Life is full of surprises, both good and bad. But sometimes, life throws you for a loop when you least expect it. And while most auto repair services and insurance claims are somewhat predictable, there are always those that cause the average policyholder to scratch their head in bewilderment, wondering if they can file such an insurance claim. These often include bizarre auto accidents for home owners, waste removal companies among other businesses and car owners, strange home claims, and unusual pet insurance claims. Below are some 8 strange insurance claims that people can make:
1. The ‘I’m Not Insured’ Claim
No law states that everyone must have car insurance, health insurance, home owner’s insurance, or life insurance. Yet every year, millions of people purchase policies from private companies that operate on an independent basis. There are many situations where people will try to get out of paying the premium or deny they ever had insurance when an accident occurs to avoid having to reimburse the other party for their losses in the case of a car insurance claim application.
A common argument against providing universal healthcare is that people will not feel obligated to buy insurance if they can easily do without it. Since health insurance is deemed unnecessary by some individuals, the reasoning goes that the market will provide for those who need care and leave everyone else to fend for themselves. This is a false dichotomy, however; even in the absence of universal coverage, there are still provisions that protect patients from bearing the total cost of an emergency or severe illness.
Some of these mechanisms are government-sponsored (e.g., Medicaid); others take advantage of tax breaks (e.g., Flexible Spending Accounts). Yet, others involve assistance programs offered by employers (e.g., company-sponsored PPO plans). These supplemental policies often do not extend to cover pre-existing conditions, but they serve as a safety net for many people. The main downside is that they can be difficult or even impossible to afford without employer assistance. That is where the ‘I’ve not insured’ claim comes in; refusing to provide coverage and assuming their employees would rather forgo insurance than pay for it themselves.
Employers are forcing some percentage of their workforce into a use-it-or-lose-it situation where having insurance means affording premiums one month only to have them waived the following month because of an unexpected health care expense. This arrangement does not protect from unpredictable costs. Yet, claims that universal healthcare will result in nobody being covered do not hold up, especially when you consider that the same people who cannot afford insurance are also the least likely to have an emergency fund.
2. The ‘I’ve Already Paid’ Claim
Suppose you have already paid for your car (or any other goods), and they are subsequently destroyed by fire or stolen. This is most commonly seen during a car insurance claim application: it is also popular in health insurance claims, which can be denied if you do not notify your insurer within 30 days of receiving medical treatment that you received medical treatment, which is covered under your policy before it happened. If you notice the mistake after more than one month, you will have to refund all premiums paid with interest and could lose any discounts you were entitled to receive for timely payment. In that case, the chances are that the finance company you used to pay for it will not refund your money, regardless of the set auto loan rates. You will probably get an insurance policy to cover this eventuality, but there is no guarantee, and even if you do get a refund, it may be less than you paid as compared to what making a car insurance claim application may offer.
The ‘I’ve already paid’ claim is meant to protect consumers in some instances when they have ordered goods, but have not yet collected them from the car dealers or suppliers, i.e., ordered online or over the phone. If these items are destroyed or missing in transit, many suppliers and car dealers will refuse a refund. As the car owner, you will know that eventually, it will break down or become damaged. You can be prepared for this eventuality by purchasing an insurance policy that typically covers accidental damage, theft, and fire. If you have paid for goods in advance but have not collected them yet, you have certain protections under the ‘I’ve already paid’ claim. This usually applies if these goods are damaged or go missing in transit.
3, The ‘I’m Too Young’ or ‘Too Old’ Claim
Many people have a hard time settling their insurance claims. When a car insurance claim application is filed, insurance companies look for reasons to dismiss your claim or pay out as little as possible. Insurance firms dislike inexperienced drivers on the road. If you are unable to find another more experienced driver who can take over your policy, your insurer may refuse to cover you. In the event of an accident, you will not be legally obliged to compensate for any damages you incur unless you take extra precautions by getting additional liability coverage that explicitly covers young or high-risk drivers.
Keep in mind that you will face higher premiums than older drivers if you are between 18-24 years of age. Just because you are over 40 years of age, does not mean your car insurance claim application will automatically be denied. Many insurers pay claims even for seniors who hit trees or damage their houses. However, keep in mind that your premiums for liability coverage will increase once you pass 70 years of age. Many people in this age group have chosen to cover themselves with ‘top-up’ insurance, so they continue being covered for their needs even after age 70 without having to pay higher premiums.
The insurance company is only obliged to provide you with a policy as long as they decide that it is affordable and may require you to take a medical examination. If the insurer believes that your age will cause an increase in the cost of their premiums, they have every right to turn you down.
4. The ‘I’ve Been Injured’ Claim
When people file disability claims through their employers, they must prove that they cannot work due to injury or illness before insurance companies approve benefits. In some extreme cases, though, people may try to fake injuries by claiming that everyday ailments like lower back pain or sciatica are severe enough to prevent them from getting any work done. Generally speaking, if you are injured by someone else’s negligence or omission (a ‘wrongful act’), then that person’s insurance company should compensate you for your injuries and other damages resulting from the incident. However, without enough evidence that the accident happened as described, it will be challenging to win the case even with the best lawyer. This is where your medical records can make all the difference in helping prove your injury claim.
