[By Victoria Bischoff]
For most motorists car Insurance is not usually a laughing matter. Premiums can be very expensive, and it is not unusual for an annual policy to cost more than £1000.
According to the latest AA British Insurance Premium Index car Insurance premiums increased by more than 7% in the last quarter of 2009, and unfortunately look set to rise further in 2010.
However, it is not all doom and gloom in the car Insurance world. Occasionally, a car Insurance claim story can be a source of great amusement and entertainment. We have rounded up ten of the crazier, more comical car Insurance claims received by AA in recent years – some which should definitely raise a smile!
1. Taxi trouble
When bad weather caused havoc on the roads of Britain this winter, one AA customer thought it would be safer to call a taxi than drive his own car to the station in snowy conditions. However he probably wished he had not bothered as, ironically, when the taxi pulled up outside his house it skidded and crashed into his parked car.
2. A lovers tiff
One customer had a heated argument with his girlfriend about whether it was safe for her to drive to work in the snow. In the end she stormed off, went on her way and he followed a short while later. Unfortunately, as he approached a set of red traffic lights, he skidded and collided with the rear of the car in front, which in turn hit the car in front of that.
And who happened to be in the third car? None other than the very girlfriend he had advised not to drive earlier that morning. The details do not record whether the claim was settled amicably or not!
3. Good cop car
One customer was surprised to learn his car had helped the police prevent a robbery of a jewellery store in a town some miles away. The thieves had stolen his Land Rover to ram the roller shutter doors of a small shopping arcade where the jewellers was located.
However, not content to be an accessory in a robbery (and perhaps a cop car in a former life), the clever car ensured it got caught on the roller shutter, flipped itself onto its back end and wedged itself tightly in the entrance to the store. This meant the thieves were trapped like canned sardines and could do nothing but wait for the police to arrive.
4. Something rather sheepish
Another customer driving home from the pub with a friend had the fright of his life when there was an enormous thump on the roof of his car, which caved in bumping both companions on the head. The pair got out of the car just in time to see a sheep slide down the windscreen, spring on to the car bonnet and run off down the road. The sheep, it later transpired, had escaped from a transporter on the motorway that was involved in a collision.
5. Doggy drivers
When one customer stopped his van on the side of the road to pop into his local shop and buy a newspaper, he did not expect to come out seconds later and find both his van, and the dog inside it, gone without a trace. When he asked bystanders if they had seen anything, one man remarked that he had seen a 'large dog driving a van down the road".
Somehow the dog's lead had wound itself around the gear lever and had released it. Fortunately, the van was stopped in its descent by another vehicle parked further down the hill.
6. Bad balance
One unlucky lady who was driving through woodland in her open soft-top car received a nasty shock when a squirrel suddenly fell out of a tree above and into her car. In its panic to escape, the squirrel scampered over her in the car causing her to run off the road into a tree. Unwilling to hang around and make a witness statement, the uncoordinated squirrel shot up a nearby tree and vanished.
7. Toilet trouble
One motorist was left rather red faced when, after stopping in the woods late one night to 'relieve himself", he emerged from behind a tree to find his car had gone. In a panic he called the police and his insurer to report the theft and his Dad who came to rescue him. But the night was not over yet!
During the short journey home with his Dad the car managed to break down, forcing them to call for assistance. Later, when father and son poured out the events of the night to the AA Patrolman, he became puzzled by the fact that although the chap was only about 20 feet from his car he did not hear it start up. Acting on a hunch, they all returned to the 'scene of the crime" only to find wheel tracks disappearing down a grass bank where his car was waiting patiently at the bottom.
Oh, so that is what the handbrake is for...
8. You snooze, you lose
When one customer parked his camper van on the beach to enjoy the view and a nice nap, he certainly did not expect to wake up to find his feet wet and someone in a boat banging on the window to rescue him. The tide had come in while he was asleep, and although he was safely rescued, the van sank without a trace.
9. Off your trolley
Another unfortunate lady calmly informed AA that her bonnet had been badly damaged after 'several airborne shopping trolleys came flying towards her". The offending trolleys had apparently fallen off the back of a delivery lorry.
10. Two in one
This final story apparently had the AA call centre in stitches. Two drivers tried to turn into a parking space at the same time and got jammed against cars on either side. Stuck fast and unable to open the doors, the fire brigade had to rescue them – while an audience of about a hundred people stood around laughing at them. Luckily they saw the funny side too!
