09 February, 2012
A helicopter, Faberge egg collection, a pair of false teeth and
a village phone box tops a list of the strangest items that rural
insurance firm Cornish Mutual has been asked to cover, it has been
revealed for the first time.
The company, which has nearly 24,000 Members across the
Westcountry, has been asked to provide insurance cover for a
stately home worth more than £5 million, a family of camels,
medical gasses and a bronze statue marking the 1497 Cornish
rebellion.
Other more unusual requests for cover include vast and expensive
porcelain, art and antiques collections and a road bicycle with no
lights for daytime use only - all of which were refused.
One Inspector working for Cornish Mutual in North Devon also
handled an insurance claim where a sunbathing sheep was startled by
a postal van and managed to jump through a person's front room
window and disembowel itself, dying on the owner's lounge floor
carpet.
In 2010/11 more than 5,800 insurance claims were handled by
Cornish Mutual in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset and the
company paid out over £10 million.
Philip Wilson, Business Development Manager at Cornish Mutual,
says: "I would like to say that we have seen and heard it all
before when it comes to strange requests for insurance cover or the
more unusual claims, but now I'm not so sure! On a serious note, it
is very important to ensure that you have the right type of
insurance cover in place for your personal belongings or items of
any value, however bizarre or unusual they may be. It's worth
checking that you are adequately insured to the right level because
if you need to make a claim, you may find yourself
underinsured."
He adds: "Compared to other insurers, we pride ourselves on our
very straightforward claims service where we make it as easy as
possible for our Members to claim. Although these examples are some
of the more unusual ones we've handled, our Member Services team
and local Inspectors do a great job of dealing with claims and
requests for insurance and do their best to help wherever they
can.
"Because we provide a very personal, flexible service and range
of bespoke insurance products, we can tailor our cover around the
specific needs of the individual wherever possible, so it is always
worth checking with us first."
