Press Release

Introducing Wii as a new source of mayhem...

…then there was the bloke obeying the instructions of his sat nav, It said turn left, so he did, straight through a fence and into a field. It was one of the many unusual insurance claims to be received by RACT Insurance in 2009.

Each year, RACT Insurance staff compile a list of the claims that fall into an unofficial category they call would-you-believe-it.

In previous years, the list has included a hunter who accidentally shot up his own car, and a young driver who tried to flick a cigarette butt out the window, and rolled his car when the butt blew back in, and started smouldering down his shirt front.

"Technology always plays its part in the RACT Insurance list of good reasons to be insured," says Trent Sayers, Chief Executive of RACT Insurance, "such as our very first appearance of a Wii claim in 2009." 

Animatedly playing tennis in front of the TV screen, one of the children let go of a games console which flew through the air and smashed a valuable leadlight glass ornament on top of the TV cabinet.

In fact, children again featured prominently in the 2009 list such as:

• The kids who were playing a boisterous game in the garden with grandpa's old golf clubs, and failed to notice the game had moved into their grand mother's living room, until an expensive ceiling light received the full force of a golf club wielded by a youngster.

• Another grand mother whose grandchildren unplugged the power point for the freezer so they could re-charge their mobile phones. They forgot to re-connect the freezer when grandma drove them off for a three day break. She returned home to a strange smell in her kitchen.

• Little Johnny tended to get car sick, and on this occasion unfortunately an expensive portable dvd/cd player was on the seat next to his booster. It hasn't worked since.

• Running water is a source of fascination for small children. On this occasion, the youngster turned on a bathroom tap, extracted a few moments entertainment from watching the water gurgle out, and wandered off to find something else to do. The bathroom and outside lobby area were flooded before adults realised what was happening.

• A child thought the car CD player was a good place to put coins. After all, it kind of looks like a slot machine. The CD player needed replacing.

Another strange claim involved the issue of crime and punishment. Police were chasing an alleged offender who ran through our policy holder's wooden gate. It was closed, and a somewhat sore alleged offender subsequently helped police with their inquiries while RACT Insurance replaced the splintered gate.

To boating, and there was a nasty incident involving a boat and its mast. It actually happened several kilometres from the water when the mast of a boat being trailered became entangled in branches over-hanging the road. Damage to boat and trailer was considerable.

After a pleasant day's fishing, everything went down hill for another policy holder. His car became bogged at the fishing ground, and the tide came in. Result? Extensive water damage to the car's interior.

Sometimes the problem with small boats occurs when one wishes to spend a penny. On this occasion, the policy holder became quite frantic, and motored rather too fast for the public toilets he could see on the foreshore. His boat hit the rocks quite hard. No injuries onboard, but a fair bit of damage.

Animals also feature in the insurer's list of wacky claims. One policy holder was surprised when a sheep smashed through her ceiling-to-floor lounge room window. Hot on its heels came her pet pooch, obviously enjoying the fun of the chase.

Then there was the horse - actually it was a plastic rocking horse - which got swept away in one of the many gales last year, and smashed through a window. It's a reminder, says Mr Sayers, that we live in a windy part of the world, and outdoor objects such as trampolines, children's swing sets and rocking horses, all need to be securely attached to the ground; otherwise they can become lethal missiles.

"After investigation, all the claims on our list have been paid out, but it does point to the need for Tasmanians to be adequately insured, because you never know when a sheep is going to burst through your lounge window, or when your navigation device is going to take control of your brain and make you obey its every command, even the wrong ones."

ENDS

For further information, Mr Sayers on 0401 993 926