Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
Amit currently works as Vice President, Underwriting Product Management, at Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA).
With more than 24 years of management experience in various Fortune 500 Technology & Insurance companies, Amit brings global expertise in product management, AI, and risk analytics to benefit the insurance industry.
He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an Engineering degree, with majors in Electronics. He also has a certification in Intellectual Property and Global Dispute Resolution from Columbia Law School. Amit also serves as a faculty at Fu Foundation School of Engineering, Columbia University, where he teaches AI and Applied Risk Analytics.
He holds multiple granted patents in the field of AI that have direct commercial applicability in underwriting and claims optimization use cases. He also serves on multiple boards, including the ITC Advisory Board.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
