Aviva Canada’s Quirkiest Claims of 2019

March 18th, 2020  |  Insurance

Many auto and home insurance claims are pretty straight forward, but some are just downright unusual.

Insurer Aviva Canada had some pretty quirky ones in 2019, and we thought we’d share them with you.

• Home alone kitties In one Aviva customer’s home, two felines accidently turned on the kitchen faucet while their owner was at work. It caused the sink to overflow and flooded the kitchen. Since it was hours before the homeowner returned, significant damage was caused to the floor tile and the cupboards. The insurer approved the claim and connected their customer with a contractor. We’re happy to report the kitchen and the cats are now back to normal.
• Hey, that’s my truck! One customer’s truck was stolen from a local hotel. He called a friend to pick him up and then called his insurer, Aviva, while in the car. As he shared the details to start a claim, he spotted his stolen truck passing them on the highway. The customer stayed on the phone with the insurer while his friend dialed 911. Police arrested the driver and Aviva arranged to have the vehicle inspected. The truck was ultimately returned undamaged.
• Now that’sa collection One Aviva customer was an antique car collector. A fire caused the loss of his entire collection of 36 antique cars. The insurer paid out the claim, which included the value of the 36 vehicles and he’s already started rebuilding his collection. But he also asked to keep all 36 of the burnt vehicles, telling the insurer he had plans to create a museum on his property.
• The great drywall mix-up A drywall contractor showed up at a customer’s house to make necessary repairs to the basement. When he got there - much to his surprise - all of the walls downstairs had already been drywalled. As it turns out, a house up the street was being rebuilt and their tradesperson went to the wrong home by accident. Aviva’s contractor got the day off and the additional repairs to the basement are still proceeding.
• One sneaky stowaway One Aviva customer rented a vehicle in Mexico and was involved in a minor accident while leaving a parking lot. When he pulled over to check the damage and checked under the hood, he was surprised to find a large snake wrapped around the engine. Although the reptile didn’t cause any damage, Aviva paid out the damage to the car’s body and the customer went safely on his way – minus the snake.

Aviva Canada reported it paid 99 per cent of its claims in 2018. That year, it paid 256,367 customer claims worth more than $2.7 billion between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. The figure includes both home and auto claims.