A list of the silliest insurance claims against local governments in Britain includes a shoplifter who sprained her ankle while running away. Others on Zurich Municipal’s annual list are a man who claimed he dirtied his trousers because a municipality failed to provide enough public toilets and another man who sued the Archbishop of Canterbury and local authorities “on behalf of all the homeless people in Britain,” the BBC reported. Then there’s the sanitation worker who claimed he was “startled” by a dead badger that fell out of a bag while he was making a pickup. Zurich Municipal, which is part of the Swiss-based Zurich Group, one of the world’s largest insurers, provides insurance for local government authorities in Britain. The company says that spurious claims are on the rise. “We are constantly amazed at some of the excuses people use to try to claim against public bodies,” said claims director Iwan Borszcz. “It just goes to show that working in insurance is more interesting than people may think.” © Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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