If a health practitioner treated you within 14 days of your accident or three months if death resulted, you can send your health insurer a statutory declaration telling them the nature of your injuries and how they occurred. Make sure all necessary details are included in your statutory declarations. By providing your insurer with enough evidence to establish that you were injured in the accident, they will be required to cover all reasonable costs of any treatment or care reasonably needed as a result of your injuries.
The details may include: medical and hospital expenses; rehabilitation services such as physiotherapy and massage; travel and accommodation expenses if you need to go out-of-town for treatment; attendant care benefits (helps pay for someone else’s time spent caring for you); loss of income if unable to work due to your injuries; prescription medicine, lower extremity prosthetics etc. Your statutory declaration must include all details surrounding the injury so the insurance company can work out how much money you should get paid.
5. The ‘I’m Too Healthy’ Claim
Many of us are probably aware that our insurance premiums are always likely to go up once we reach a certain age, but did you know that this could happen even before you get ‘old age’? It is incredibly easy for insurance companies to use the fact that you are fit and healthy as a reason to increase your premium.
On average, people who work part-time or on some form of sick leave have lower life insurance premiums than those who work full-time. The fact that someone might be less able to afford their mortgage if they died is not considered when working out what to charge them for life insurance. If your work or lifestyle means that you are more likely to contact things like chemicals and dangerous machinery, this can also affect the premium you get.
It does not matter if it is not up to you who you work for; because of the increased risk factor, even if your employer is at fault, you will be forced to pay a higher premium than someone in an office job would. If any part of your health could cause problems (such as high blood pressure), then it may make sense to go along and get checked before making an ‘I’m too healthy’ insurance claim. This way, they should reduce the amount that your insurer charges for life cover.
Sometimes, health insurance companies will rate premiums based on your personal medical history and the state of your current health. If you have not had any serious illnesses in the past 5-10 years, this might preclude you from obtaining certain types of coverage. However, it would be tough for an insurer to prove that you were lying about your current condition at the time of a random blood test. Unless they catch you in a lie through surveillance, it would be difficult for a company to turn down someone just because their health is better than expected.
6. The ‘I’m Too Wealthy’ Claim
Insurers are increasingly encountering customers who claim they are too wealthy to claim their home insurance. Some say that the new breed of ‘high net worth’ customer is trying to game the system by making a small car insurance claim application and then increasing it until they trigger an investigation which could uncover previous undisclosed large claims.
Following this, insurers have come up with a new tactic: when an affluent customer claims they are too wealthy to make a claim, the insurer will ask what type of car they drive. If it is an expensive model like a Ferrari or Maserati, the insurer will investigate further. Currently, there are no specific rules for testing someone’s wealth other than checking their credit file. Some insurers assess clients’ wealth by asking what type of car they drive to determine their means. If it is an expensive model, the insurer will investigate further as a precaution not to incur high costs in the scenario of a car insurance claim application.
Some companies look at a consumer’s lifestyle and expenditure for signs that they could afford a more significant claim. Customers who receive big insurance payouts after a car insurance claim application often feel that their claim has been unfairly rejected and try to appeal. People who have a high net worth are often advised to take out personal accident insurance policies to protect themselves from being the target of lawsuits, even if they have nothing to do with said policy.
Some people argue that everyone should be judged on their circumstances, not merely on the type of car they drive or the possibility of having made a car insurance claim application in the past.
Such people may also be required to submit a medical examination or undergo an annual review to ensure that their coverage remains valid and that their lifestyle has not changed since the first issued policy. However, this could backfire if they do not consider all the criteria used by
insurers.
7. The ‘I’m Already Covered’ Claim
A good number of people think of this every time they are making a car insurance claim application. Many things can cause this unpleasant surprise. For instance, insurance companies allow claims to go through without checking whether or not the customer has other policies that would cover them under different circumstances. But if you have multiple policies or even just a secondary policy, you could be in for a rude awakening when the premiums go up, and the coverage is denied.
When a customer has two insurance policies, one is primary; they think it is always their prior policy. Customers who file secondary claims against multiple carriers may end up with no coverage at all when both companies investigate the claim. Customers with two insurance policies usually have no idea they are uninsured when the second policy does not apply to the specific situation. Using coverage in one policy as a substitute for being insured under another is illegal, unfair, and plain wrong. Yet many companies do it every day.
8. The ‘It Has Nothing to Do With Me’ Claim
Some people may see an opportunity when there is a fire in their area and try to collect their home or car insurance even if there is no evidence that the blaze was started accidentally. If caught, these individuals can be forced to repay all money received and potentially pursue fraud depending on how badly they abused the system when making the home or car insurance claim application.
Other people may choose not to report things like broken light bulbs or other accidents that may lead to dull pavers and pool repairs because they might get blamed for them at a later date. This means that any related damage could go uncovered by insurers until it reaches such a level that they have little choice but to pay up or risk going out of business.
If you are looking for a way to escape responsibility for any damage that you have caused, then trying a home or car insurance claim application might be just what you are looking for. However, sometimes people try to be sneaky about it and take advantage of the system by making claims under pretenses. Some of these may seem outrageous, but others could work if only they would use them in the proper context.
The increase in the number of cars translates to the need for 247 towing services owing to the demand of services on the road: some may be as a result of accidents. With this, it is vital to ensure you have car insurance to cover you in the scenario of an accident. The insurance policies help you cater for the expenses resulting from an accident, including the need for commercial metal fabrication service and replacement of the coaxial rf seals to ensure you continue enjoying using your car.