Protecting over 50s homes for a quarter of a century gives you a wealth of experience in home insurance and, as it turns out, it also gives you a lot of peculiar stories to share.
Saga Home Insurance, which is this year celebrating 25 years of insuring the over 50s homes, has revealed some of the most out-of-the-ordinary and noteworthy claims it had received.
“Looking back on 25 years of claims it’s clear that you never really know when or how misfortune can strike. Whether its pets, human error, the weather or even a freak accident, having the right level of cover in place makes all the difference when it comes to replacing items, or repairing damage.”
“Looking ahead to the next 25 years, it’s hard not to wonder what kind of claims we might be dealing with in 2040 – driverless cars ploughing into garages perhaps, or delivery drones crashing into roofs. If we’ve learnt anything from the last 25 years it’s that you never know what’s just around the corner…particularly if pets are involved,” Sue Green, head of home insurance at Saga says.
*
Lightning sometimes does strike twice
During a storm in July 2015, a Saga customer’s house in Co. Durham was hit not once but twice by lightning, damaging the rendering on the gable. The storm, which affected large parts of the North East, also saw hailstones the size of golf balls crashing into properties, prompting a flurry of calls from worried homeowners.
Seed-y goings on
A couple who kept bird seeds in plastic containers in their garage got a shock when the containers spontaneously combusted causing £36,000 worth of damage to the outbuilding itself and its contents. Fortunately the couple were covered and were able to fully repair the damage.
Foam alone
One policyholder was having her cavity walls insulated when she discovered that the builder had been pumping the expanding foam into her cloakroom instead of the wall, filling it to the brim. Fortunately, no one was in the cloakroom at the time and Saga came to the rescue by covering the cost of the repairs.
The old house by the sea
When a surge tide hit a house originally built in 1902, the damage was so extensive the owners believed they would have to tear it down and rebuild it from scratch. However, as they had spent most of their lives turning the property into their dream home, they resolved to save as much of it as possible. To their delight, their Saga policy allowed them to spend over £200,000 to save the house, restoring it to its original state.
Never work with animals
As you’d expect, Saga deals with countless instances of damage caused by mischievous pets. Conniving cats have a habit of knocking glasses of liquid over expensive electronics, but dogs are guilty too – one Saga customer left his hearing aids on a coffee table only for his peckish pooch to gobble them up without a second thought. Not all policies cover pet damage, so those with furry friends are advised to review their policy.
