With the bustle of the Christmas holidays fast approaching, AA Insurance has listed some of its most memorable Christmas Day insurance claims, as a reminder to be a little more careful during the festivities.
While apparently innocuous, wrapping paper is involved in a lot of Christmas Day contents claims, according to AA Insurance head of home claims Tom Bartlett.
“We’ve had claims where customers have accidentally scooped up their mobile phones in a pile of wrapping paper and tossed them in the trash or the bonfire before they realised – while others have seemingly misplaced their glasses, only to find they have been thrown away in one of Santa’s rubbish sacks,” Bartlett said.
Another common cause of damage claims is children testing their newly gifted toys. In their excitement, kids have accidentally broken windows, TVs, laptops and phones, AA Insurance’s claims data showed.
“Some memorable toy mishaps include young children shooting their brand-new projectiles at the TV and cracking the screen, and we’ve had cases where electronics have been saturated by super soaker water guns,” Bartlett said. “And, speaking of saturating electronic devices – we’ve also had our fair share of claims relating to people taking their first dip of the summer after Christmas lunch – and forgetting to take out their hearing aids.”
The insurer has also received claims due to malfunctioning appliances nearly ruining Christmas feasts. These include ovens breaking down just days before Christmas, power cuts defrosting food in the freezer, and barbecues catching alight.
Many Christmas mishaps are often linked to people being distracted due to the season’s frenzied atmosphere.
“We notice a lift in motor claims in December caused by shopping centre-related carpark dings,” Bartlett said. “We’ve also had claims involving laptops and other valuables being reversed over or flung off the roof of the car.”
Bartlett said that AA Insurance will support its customers even when mishaps happen on Christmas Day.
“We hope that by sharing some of the quirkier examples, we can help others avoid similar mishaps this year,” he said.
