State Farm told me my car had too much horsepower.
Posted on 02/06/2006 11:16:15 AM PST by sully777
LONDON (Reuters) - Frozen squirrels, angry wasps and obstructive potatoes were among some of the reasons given by motorists to support their insurance claims, Norwich Union said Monday.
Freak incidents involving animals top the list when it comes to bizarre claims, closely followed by those involving food.
The squirrel motorist said the frozen animal had fallen out of a tree and crashed through the windshield while another driver blamed a wasp sting on the leg for a sudden surge in acceleration and a bump with the car in front.
One driver even blamed a potato stuck behind the brake pedal for the inability to stop.
"We see a lot of strange things but we were surprised at how many involved animals and food of all things," said a Norwich Union spokeswoman.
One claim in particular stood out.
"As I was driving around a bend, one of the doors opened and a frozen kebab flew out, hitting and damaging a passing car," it read.
All the cited claims were legitimate and had been paid out, the spokeswoman said.
There was the woman who found a mountain goat prancing on the hood of her car while it was parked in the garage. She made sure she got pictures of it (to send to her insurance agent) before she scared it off.
As one who has jumped out of a moving vehicle because of an unwanted occupant (a bee) I can empathize here. I have bee-phobia because when I was young, mowing the grass, a whole nest dropped onto my lap...
I also hit a deer head-on in November, if that counts...
I witnessed an OTR truck hit a wayward steer at 1 AM. That thing tore up the entire section of the driver's side. I never thought that could happen in NJ, but out here in fly over country, it is a common occurance. In fact, one truck overturned a few years back and released a number of dazed cattle. The cops and some volunteer ranchers were running around trying to round up the animals.
A deer once bit my sister.
I hit (and killed) a deer one January, and the only reason the insurance adjuster believed me was because several points of the antler were firmly fastened in my radiator and several patches of deerskin were fused to my hood. The report from the butcher didn't count.
once upon a time, I had a bird fly through the open driver's side window and lodge himself between me eye and me eyeglasses. I was on me way to a job interview at the time. I couldn't open said eye because said bird was squirming around trying to get lose, so I kept the wheel straight and braked until I stopped, then I could reach up, remove me glasses, and extract said bird.
tore up me nose and eyebrow, I bled a tad onto my shirt, before I could stop it. Bird was pretty messed up, so I placed it in the grass besides the road.
it was hard to concentrate on bringing the vehicle to a controlled halt rather than just tromping the brakes and yanking the wheel to starboard let me tell you!
guy behind me saw the whole thing.
State Farm told me my car had too much horsepower.
Insurance excuses about the stop sign that ran into my car, the raccoons that took off my bumper, etc. ping
Several years ago, I was driving southbound on the Illinois Tollway, when I noticed a round, yellow-green projectile heading my way from the northbound lanes. It was one of those slow-motion moments, and I clearly saw the arc it made as it approached where I was. It hit my car -- on the roof I assumed -- and I decided to pull off at a rest area to see if there was any damage. As I went to change lanes, I noticed that the right rearview mirror was gone. It had been clipped right off by the projectile. I didn't file a claim, I just replaced the mirror. But I figure my guardian angel must have been watching out for me that day.
Here are some good ones:
"# "I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way, causing me to have an accident."
# "I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment."
# "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished."
# "As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision, and I did not see the other car."
# "I thought my window was down, but I found out it was up when I put my head through it."
# "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way."
# "I was thrown from my car as it left the road, and was later found in a ditch by some stray cows."
# "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him."
# "The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions."
# "The indirect cause of the accident was little guy in a small car with a big mouth.""
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=42341
Horse: (whispering to passengers)"Settle down, let me handle it....(Raises voice) Is there anything we can help you with, officer?
Run for your lives! Your firearms are useless against them!
What do you expect when you insure a squirrel to drive?
Did she call a bambalance?
Maybe the real blame rests with those plastic bags they put your groceries in!
Strange -- wouldn't that cause the engine to spudder instead?
They guy was charged with twenty-five counts of arson the next day.
If she was near the "Stop-N-Go"....
another driver blamed a wasp sting on the leg for a sudden surge in acceleration and a bump with the car in front.
That really could happen. I am so allergic to red wasps' stings that my allergy doctor told me two more stings and I am dead. First sting was on my knee when I was a kid and it hurt, no problem. Second sting was when I was in my 20s, a wasp stung me on my toe, I screamed so loud, it hurt so bad, my neighbor came running thinking a snake bit me. Last time I was working in the yard and a wasp stung me on top of my thigh. My whole leg swelled up HUGE. Doctor told me next time the reaction will be worse, and all over. Then if I get stung one more time after that, he told me my throat will swell shut before I can get to hospital. He told me to get an epi-pen. My heart doctor would let me have one, he said my heart can't take that. I can get allergy shots for it, but I am kinda afraid of that, since my allergy is so severe. We have done an excellent job of avoiding the little b*stards so far. My kids love to go after them with a tennis racket. We keep wasp spray by the door.
But if there is one in the car with me, I will be trapped. No telling how I might react, in panic.
I'm thinking there's some kind of symbolism there somewhere.
Did you get the job?
Oops error
My heart doctor would NOT let me have one
You echo my thoughts. I've had a number of things escape those bags and cause me grief rolling around on the floor.
At first glance, what would you say happened here? The guy in the Durango hit a deer, right? That was my first guess too, but it's WRONG! This unsuspecting and very lucky fella was just driving along minding his own business, when all of a sudden Ka-Blam! A deer drops from the sky and smashes right through his windshield. Really...no joke. Apparently the animal was crossing the bridge in the background when it was frightened by another vehicle. It jumped over the bridge and fell into traffic below (the Durango, to be exact).
Hey, a squirrl bombed my windshield a few years back, and almost came through it. Tiny, but tough.
the view from inside the car is best,guts and broken antlers. this series of pics makes the internet rounds every deer season.(note the Minnesooota plate)
come on, we need more details for that one - unless he was in a zoo (the deer, not your sister)
nope. I was driving at about 50 mhp when the bird hit, and he was flying perpendicular to my path of travel. the odds of him going through the window are quite large.
But I was a mess - fresh blood on me face, dried blood on me shirt, etc. I tried to explain what happened but I don't think that I was beleived.
I still have scars. this happenned, BTW in 1980.
oh, man. Mine wasn't that bad. He flipped staight up and back about 100 feet. A coincidence - I today just returned from the auto body shop with my car all fixed up nice and shiny from the afore-mentioned deer impact. (Literally 10 minutes ago - fortunately no bee or other objects in the cockpit. I seriously am afraid to drive sometimes when you think what could happen. A tractor-trailor tire exploding and disintigrating at 80mph, for example.
Have you ever entertained the thought of always having the windows rolled up?
Reminds me of the Scene from "Tommy Boy" where the deer in the back seat regains consciousness and tears up the car.
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