Norwich Union, one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies, has revealed some of the unique reasons its customers make a claim. Included among them are paint-licking bovines and falling squirrels. But it was not just animals that topped the list of bizarre motor claims, according to claims data released by the company. Food was the second biggest cause of strange claims, including unfortunately placed potatoes and flying kebabs.

Below are 10 of the strangest claims the company received in the past 12 months:

“A frozen squirrel fell out of a tree and crashed through the windscreen on to the passenger seat.”
“The car was parked when a reindeer fell on the [hood] of my car.”
“As I was driving round a bend, when one of the doors opened and a frozen kebab flew out, hitting and damaging a passing car.”
“A herd of cows licked my car and caused damage to the paintwork.”
“A zebra collided with my car when I was at a safari park.”
“While I was waiting at traffic lights, a wasp went down my trouser leg which made me hit the accelerator and prang the car in front.”
“I couldn't brake because a potato was logged behind the brake.”
“My parked car was hit by a bull, which had escaped from an agricultural show.”
“A cow jumped on my quad bike.”
“As I came over a hill, I hit a cow in the middle of the road, which then hit the [hood] and shattered the windscreen with its rear end.” (The cow survived.)

“We see a lot of strange claims but we were surprised at how many involved animals and food of all things,” said Sally Leeman, a representative of Norwich Union. “We can hardly tell drivers to beware of flying kebabs and frozen squirrels when they're on the roads, but this shows how important it is to be aware of what's going on around you at all times.”

Special Reports /

Claims from Across the Pond

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