Animals are creating chaos on the road and causing around £1 million worth of damage to the over 50s vehicles a year according to analysis of Saga Car Insurance claims data*.

Last year, Saga handled around 500 car insurance claims involving animals, from the bizarre to the absolute crazy. Here are some of the most unusual animal related car claims that Saga has handled:

Forget hungry hippos, its hungry horses
 One Saga customer fancied a hike round Dartmoor National Park so parked up in the car park and went in search of an adventure. However, it turned out he didn't need to venture too far from the car park as when he got back he found 12 horses licking the paintwork off his car. It turned out the naughty nags had caused £1,200 worth of damage.

Holy cow
 Earlier this year one customer took his beloved cow to a cattle show to see if she could win a prize. He tied her to a post however the cow got stage fright and made a run for it uprooting the post and dragging it around the parking lot causing £800 worth of damage to the parked vehicle.

It's a CAT-astrophe
 One policyholder needed to nip to the shops for some milk, but when she started the car she heard a strange noise coming from the bonnet so went to investigate. When she got out of the car she saw a cat running away but not before causing almost £4,000 worth of damage.

Oh Deer!
 One customer was on his way to a wedding when a stag appeared out of nowhere causing him to slam on his brakes. However, it must have been a case of 'fight or flight' for the deer as another stag appeared moments later and ploughed straight into the stationary car. While both stags dashed off in a daze the driver was left saying 'oh deer' - or perhaps something stronger - as the stag caused £2,000 of damage.

Duck, Duck, BRIDGE
 One policyholder was en route to a boat yard when they spotted a low flying duck. The driver quickly realised that the bird had misjudged its take off and as he swerved to miss the mallard he drove into a stone bridge. While the duck escaped with a few ruffled feathers, the cars bang with the bridge caused more than £1,500 worth of damage.

Roger Ramsden, chief executive, Saga Services, commented: 'It seems that just about anything can send a road trip into turmoil and the over 50s have to have their wits about them when they're in the driver's seat.

'We understand that some things are out of our customers control and that they can't predict when they may face low flying ducks or deers darting across the road. But at least with Saga they know they are covered and that our friendly team won't duck out of helping or set hairs raising as they help get people back on the road as soon as possible.'

Ends

Notes to editors
*According to analysis of Saga Car Insurance data. Please note: no animals were harmed whilst drafting this press release.

About Saga Car Insurance
• Saga Car Insurance is the leading specialist insurance provider for people aged 50 and over, offering cover tailored to their needs
• Saga Car Insurance is Which? Recommended and holds a Defaqto 5 star rating
• Saga Car Insurance is accessible, with UK based call centres and no automated telephone menus
• Saga Car Insurance offers uninsured driver cover, up to £500 get you home cover, £1,000 of personal belongings cover and vandalism cover
• For more information, visit www.saga.co.uk/insurance/car-insurance or call 0800 015 0756

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