Border closures, flight cancellations, and lost luggage – we’ve all heard the standard stories from friends of friends who knew someone that had a mishap while travelling. But behind the scenes, we see wild stories happening when people are away from home. We’ve shared our top 10 strangest claims to come across our desk.
iPad vs Bum
Running downstairs with her husband’s iPad in hand, one customer found herself missing a pesky stair and sliding bum-first to the bottom. The iPad, unfortunately, found itself directly underneath her bum, acting as a makeshift sled. Safe to say, the iPad did not come out on top in this scenario.
Toe Troubles
If you’ve had an ingrown toenail, you know they can be incredibly painful. Add in a few long-haul flights, altitude-induced inflammation, and an incorrectly performed toenail extraction, suddenly you’re in a whole world of pain. For one man, this pain involved submitting a $1,400 claim.
Serious Sunburn
While most of us have learned not to underestimate the power of the sun in the southern hemisphere, one woman unfortunately fell asleep on the beach in New Zealand. She woke to find herself with a sunburn permeating several layers of skin, resulting in a multi-day hospital stay. The total claim amounted to a staggering $94,163.
Poor Proposal
Planning the ultimate surprise proposal is stressful at the best of times. Add two cancelled flights and the rush to arrive in time for work on Monday, one unlucky guy found himself out of pocket thousands of dollars and stranded in an airport for two days. Needless to say, he would have preferred to have proposed in Hobart.
Tooth Hurty
Sitting atop a bar stool eating a mandarin sounds like a harmless way to start a story. For one man it was the beginning of a long and painful dental journey.
After dropping a seed on the floor, the man toppled over to pick it up. Falling face-first onto the kitchen tiles, he smashed both front teeth resulting in a double tooth extraction and a lengthy healing process.
Cockroach Carnage
While enjoying a bottle of wine over some late-night work, one couple was startled by a rogue cockroach scuttling across the table. In the carnage that followed, the cockroach disappeared unscathed, leaving two wine-soaked laptops and a hefty insurance claim.
Man down
While it sounds like something from a movie, one unfortunate customer found himself falling down an uncovered manhole while in the USA. Luckily, he escaped with a few minor injuries and an expensive overnight hospital stay.
Elephant escape
During an African safari, a couple found themselves face-to-face with a particularly aggressive bull elephant. In their haste to get away, the couple backed directly into a tree, resulting in a very unhappy car hire company.
Beware of monkeys
Monkeys chased and bit a young woman several times during an unprovoked incident in Thailand.
Despite disinfecting the wounds, the girl was advised she needed immediate medical attention – the only problem, she was mid-way through a tour that could not be cut short due to a limited supply of speedboats and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. After travelling to several different emergency departments and private clinics, the woman was told there were limited supplies of vaccines and the only way to get the medical treatment she needed was to fly back to Australia immediately.
Naughty toddler
Leaving a phone and a smartwatch in the vicinity of a curious one-year-old ended extremely badly for dad after his son threw the items off the hotel balcony. At least the toddler was amused.
The overarching lesson? The world can be a weird and wacky place, so it may be a good idea to travel protected. Buy your Webjet Travel Insurance before you fly.
Based on actual claims filed by customers and approved under their travel Insurance policy with Cover-More. To respect privacy, customer names have been changed. Note: All claims and claim circumstances are assessed under the terms and conditions, limitations and exclusions set out in the Please refer to the Policy Wording and these examples are indicative only. Your or any similar claim may have a different outcome. Always read the Policy Wording.
For COVID-19 claims to be considered, the country or area that the customer is in must not be listed as ‘Do not travel’ on safetravel.govt.nz at the time the traveller entered the country/area. Limits, sub-limits, conditions and exclusions apply. Insurance administered by Cover-More (NZ) Ltd, underwritten and issued by Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ZAIL incorporated in Australia), ABN 13 000 296 640, trading as Zurich New Zealand. For further information see Zurich New Zealand’s financial strength rating. Any advice is general advice only. Please consider your financial situation, needs and objectives and read the Policy Wording before deciding to buy this insurance.
