Over the last six months, Seesam has had to deal with bull calves that used a car to scratch their horns, a tourist attacked by a monkey, and other incidents involving animals.

 “In spring, confused young animals run out in front of cars, and even in the dark drivers must be carefully when selecting their speed, in order that a collision with an animal could be avoided and damage kept to a minimum. Another, relatively common, incident is when the sharp teeth of a mouse meet an electrical cable,” said Dagmar Gilden, Property Insurance Product Manager at Seesam, providing an introduction to commonly encountered situations.

Each year, totally unexpected and unbelievable stories must be handled alongside the more standard insured events.

A sea urchin in the foot and the horns of a bull calf scraping a car

This summer, Seesam received a notice about seven bull calves that caused extensive comprehensive damage to a vehicle parked in front of a house. “A family travelled to the country and, unaware of any danger, parked the car in its usual spot. The next morning, they saw from their window how seven bulls with dumb faces were gathered around the car. Apparently they had escaped their enclosure and found the car, in the reflection of which they admired themselves and began to fight with their so-called opponent. It looked like the paint had been scraped off of the vehicle using a pair of knitting needles. Hundreds of lines wound their way around the car,” said Gilden, adding that polishing was of no help here and the damage was extensive.

Bulls have also caused problems for the company in the past. In one instance, some bulls went for a stroll, discovered a swimming pool in a local villager’s yard, and promptly all fell in.
“Bulls are very heavy animals, and the company had to compensate the pool owner a rather large sum of money for material damage – EUR 4900, to be precise,” said the insurance specialist.

“Within the framework of travel insurance, we have had to compensate treatment costs following bites by mean monkeys, since their teeth are not clean and they carry numerous diseases and bacteria. It is also painful and dangerous when a person on a trip to a tropical country steps on a sea urchin. The latter has fragile quills, which break and remain lodged in the tissue. Some species also have poison glands, which may release a poison for several hours and therefore require immediate removal,” said Gilden, recounting events that required compensation.

Ly Jõhvik, Head of the Loss Adjustment Department, adds that right now roadsides are littered with run over raccoon dogs, which are currently preparing for hibernation and are becoming slower due to the increase in fat reserves and the approach of hibernation. In addition, driven hunts begin in October, and there are definitely a large number of animals on roads that are running from hunters or have simply been startled by the sound of gunshots.