And finally… from amorous horses to blundering burglars, Aviva’s most bizarre claims of 2018

In a year that saw the Beast from the East batter UK homes, insurance giant Aviva has today revealed that it also dealt with a range of unusual claims from its customers including damage caused by a hapless burglar who locked himself in a garden shed and a holidaying customer who had their mobile phone destroyed by a monkey.

And finally… from amorous horses to blundering burglars, Aviva’s most bizarre claims of 2018

Mistaken identity: a horse mistook a customer’s car for a female horse, and proceeded to make amorous advances, including getting its front legs onto the vehicle! The damaged car got the hump, but Aviva put things right by arranging for the bodywork to be repaired.

The hapless burglar: a burglar who tried – and failed – to break in to a customer’s house hid in a garden shed when he was rumbled by the homeowner. The burglar accidentally locked himself in to the shed, making it easy for police to apprehend him. Aviva paid the claim for damage to the home (windows) and shed.



Don’t blame the gorilla: a customer was on a trek to see gorillas in their natural habitat. Their guide took them close to a group of gorillas and surprised one of them, who bit our customer on the arm and ran off. Aviva arranged for medical assistance for the customer, who said he didn’t blame the gorilla!

The cat in the car: a cat snuck into our customer’s car as he was unloading groceries. Later, noticing his hazards were on, the customer went outside to see the cat in his vehicle. The cat had tried to escape by clawing at the roof of the car, causing substantial interior damage! The customer opened the door and the cat hightailed it out. Aviva repaired the car – and the cat was not injured.

The monkey did it: a customer was on holiday when a monkey snatched his bag, jumped on top of a wall and proceeded to rifle through the customer’s belongings. The monkey found the customer’s mobile phone and smashed it on the ground. Aviva replaced the customer’s phone.

Cracked heads: Aviva received claims for damage to the heads of Ben Affleck and Justin Bieber – or, to be more specific, their wax likenesses. Fine cracks ruined the waxworks of our commercial customer and Aviva paid the business that created them.

Andy Briggs, chief executive Officer, Aviva UK Insurance, said: “Insurance is there to protect against the unexpected, no matter how unlikely the circumstance. And in volume and variety, our data on the claims we accepted in 2018 shows that Aviva helped its customers when they needed us most.”

Aviva accepted 991,700 claims from its UK customers in 2018.

The UK’s largest insurer accepted 96 per cent of the claims it received, worth more than £3.8 billion – the equivalent of £10,430,035 every day, or £7,243 going to customers every minute across its UK motor, home, health, protection, travel, life and critical illness businesses.

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