Melissa Choules, senior claims handler at Total Landlord Insurance, says ‘real life is stranger than fiction. As landlord insurance providers we hear some quite remarkable stories. Just because a story is unusual, it doesn’t mean the damage caused is any less serious and disruptive.
That’s why having insurance is so important – you never quite know what’s going to happen and.... trust us, we’ve seen it all.’
To kick us off: who doesn’t love a good war story? Surrey landlords, presumably.
In the Autumn of 2022, Surrey had the air sirens out when an unexploded WWII bomb, well…exploded. 77 years too late. The detonation left a landlord’s property in ruins as floorboards and doorframes splintered in the big bang, pelting the house with matchstick shrapnel as the bomb finally fulfilled its naughty destiny. Leaving the building’s foundations in an irreparable condition, the insurance company further pleased the owner by opting for a total rebuild, forking out the princely sum of £204k in the process. Nice.
A slightly cleaner story is the age old tale of the tenant and the bathtub.
We’ve all had luxurious deep, hot baths that seem impossible to get out of, but some people take the sentiment rather too literally. Like this unlucky (fortunately, nameless) tenant.
A nosey neighbour takes up the story: ‘[we heard her] shrieking “help! I’m stuck!”. So we investigated.’ unable to get into the property, they called 999. After forcing entry, the police found themselves ill equipped to pry the woman free from her watery captor, so called for reinforcements from the Fire Brigade. ‘The tenant’s life was hanging on by a thread due to being stuck in a tub’, reported the landlord as he claimed £1000 damages. The tenant is unavailable for comment, as presumably she’s changed her name and started a new life somewhere else.
England’s journey to the final of last years’ Euro’s brought the country together. Whether they liked it or not.
Wrapped up in the excitement of England’s near miss, a woman was distracted whilst washing her son’s Buzz Lightyear pyjamas (other pyjamas are available), and left the tap running to catch a glimpse of the action. When returning to the kitchen she discovered the obvious. As, shortly afterward, did her downstairs neighbour, who may or may not have been Italian. Regardless, no one won, as the cost of the insurance claim was more than £10k.