an accident which occurred in his next-door neighbor's yard: “Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.” “I thought my window was down, but I found it was up when I put my head through it.” This driver attempts to shift the blame for his accident: “A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.” The recipient of the "Sometimes-You-Can't-Win" Award writes: "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve several times before I hit him.” This claimant is an obvious need of family counseling: “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.” “I had been driving for 40 years, when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.” (Not even a nap?) “My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle.” “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.” “I was sure that the old guy would never make it to the other side of the road when I hit him.” “The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him.” “I saw a slow moving, sad faced old man as he bounced off the roof of my car.” Accidents happen, but your claim doesn't have to be another accident. Be careful what you write and always proofread your claim. You want your claim to be taken seriously. In journalism school, they teach that in the opening sentence of a news story you should set out the basic facts by stating: who, what, when, where, how, and why. This is good advice in filing an insurance claim also. You don't want some claims representative laughing at your claim rather than sending you a check. 11

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