When it comes to house insurance, sometimes it’s not just about a straightforward leaking roof. Some circumstances you just couldn’t foresee or dream up – even with a team of Hollywood screen writers. How often would you get a claim for roof damage caused by the downdraft of helicopter blades?

Bizarre

Most of the bizarre insurance claims come from travel or car insurance. Freak accidents are often caused by animals of one type or another and not just your average pet cat or dog in the road – squirrels, zebras, cows and even wasps all feature in the weirdest claims.

Extreme

House insurance may predominantly be about leaking washing machines but travel insurance can have that more exotic twist. One woman made a double claim for a damaged camera and some medical bills – she backed up into a cactus while trying to take a group family picture.

House insurance

But although house insurance may be a little tamer, just because you’re in the comfort and relative safety of home, doesn’t mean you are immune from accidents and mishaps.

Water

It may not be expansive oceans or crocodile-infested rivers, but water ingress is one of the most likely claims for house insurance – from washing machines to the roof leaking or freezer breaking down.

Storm damage

You don’t need to be in a tropical storm or dramatic hurricane – following storms in the UK, house insurance claims are often made to replace electrical items such as TVs and phones, fried by lightning.

Fire

BIt seems fabrics and curtains are apt to go up in flames too – not because of any tropical heat, but often through lighting all those moody candles featured on all those home improvement TV shows.

Loss or damage

It seems when we travel abroad we take extra care of our belongings – strapping our wallets and passports to our bodies – but at home we are happy to be a bit more haphazard it seems, constantly misplacing our keys, our purses and our glasses.

But you might be surprised to hear that a substantial number of claims are for loss or damage to personal belongings, so it’s worth adding this to your insurance cover if you are the sort of person who accidentally washes their wedding ring down the plughole.

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