For most motorists car Insurance is not usually a laughing matter. Premiums can be very expensive, and it is not unusual for an annual policy to cost more than £1000.
According to the latest AA British Insurance Premium Index car Insurance premiums increased by more than 7% in the last quarter of 2009, and unfortunately look set to rise further in 2010.
However, it is not all doom and gloom in the car Insurance world. Occasionally, a car Insurance claim story can be a source of great amusement and entertainment. We have rounded up ten of the crazier, more comical car Insurance claims received by AA in recent years – some which should definitely raise a smile!
1. Taxi trouble
When bad weather caused havoc on the roads of Britain this winter, one AA customer thought it would be safer to call a taxi than drive his own car to the station in snowy conditions. However he probably wished he had not bothered as, ironically, when the taxi pulled up outside his house it skidded and crashed into his parked car.
2. A lovers tiff
One customer had a heated argument with his girlfriend about whether it was safe for her to drive to work in the snow. In the end she stormed off, went on her way and he followed a short while later. Unfortunately, as he approached a set of red traffic lights, he skidded and collided with the rear of the car in front, which in turn hit the car in front of that.
And who happened to be in the third car? None other than the very girlfriend he had advised not to drive earlier that morning. The details do not record whether the claim was settled amicably or not!
3. Good cop car
One customer was surprised to learn his car had helped the police prevent a robbery of a jewellery store in a town some miles away. The thieves had stolen his Land Rover to ram the roller shutter doors of a small shopping arcade where the jewellers was located.
However, not content to be an accessory in a robbery (and perhaps a cop car in a former life), the clever car ensured it got caught on the roller shutter, flipped itself onto its back end and wedged itself tightly in the entrance to the store. This meant the thieves were trapped like canned sardines and could do nothing but wait for the police to arrive.
4. Something rather sheepish
Another customer driving home from the pub with a friend had the fright of his life when there was an enormous thump on the roof of his car, which caved in bumping both companions on the head. The pair got out of the car just in time to see a sheep slide down the windscreen, spring on to the car bonnet and run off down the road. The sheep, it later transpired, had escaped from a transporter on the motorway that was involved in a collision.
5. Doggy drivers
When one customer stopped his van on the side of the road to pop into his local shop and buy a newspaper, he did not expect to come out seconds later and find both his van, and the dog inside it, gone without a trace. When he asked bystanders if they had seen anything, one man remarked that he had seen a 'large dog driving a van down the road".
Somehow the dog's lead had wound itself around the gear lever and had released it. Fortunately, the van was stopped in its descent by another vehicle parked further down the hill.
6. Bad balance
One unlucky lady who was driving through woodland in her open soft-top car received a nasty shock when a squirrel suddenly fell out of a tree above and into her car. In its panic to escape, the squirrel scampered over her in the car causing her to run off the road into a tree. Unwilling to hang around and make a witness statement, the uncoordinated squirrel shot up a nearby tree and vanished.
7. Toilet trouble
One motorist was left rather red faced when, after stopping in the woods late one night to 'relieve himself", he emerged from behind a tree to find his car had gone. In a panic he called the police and his insurer to report the theft and his Dad who came to rescue him. But the night was not over yet!
During the short journey home with his Dad the car managed to break down, forcing them to call for assistance. Later, when father and son poured out the events of the night to the AA Patrolman, he became puzzled by the fact that although the chap was only about 20 feet from his car he did not hear it start up. Acting on a hunch, they all returned to the 'scene of the crime" only to find wheel tracks disappearing down a grass bank where his car was waiting patiently at the bottom.
Oh, so that is what the handbrake is for...
8. You snooze, you lose
When one customer parked his camper van on the beach to enjoy the view and a nice nap, he certainly did not expect to wake up to find his feet wet and someone in a boat banging on the window to rescue him. The tide had come in while he was asleep, and although he was safely rescued, the van sank without a trace.
9. Off your trolley
Another unfortunate lady calmly informed AA that her bonnet had been badly damaged after 'several airborne shopping trolleys came flying towards her". The offending trolleys had apparently fallen off the back of a delivery lorry.
10. Two in one
This final story apparently had the AA call centre in stitches. Two drivers tried to turn into a parking space at the same time and got jammed against cars on either side. Stuck fast and unable to open the doors, the fire brigade had to rescue them – while an audience of about a hundred people stood around laughing at them. Luckily they saw the funny side too!