After inspecting over 180,000 car insurance claims received in 2007, AA Insurance has revealed some of last year’s most outrageous and obscure car calamities.

While you may believe that insurance claims are solely for bumps, bangs and burglaries, data released today shows that livestock, shopping trolleys and flying fruit were the cause of the more unusual car claims made by AA Insurance customers in 2007.

With over one million AA car insurance customers it wasn’t an easy task but AA Insurance has identified the top unique driving disasters of last year.

You expect to see a few animals on a trip to the countryside but finding one on top of her car certainly took one claimant by surprise. After crashing through a fence and making a rather large dent in the bonnet, the bull and driver were lucky to escape with minor bumps – the car was not.

Another AA Insurance customer found his trip to Holy Island in Northumberland so relaxing that as he sat in his campervan admiring the view, he nodded off.  However, he woke up to find he’d parked on the causeway and the tide had come in. While he was safely rescued by boat, his van sank without trace.

Janet Pell, head of AA car insurance, said: “We’re used to seeing the countless conventional claims for car damage but it’s always interesting to hear the more bizarre claims people make. It just goes to show, you need to ensure you’re covered for all eventualities, however far-fetched they might seem.”