The most expensive insurance claims that some of you never heard of. Below are some of the biggest claims made, the consequences of those claims, as well as the cost.
The World Banking Crisis 2008
The World Bank Crisis was so severe that businesses lost trillions of dollars, the potential for astronomically big claims increased significantly. In 2008 there was a worldwide collapse of the financial sector that saw banks go under, businesses fold, and huge economies were on the brink of bankruptcy.
The insurance claims put in by businesses who were impacted because of the crisis ran into a staggering $21.5 trillion. The result was higher business insurance premiums even today, and a refusal by some insurance companies to provide cover in the event of a global market collapse.
9/11
The September 11 attacks in America killed 2,996 people whilst injuring over 6,000, caused $10 billion in property and $3 trillion in total costs. $38 billion was paid out to the victims of the atrocity as compensation and many insurance providers have since removed automatic cover from terrorism from their plans.
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita & Wilma
Records show that 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active season recorded in history, seeing storms with winds up to 185mph and a total of 28 storms altogether – with 15 hurricanes and 3,913 fatalities. The cost of the damage caused was around $158.9 billion, with approximately $130 billion paid out as insurance.
Icelandic Ash Clouds
The Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis in April 2010 forced airports in the UK and across Europe to cancel flights for six consecutive days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded overseas. Due to the concerns that the volcanic ash released from the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull would damage aircraft engines the controlled airspace of various European countries closed air traffic.
Disruption to flights then continued for weeks, having a serious impact on businesses and the travel industry, with airlines losing millions of pounds each day.
Worldwide passengers were stranded, businesses came to a stop and hundreds of flights were cancelled. The cost to the airline and hotel industry ran into around $4.3 billion. Many struggled to make successful claims through their insurance as the event was classified as an ‘Act of God’.
The Single Largest Personal Insurance Claim
This accolade goes to the actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson. In 1997 he put in a claim for $1,497,560 after he crashed hisMcLaren F1 sports car. The damage was so severe that it took McLaren a year to repair and rebuild the car.
The unusual repair job is featured in Classic & Sports Car magazine, with a picture of the Rowan Atkinson’s burgundy McLaren on the cover. A specialist insurer with RK Harrison, said the quality components used to make an F1 are one of the reasons the repair costs were astronomical. It took weeks just to get a proper insurance estimate on the vehicle.
Pet Insurance Claims
Pets are a major part of many people’s lives, but when they become ill the vet’s bills can be astronomically high. Should your pet fall ill or be injured, claiming on your insurance to help with vet bills can be pretty straightforward. Hence most people now avail pet insurance to cover in the event of illness and injury. There are instances in the past where insurance companies have had to pay even more than $20,000 for surgeries on sick pets.
Lessons learnt…
The earth can throw a host of challenges like hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, electrical blackouts, floods and pandemics at us. Hence, we need to insure our homes, families, assets, cars, health, businesses and even pets to ensure we don’t suffer financially. And as we all know, if the risk is manageable, insurance companies will insure anything
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