The tremendous development in virtual and augmented reality gadgets has presented new hurdles to insurance companies increasing the claims for metaverse by 31%.

Aviva, the UK’s largest insurance company, revealed in research that claims on accidents caused by Metaverse and virtual reality (VR) gadgets increased by 31% last year.

People are shattering light fixtures, punching ceiling fans, crashing into furniture, breaking televisions, and other accidents have caused claims to jump 68 percent since 2016, according to the London-based business.

Other reports included a client shattering a TV while playing a zombie-themed video game and toddlers crushing designer figures on mantelpieces while making swipe movements.

According to the firm, accidents involving VR headgear cost an average of £650.

Aviva’s UK Property Claims Director, Kelly Whittington, remarked,

“As new games and gadgets become popular, we often see this playing through in the claims made by our customers. In the past, we’ve seen similar trends involving consoles with handsets, fitness games, and even the likes of rogue fidget spinners.”

She also said that while such headsets were “a lot of fun,” users should be aware of their surroundings and “have a look at their home insurance” to see if their coverage were appropriate.

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She finished by asking individuals to add accidental damage coverage to their insurance policies. Her remarks come after a slew of new VR-related accident claims were submitted over the holiday season.

XR and Insurance Risks

The news comes after KPMG warned in a 2017 report that the emergence of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) technology would bring four significant dangers.

Personal: As Aviva points out, many users will continue to cause physical harm to their surroundings while wearing headsets, but additional health hazards such as nausea and dizziness, which is a typical complaint among users of head-mounted displays (HMDs), could exacerbate such dangers.

Information Security (InfoSec): It is a term that refers to the protection of information. According to the paper, due to user behavior, geocache information, and data feeds to XR solution providers, actual and potential threats may develop, necessitating firms to safeguard user information, which cited rising adoption of Niantic’s Pokémon Go smartphone game as an example.

Because of the rapid growth of virtual reality solutions and the use of avatar identities, risks are likely to rise over time, owing to avatar identity theft and anonymity-based crimes.

Behavior: Violations of metaverse etiquette could put users and companies building social platforms at peril. After a female executive who was beta testing Meta Platform’s Horizon Worlds app was allegedly assaulted while utilizing the virtual world, the Menlo Park-based company increased safety protocols and expanded personal limits for avatars.

Privacy: As advertisers and XR corporations increasingly buy and track user data or develop novel solutions, user data may face substantial privacy risks. Massive data breaches, leaks, or exploitation of user biometrics and online behavioral data could cause public outrage.