5 Bizarre Insurance Claims You Won’t Believe – The Claim Files by Harris Balcombe

We’re used to dealing with the unexpected at Harris Balcombe. Fires, floods, storms, break-ins, it’s all part of the day job for a loss assessor. But every now and then, something truly next level bizarre lands on your desk (or roof, as you’ll read shortly). That’s what inspired us to write up these 5 strange insurance claims to bring a smile to your face.

Welcome to The Claim Files: Bizarre Edition – a series of real-life (and one possibly urban-legendary) property and business claims that will make you chuckle, raise an eyebrow or two, or double-check your own insurance claim policy wording from top to toe.

To kickstart, in March 2024, a family in Florida were casually enjoying their day when they got the shock of their lives. A good old chunk of metal came crashing through the roof of their house, tearing through two floors and narrowly missing someone relaxing inside. Now that is a near miss.

It turns out that it was a piece of debris from the International Space Station that was jettisoned years earlier and on a one-way supersonic mission back to Earth. It was later confirmed by NASA to be a genuine chunk from the ISS.

The family filed a claim for $80,000 in property damage and emotional distress, which was of no surprise. We know it’s rare that your home becomes a target for a satellite, but it’s a great reminder that sometimes the most unexpected scenarios really do happen while at home.

The family filed a claim for $80,000 in property damage and emotional distress, which was of no surprise. We know it’s rare that your home becomes a target for a satellite, but it’s a great reminder that sometimes the most unexpected scenarios really do happen while at home.

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Picture this for a sec: you pop out to grab some bits from the local store, and when you come back home, there’s a big ole cow standing in your conservatory.

That’s exactly what happened to one homeowner in Devon. The cow had taken a wrong turn, wandered away from a nearby field and meandered its way inside the house through an open door. By the time it was coaxed out of the house, the cow had left a trail of pure destruction. Broken tiles, upturned furniture, and confused neighbours scratching their heads.

Claims like this are thankfully rare, but not unheard of. When it comes to loss assessing, this tops the scales of unexpected visitors.

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You may have played the game, but bird-related damage is more common than you’d think in really life.

In Kilmarnock (Scotland), two magpies got into a mid-air tit-for-tat over who knows what and collided with a conservatory window, shattering it to pieces. Thankfully, the startled homeowner's insurance covered the damaged glass but the magpies’ pride was left in tatters.

The lesson? Flapping wings and glass don’t go well together — a claim may follow.

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So, this one might be a bit of an urban legend, but it’s such a classic in the insurance world that we had to include it.

Allegedly, a lawyer in the USA took out a policy to insure a box of rare cigars against fire. Once he’d smoked them all,… wait for it,... he filed a claim stating they had been destroyed “in a series of small fires.” Simply genius, and the court agreed. The insurer had to pay out but held a trump card in their favour. As soon as the dust settled they turned around and sued the lawyer for 24 counts of arson. Talk about a backfire ...

Real or not, this is a perfect example of how someone could exploit a policy loophole.

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One thing you hope to see at a garden centre at Christmas is a huge inflatable Santa. One thing you don’t expect to see is St Nick flying through the air helped by a strong gust of wind. This is exactly what happened at a garden centre in the UK. Santa was whisked up and landed firmly on the greenhouse roof shattering glass and pots.

The claim came in at around £3,000. Staff reportedly found bits of tinsel and fake snow in the compost for weeks afterwards.

Seasonal displays and decorations are all fun and games until they come through the roof of your business - Ho, Ho, Oh, No!

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