Most of the time, car insurance claims are fairly routine affairs involving fender benders or storm damage. Truly bizarre claims, however, are rare and elusive. If you Google “weird auto insurance claim,” you’ll find multiple improbable rumors involving wrecks caused by drivers ogling naked pedestrians, windshields damaged in squirrel nut attacks, and even one report by a driver who claimed his windscreen melted when a plane crash-landed nearby and burst into flames.

Actually, verifiable claims are much harder to come by; however, we’ve been able to track down 5 truly off-the-wall auto insurance claims that are just as strange as they are improbable. Below are the associated stories for each of the claims.

Please remember that you can always contact our office for any auto insurance accident or claim you encounter—no matter how strange it may be. Our office will be glad to assist.

Claim 1: In December 2011, Seattle news outlets reported a bizarre story involving a mattress and a three-car pile-up. A couple had failed to tie their mattress securely to the top of their SUV. As they were driving, the mattress loosed itself from its moorings and landed in the middle of the highway, causing a three-way crash.

As two good Samaritans stopped to help, the female driver hopped back into her vehicle and fled the scene, leaving her male passenger to deal with the aftermath. Shortly thereafter, one of the good Samaritans also left. A few miles down the road, however, he spied a man’s head “bobbing around in the backseat.” It turned out to be the male passenger had stowed away, hoping to escape the accident scene undetected.

Claim 2: A driver has involved in a minor rear-end collision in which he smashed the taillight of a car ahead. He then reversed slightly to survey the damage, but in a stroke of ill-luck, he hit the front bumper of the driver behind him. Then, when he opened his door to exit his vehicle, he knocked down a passing cyclist, resulting in three insurance claims!

Claim 3: An insurance agent received a rather suspicious claim for heavy hail damage to a car. When the adjuster inspected the damage, he was skeptical that hail could have caused the perfectly symmetrical, round divots that peppered the entire surface of the damaged car.

The insurance company rejected the claim as the vehicle had been purposefully damaged, not by hail, but by a ball-peen hammer. The company figured the client would be so embarrassed at being caught in an obvious attempt at insurance fraud that he would drop the entire matter. Instead, the man filed a police report claiming that an unknown assailant had beaten his car with a ball-peen hammer! The client then filed a new insurance claim, and this time, because they couldn’t prove that the client had inflicted the damage himself, the insurance company was forced to pay the claim.

Claim 4: A farmer was driving around in his pickup truck and had his shotgun riding, well, shotgun. Arriving at his destination, the man grabbed his gun and hopped out of the cab. Unfortunately, he lost his grip, and the gun discharged. He wasn’t sure if he’d fired the gun while grabbing for it or if it went off by itself as it hit the ground.

The gun was loaded with buckshot, and while, thankfully, the man was uninjured, the truck’s interior wasn’t as fortunate. The truck’s entire cab — headliner, seat covers, and dashboard — had suffered extensive damage. Luckily, the client had comprehensive insurance, and the claim was paid.

Claim 5: In 1974, a young woman drove her beloved “hippie van” to an upholstery shop to have a fold-down bed installed in the back. The van then disappeared from the shop’s lot, and a claim was filed with her insurance company. The woman was reimbursed roughly $600 for the vehicle, which was about what she’d paid for it.

Fast-forward 35 years when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Los Angeles recovered a perfectly restored, still-running VW minibus from a shipping container bound for the Netherlands. They ran the VIN (vehicle identification) number and discovered it was the same vehicle stolen from back in 1974.

Now owned by here insurance company, the minibus is worth about $25,000. The individual is hopeful that she can come to terms with her insurer and get her minibus back. One can only imagine the stories it would tell if it could talk!

Make Motorcycle Riding Safety Your Top Priority

Operating a motorcycle takes different skills than driving a car; however, the road laws apply to every driver just the same. A combination of consistent education, regard for traffic laws, and basic common sense can go a long way in helping reduce the number of fatalities involved in motorcycle accidents every year.

Here is a checklist that every motorcycle rider should follow:

• Always wear a helmet with a face shield or protective eyewear — Wearing a helmet is the best way to protect against severe head injuries. A motorcycle rider not wearing a helmet is five times more likely to sustain a critical head injury.
• Wear appropriate gear — Make sure to wear protective gear and clothing to minimize the number of injuries in case of an accident or a skid. Wearing leather clothing, boots with nonskid soles, and gloves can protect your body from severe injuries. Consider attaching reflective tape to your clothing to make it easier for other drivers to see you.
• Follow traffic rules — Obey the speed limit; the faster you go, the longer it will take you to stop. Be aware of local traffic laws and rules of the road.
• Ride defensively — Don’t assume that a driver can see you, as nearly two-thirds of all motorcycle accidents are caused by a driver violating a rider’s right of way. It would help if you always rode with your headlights on; stay out of a driver’s blind spot; signal well in advance of any change in direction, and watch for turning vehicles.
• Keep your riding skills honed through education — Complete a formal riding education program, get licensed, and take riding courses from time to time to develop riding techniques and to sharpen your street-riding strategies.
• Be awake and ride sober — Don’t drink and ride; you could cause harm to yourself and others. Additionally, fatigue and drowsiness can impair your ability to react, so make sure you are well-rested when you hit the road.

