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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
A German soccer coach’s small misfortune has created big problem for insurance companies, according to a Yahoo Sports report.
During the post-game celebration after Borussia Dortmund’s February 2011 victory over longtime rivals Bayern Munich, Dortmund manager Jeurgen Klopp’s glasses were knocked off of his face and crushed, the website reported.
The incident was of little consequence to Mr. Klopp, though he sustained a bruise on his nose, and the glasses themselves were on the expensive side, Yahoo noted.
Like Curt Schilling’s bloody sock after the 2004 World Series, Mr. Klopp’s broken spectacles became a so synonymous with Dortmund’s victory against Munich and the success that followed — Dortmund went on to win the next two league championships — that they were enshrined in the team’s museum.
The brunt of the pain appears to have been borne by German insurers. In the 18 months since the victory in Munich, insurers in Germany have been beset by a steady stream of would-be scammers hoping to capitalize on Mr. Klopp’s bad luck, according to Yahoo Sports.
Ironically, the fraudsters tend to betray their intentions in the photos they submit to support their claims for reimbursement of their glasses, insurers noted at a recent industry conference in Berlin. In most cases, the phony claims include photos of Mr. Klopp’s smashed spectacles pulled right from the Dortmund museum website.
“It’s amazing how inventive people are when they need new glasses,” Mr. Klopp told a German news website. “For me, the broken glasses in Munich were not an issue. The victory at Bayern has compensated for everything.”