diff --git a/src/Interfaces/LazySet.jl b/src/Interfaces/LazySet.jl
index a5050303ba..c3ba260104 100644
--- a/src/Interfaces/LazySet.jl
+++ b/src/Interfaces/LazySet.jl
@@ -658,7 +658,11 @@ end
 function _an_element_lazySet(X::LazySet)
     N = eltype(X)
     e₁ = SingleEntryVector(1, dim(X), one(N))
-    return σ(e₁, X)
+    v = σ(e₁, X)
+    if any(isinf, v)
+        throw(ArgumentError("this implementation assumes a bounded set"))
+    end
+    return v
 end
 
 # hook into random API
diff --git a/test/Sets/Universe.jl b/test/Sets/Universe.jl
index a3ce44cc8b..5ce71b5b22 100644
--- a/test/Sets/Universe.jl
+++ b/test/Sets/Universe.jl
@@ -130,6 +130,9 @@ for N in [Float64, Rational{Int}, Float32]
     scale!(N(1), U2)
     @test U2 == U
     @test_throws ArgumentError scale!(N(0), U2)
+
+    # an_element default implementation
+    @test_throws ArgumentError LazySets._an_element_lazySet(U)
 end
 
 # default Float64 constructor