Wrapping paper woes, accidents caused by new Christmas gifts, and valuables being lost or damaged in a flurry of festivity have led to some of the most memorable Christmas Day insurance claims, according to AA Insurance.
“Christmas Day can be chaotic as family and friends pile into homes to celebrate together, new presents are trialled and tested, and wrapping paper covers the floor,” said AA Insurance Head of Home Claims, Tom Bartlett.
“As a result, we receive all kinds of memorable claims that could only ever happen on Christmas Day – and we hope by that by sharing some of the quirkier examples, we can help others avoid similar mishaps this year!”
Wrapping paper is one of the more surprising culprits behind Christmas Day contents claims.
“We’ve had claims where customers have accidentally scooped up their mobile phones in a pile of wrapping paper and tossed them in the trash or the bonfire before they realised – while others have seemingly misplaced their glasses, only to find they have been thrown away in one of Santa’s rubbish sacks.”
Children testing newly gifted toys on Christmas Day have also resulted in many accidental damage claims – with AA Insurance seeing many windows, TVs, laptops and phones falling victim to kids’ festive exuberance.
“Some memorable toy mishaps include young children shooting their brand-new projectiles at the TV and cracking the screen, and we’ve had cases where electronics have been saturated by super soaker water guns,” says Bartlett.
“And, speaking of saturating electronic devices – we’ve also had our fair share of claims relating to people taking their first dip of the summer after Christmas lunch – and forgetting to take out their hearing aids.”
AA Insurance also sees Christmas feasts nearly ruined due to malfunctioning appliances. Broken ovens with days to go before Christmas, power cuts defrosting food in the freezer, and barbeques catching alight have featured as Christmas claims in recent years.
Christmas Day claims mishaps are often linked to people being distracted – which is understandable given the sheer amount of chaos that surrounds the Christmas season.
“We notice a lift in motor claims in December caused by shopping centre related carpark dings. We’ve also had claims involving laptops and other valuables being reversed over or flung off the roof of the car.”
AA Insurance is here to help customers get their mishaps sorted – even when they happen on Christmas Day.
“We want all Kiwis to have a wonderful Christmas this year while taking extra care of themselves, their loved ones and their prized possessions. AA Insurance is here throughout the holidays to help get things sorted if you need to make a claim or update your policy,” concludes Bartlett.
About AA Insurance
AA Insurance is an independently operated, New Zealand-based joint venture between the New Zealand Automobile Association Limited (NZAA) and Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited (VINZL). Since 1994 we have demonstrated trusted expertise in home, contents and car insurance in New Zealand, and in 2018 introduced commercial small business insurance. We underwrite our own policies and sell direct to New Zealanders. Our 1000+ employees look after 500,000+ customers with more than 1,000,000 policies.
We proudly partner with Variety New Zealand – the Children’s Charity (as the lead partner of its Beds for Kids programme), Student Volunteer Army and support grassroot school sports via our Big Little Sponsorship sports grant in partnership with Eden Park. We are consistently recognised in industry awards and honours, including being voted the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted General Insurer for 13 years running, named Canstar’s 2023 Home and Contents Insurer of the Year and Outstanding Value Award winner, and currently ranked 7th amongst 100 of New Zealand’s most successful companies in the Kantar Corporate Reputation Index (since 2015).
Find out more at www.aainsurance.co.nz
For more information please contact:
AA Insurance Media Team
mediacontact@aainsurance.co.nz