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drRobertzz · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 5 Location: USA

You're covered! Even for the dumbest acts

Jetskis can be risky and so can skydiving but together they're a dangerous combination

life insurance

Life insurance is frequently a very solemn business and the issues dealt with are always emotive. However, occasionally some deaths defy all logic and basic common sense to such a degree that it may seem very unlikely that a life insurance provider would pay out.

A leading UK life insurance provider however has uncovered some of the most jaw-dropping, dumb reasons for expiring around the world. As long as there was no non-disclosure or participation in a criminal act, the life insurance provider would have actually paid out on similar claims in the UK.

Bizarre life insurance claims

Incident 1: In 1993 Robert Overacker decided to challenge the 180-foot Niagara Falls. His plan was to ride a jet ski downriver and over the edge, where he would jump away from the vehicle while plummeting into the abyss. As he sprang from the seat a parachute would automatically detonate and he would be able to safely float down to the river below.

Robert was filmed leaping from his ski at the brink of the falls where the parachute detonated. Unfortunately, it wasn't tethered to his body. The parachute landed safely in the river below, but Robert didn't.

Incident 2:: In Oregon, USA in 2001 a local man lost control of his Toyota truck, which careered into a mailbox and flipped onto its side, knocking down high-voltage power lines.

The motorist climbed from the truck and surveyed the situation with a pair of pruning shears in his hand. He reached up to clip the snaking cable lying across his truck and was electrocuted when the shears touched the 7500-volt cable. He was found face-down on the power line with the pruning shears still in his hands.

Incident 3:: In 2002 a farm keeper from São Paulo, Brazil decided to remove a beehive from his orange tree. He didn't know exactly how to proceed, but he knew the hive should be burned and he knew bees sting. So he protected his head with a plastic bag sealed tightly around his neck, grabbed a torch, and went off to fight the bees.

His worried wife went to look for him a few hours later, and found his body. However, it wasn't the bees that killed him. The plastic bag had protected him from smoke, stingers and - oxygen! He had forgotten to add breathing holes.

Incident 4: In 2004, two Taiwanese university students, in an effort to impress a female colleague, agreed to ride their motor scooters at each other in a high speed 'joust', and the one who didn't turn away would win the exclusive right to pursue the girl.

Obviously both were very keen on her, because neither of them turned away. Their scooters fatally collided head-on at 50 mph. The girl at the centre of the rut refused to comment, other than to say that she "wasn't interested in either of them."

Incident 5: In 2002, a young man chose to play in a dangerous natural Hawaiian waterspout called the Halona Blowhole, which is a rock funnel formation that shoots seawater 20 feet into the air. A locked gate keeps people away from the stairs to the blowhole and a warning sign proclaims: 'Hazardous Conditions. Do Not Go Beyond This Point.'

Saying he wanted to feel the water hit his chest, dozens of people watched in amazement from a highway overlook while he straddled the blowhole, arms outstretched, laughing while spray washed over him. Then a large wave hit the rocks, and a blast of water launched him five feet into the air and dropped him headfirst into the blowhole. Divers recovered his body the next day.

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Matt Morris, LifeSearch Policy Adviser, says: "As long as there is no non-disclosure (e.g. failing to disclose a dangerous occupation like stuntman) or participation in a criminal act (e.g. trespassing), the five cases of accidental death would pay out, regardless of the obvious danger or foolishness of the person's behaviour. If you decide to get up one day and do something incredibly dangerous or dumb, you're still covered!"

"This goes to show that life insurers do pay out in the vast majority of cases, even in situations where you may at first think they wouldn't. Life insurance is actually a very reliable product."

However, you don't need to be a real dare-devil to consider buying life insurance. Most of us should consider life insurance to cover much more everyday occurrences, for example to ensure the mortgage would be paid, and that our family and loved ones would be provided for.

Ensure your loved ones are adequately covered should for what ever reason the unthinkable happen to you by getting a life insurance quote now. Remember to inform the life insurer of any unusual circumstances and always read the terms and conditions carefully.