History Main / ImpossibleInsurance

* When ''TheSimpsons'' go to Italy, their car gets hit by Mortadella cheese falling off a cheese truck. They got the cheese insurance, but it doesn't cover Mortadella.

Alice sells Bob an insurance. Let's say, a life insurance. Looks pretty good; the rates are low, but the payout is high, maybe a million dollars. But when Bob later takes a closer look to the small print, he finds out that his people may only collect the money if he is killed by lightning. In the bathtub. On a Tuesday. [In Utah, on a mountain top, during a rainstorm, while holding a llama...]

* In the [[http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode17.htm#3 "Motor Insurance Sketch"]] from ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', a vicar had bought some insurance and has now come to collect on it.

* In the ''LooneyTunes'' short "Fool Coverage", Daffy is an insurance salesman trying to sell Porky some life insurance. He promises the policy will pay Porky one million dollars for a black eye... provided it was the result of an elephant stampede happening in his house between 3:55 and 4:00 PM on July 4 during a hailstorm. At the end of the cartoon, that is ''exactly'' what happens! To try to save face, Daffy adds "and a baby zebra" to the clause. Cue baby zebra.
* This is the plot of the ''NedsNewt'' episode "Trouble Indemnity". The insurance agent doesn't even need to hide anything in the fine print - Ned's parents are dumb enough to insure a seashell rabbit statue from being stolen by a weasel, a novelty mirror from being broken by a Russian dancer, and a broken record from being welded back by an earthquake (as well as a lot of other stuff.) Newton's ShapeShifting skills come in handy when sending that business back at the unscrupulous insurer.
----

* George in ''ElGoonishShive'' has car insurance that [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-01-14 covered monster-related damage]] (obviously just to advertise "completeness"). The result: surprise, they have to pay for repairs of a car damaged in fire monster's attack (and on camera at that).

* One Disney comic had Rockerduck (Scrooge's business rival) insure a box of cigars for a massive policy, with one of Scrooge's insurance agencies. (Scrooge is forced to accept it, though he objects loudly.) Rockerduck at first suggest smoking the cigars to cash in the policy, but fortunately Scrooge points out that intentional fires constitute grounds for fraud. However, putting the box in a pine house in the middle of a pine forest during thunder season is perfectly legal.

Alice sells Bob an insurance. Let's say, a life insurance. Looks pretty good; the rates are low, but the payout is high, maybe a million dollars. But when Bob later takes a closer look to the small print, he finds out that his people may only collect the money, if he is killed by lightning. In the bathtub. On a Tuesday. [In Utah, on a mountain top, during a rainstorm, while holding a llama...]

* In ''ImSorryIllReadThatAgain'', a character gets insurance against being trampled by a herd of bison in Whitehall. He immediately gets trampled in Whitehall ... by a herd of ''buffalo''.

* In one of the ''AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'' books, the narrator tells about some brothers and father who got slick talked into disability insurance. However, the joke was on the insurance company as they "managed" to somehow get injured repeatedly at an amazing rate as soon as the policy was issued. They remarked how it was strange how the company dropped them as soon as the policy term ran out but that they got another company, albeit at a higher premium, to insure them.

[[AC:{{Animation}}]]
* In one of the LooneyTunes cartoons, DaffyDuck sells an insurance policy to PorkyPig with a million dollar payout if he experiences some trivial injury like a black eye, slipping and falling or some minor thing. When telling the required policy restrictions, he puts earphones on Porky so he can't hear them. Porky buys the policy, and the incident happens to him. Now Daffy tells him about the policy restrictions (and even adds one just for spite) and as we watch, ''every single thing that is required for the claim to be paid happens or turns out to be true'', including the extra one Daffy added.

* In one of the LooneyTunes cartoons, DaffyDuck sells an insurance policy to PorkyPig with a million dollar payout if he experiences some trivial injury like a black eye, slipping and falling or some minor thing. When telling the required policy restrictions, he puts earphones on Elmer so he can't hear them. Elmer buys the policy, and the incident happens to him. Now Daffy tells Elmer about the policy restrictions (and even adds one just for spite) and as we watch, ''every single thing that is required for the claim to be paid happens or turns out to be true'', including the extra one Daffy added.

* In one of the LooneyTunes cartoons, DaffyDuck sells an insurance policy to Elmer Fudd with a million dollar payout if he experiences some trivial injury like a black eye, slipping and falling or some minor thing. When telling the required policy restrictions, he puts earphones on Elmer so he can't hear them. Elmer buys the policy, and the incident happens to him. Now Daffy tells Elmer about the policy restrictions (and even adds one just for spite) and as we watch, ''every single thing that is required for the claim to be paid happens or turns out to be true'', including the extra one Daffy added.

* In one of the Looney Tunes cartoons, DaffyDuck sells an insurance policy to ElmerFudd with a million dollar payout if he experiences some trivial injury like a black eye, slipping and falling or some minor thing. When telling the required policy restrictions, he puts earphones on Elmer so he can't hear them. Elmer buys the policy, and the incident happens to him. Now Daffy tells Elmer about the policy restrictions (and even adds one just for spite) and as we watch, ''every single thing that is required for the claim to be paid happens or turns out to be true'', including the extra one Daffy added.''

[[AC:{{Cartoons}}]]

[[AC:Advertising]]

Alice sells Bob an insurance. Let's say, a life insurance. Looks pretty good; the rates are low, but the payout is high, maybe a million dollars. But when Bob later takes a closer look to the small print, he finds out that his people may only collect the money, if he is killed by lightning. In the bathtub. On a Tuesday.

* In MontyPython's [[http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode17.htm#3 "Motor Insurance Sketch"]] a vicar had bought some insurance and has now come to collect on it.

Alice sells Bob an insurance. Let's say, a life insurance. Looks pretty good; the rates are low, but the payout is high, maybe a million dollars. But when Bob later takes a closer look to the small print, he finds out that his people may only collect the money, if he is killed by lightning. In the bathtub. On a tuesday.

* The MAD parody of ''Highway to Heaven'' used this trope.

->Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
->Devious: Oh, yeah, yeah - well, you see, it's just that we're not...as yet...totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
->Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
->Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
->Vicar: But my car was hit by a lorry while standing in the garage and you refuse to pay my claim.
->Devious: Oh well, Reverend Morrison...in your policy...in your policy...here we are. It states quite clearly that no claim you make will be paid.
->Vicar: Oh dear.
->Devious: You see, you unfortunately plumped for our 'Neverpay' policy, which, you know, if you never claim is very worthwhile...but you had to claim, and, well, there it is.