Preparing To Ride

Making sure that your motorcycle is fit for the road is just as important as practicing safe riding. Should something be wrong with your motorcycle, it will be in your best interest to find out before hitting the road. To make sure that your motorcycle is in good working order, check the following:

• Tires — check for any cracks or bulges, or signs of wear in the treads. Low tire pressure or any defects could cause a blowout.
• Under the motorcycle — Look for signs of oil or gas leaks.
• Headlight, taillight, and signals — Test for high and low beams. Make sure that all lights are functioning.
• Hydraulic and Coolant fluids — Level should be checked weekly.

Once you’ve mounted the motorcycle, complete the following checks:

• Clutch and throttle — Make sure they are working smoothly. The throttle should snap back when released.
• Mirrors — Clean and adjust all mirrors to ensure the sharpest viewing.
• Brakes — Test front and rear brakes. Each brake should feel firm and hold the motorcycle still when fully applied.
• Horn — Test the horn

Your water heater may remain unseen, hidden in a utility closet, or sitting alone in a basement, but keep in mind that it needs regular maintenance for safety reasons. To make sure yours is safe, get to know its parts and learn some important facts.

Water heater parts
Most residential tanks hold 40 to 60 gallons and have to hold the pressure of a residential water system, which typically runs at 50 to 100 pounds per square inch (psi). Steel tanks are tested to handle 300 psi and normally have a bonded glass liner to keep rust out of the water and insulation surrounding the tank. Other water heater parts include:

• A dip tube to let cold water into the tank
• A pipe to let hot water out of the tank
• A thermostat to control the temperature of the water inside the tank
• Heating elements similar to those inside an electric oven
• A drain valve that allows you to drain the tank to replace the elements or to move the tank
• A temperature or pressure relief valve that keeps the tank from exploding
• A sacrificial anode rod to help keep the steel tank from corroding

Temperature or pressure relief valve
A temperature or pressure relief valve helps prevent a tank from exploding if temperature or pressure exceeds safe limits. Unfortunately, residential valves are somewhat prone to failure. As part of your annual water heater care, test this valve by:

• Pulling up on the handle to make sure water flows freely out and stops when you let go of the handle.   If it does nothing or runs or drips, then the valve should be replaced.
• Flushing the water heater through the drain valve at least once a year to remove sediment buildup. You should have a drain line, usually within about 6 inches of the floor, or plumbed outside.  This is to prevent you from being scalded if the valve should open while you’re standing next to it.

Temperature control
On residential tanks, the settings are normally warm, hot, very hot, or something similar. There is so much variation on what these settings mean, but the right temperature is at least 130 degrees at the tap, which you can test with a meat or candy thermometer.

It is important to keep the temperature close to 130 degrees. Even though you can be scalded at 130 degrees if you spend long enough under the water, you’ll probably drawback before that happens. If the temperature is below 120 degrees, Legionella bacteria can grow, and you could catch Legionnaire’s disease by inhaling the mist when you take a shower.

Temperatures above 130 degrees increase your scalding risk, encourage sediment buildup, and waste energy.

When leaving for vacation, set the water heater temperature at its lowest setting. This will save money and reduce the risk of any problems while you are away. Also, if your faucets are sputtering, spitting, and spewing, it could be a sign that your water heater is overheating.

Vents
A poor draft can cause fumes and carbon monoxide to come back into the room instead of outside. To maintain good ventilation, make sure that:

• The vent is the same diameter as the tank’s draft diverter.
• The vent goes straight up and out, without any dips.
• Where it passes through walls or roofs, it is double-walled. Single-walled vent sections should be screwed with 3 screws per section, especially in earthquake zones.

Earthquake straps
Strapping your water heater is a good idea, even if you live outside an earthquake zone. If your water heater were to fall over for any reason, it could sever the gas line and cause an explosion.

Additional water heater safety tips
Keep safe by following these water heater recommendations:

• Remove paper, accumulated dust, or other combustibles from the heater enclosure.
• Extinguish the pilot light before using flammable liquids or setting off aerosol bug bombs.
• If the device is in the garage, raise it, so the pilot light is 18 inches above the floor.   This helps prevent the ignition of gasoline vapors that collect near the floor.
• Consider installing an automatic gas shutoff valve that stops the gas flow if the ground moves or if gas flow increases dramatically. The valve, which costs around $300, prevents fires when a gas line breaks due to flood, earthquake, or other disasters.
• You may also want to insulate the first 6 feet of the hot water pipe and the first 3 feet of the cold water pipe that extends from your hot water tank. Insulating the hot water pipe reduces heat loss, and insulating the cold water pipe reduces “sweating” in the summer. You can find pipe wrap insulation for this purpose in most hardware stores.
• Do not use pipe wrap or any other insulation within 6 inches of the draft hood or flue exhaust vent at the top of the natural gas water heater. –

When you buy or lease a new car or truck, the vehicle starts to depreciate when it leaves the car lot. In fact, most cars lose 20 percent of their value within one year. Standard auto insurance policies cover the depreciated value; in other words, insurance pays the vehicle’s current market value. If you finance the purchase of a new car and only put down a small deposit, the loan amount may exceed the market value of the vehicle in its early years of ownership. Gap insurance is available to cover the “gap” between what a vehicle is worth and what you owe on it.

It’s a good idea to consider buying gap insurance for your new car or truck purchase if you:

• Made less than a 20 percent down payment.
• Financed for 60 months or longer.
• Leased the vehicle.
• Purchased a vehicle that depreciates faster than the average.
• Rolled over negative equity from an old car loan into the new loan.

While the car dealer may offer to sell you gap insurance on your new vehicle, most car insurers offer it—and it typically costs much less. Most auto insurance policies, including gap insurance with collision and comprehensive coverage, add only about $20 a year to the annual premium.