A tin of paint that went flying when a Maserati driver swerved to avoid a dog has led to an expensive insurance claim in South Australia.

RAA Insurance claims manager Hayley Cain said the lid dislodged from the tin while it was sitting in the back seat of the car.

"The driver swerved to avoid a dog and the tin of paint he'd set on the back seat flew through the air dislodging the lid," she said.

"As the tin flew around the car like a mini tornado, the leather interior and windscreen were liberally splashed with a thick coat of white paint."

Ms Cain said the car was a write-off.

"Fortunately the driver was fine but, given the extent of damage to the interior, our insurance assessors declared it a write-off and we settled the claim for over $90,000."

Ms Cain said the insurer dealt with about 23,000 assessments annually for vehicle claims and there were always some odd cases.

A Mercedes was written off by the insurer after a coat hanger got stuck in the convertible roof mechanism, she said.

In another case, rats ruined the wiring of a Land Cruiser with their gnawing while a parrot was taken to the vet after eating another car's door trims.

"Truth can be stranger than fiction with flying paint tins, hungry rodents or destructive coat hangers," Ms Cain said.