Embarrassing, audacious and just downright stupid, claims departments and loss adjusters tackle some ridiculous claims. Here's just a taster
Keep a look out for slightly odd behaviour and you may find something fishy. That’s exactly what happened with a character whom loss adjusters Cunningham Lindsey have nicknamed ‘Rod’ after he claimed £3,500 for the theft of fishing equipment.
Rod told investigators how thieves had broken into his garage during the night and taken his beloved fishing gear. He’d discovered the break-in that night, and even mended the door but didn’t inform the police until the following morning.
So the firm sent down special investigator Kathryn Midgley to interview Rod. He told her that not all his fishing equipment had been stolen – he had some stored upstairs in the house. He was evasive about why he kept it there, then uncomfortable when he showed her the room, keeping himself between her and the wardrobe. Intrigued, Midgley asked him to open the wardrobe. And lo and behold, a set of fishing equipment matching the lost items stood inside. Rod was, of course, quick to say that this was a different set.
When asked if he had any evidence for the existence of the stolen equipment, he produced a photograph on his digital camera. Midgley looked at the time and date. It had been taken two and a half hours before her visit, days after the equipment had been “stolen”. Midgely did not take the bait and the claim was refused.
For more such farcical stories, including the one-night stand from hell and an almost inconceivable IVF claim, see the 19 August issue of Insurance Times
