So my neighbor hit me. How do I assure everything is fixed like it never happened?

[Lake-Effect]

Around here, insurance seems to work pretty well when the situation is well-understood. If you have doubts about any of their damage assessments or proposed remedies, it's probably worth retaining the best surveyor you can find to make an independent assessment.


As Stu says, go slow and be thorough.

[roberthowell]

Play the game they all play find out the most expensive fiberglass guy in the area get the check and do as you want

[Dooglas]

I think you are starting out with too much suspicion. You will need to find good people, and trust them, for this to turn out well. First of all. Submit claims to both his insurance company and your own. With the fault clearly in the other fellows lap, your insurance company will be quite motivated to look out for your interests - otherwise they may inherit the problem. As others said, find the best yard in your area. One that has lots of experience with collision repair and previous satisfied customers. Then get them involved right away in damage assessment and repair estimates. Yes, you will need to trust them, but it certainly does no harm to ask lots of questions and frequently look over their shoulder.

[Woodland Hills]

If you don’t trust insurance companies, hire an independent adjuster to deal with them. He is just as skilled as the people from the insurance company, but he works for you as an advocate.

[George DuBose]

Another plug for European insurance companies.

Visiting St. Nazaire, France and staying in the commercial harbor there, I had damage to my anchor roller, a cleat and deep scratches in my bow caused by the 50 cm high wake of a ocean tug making "training" maneuvers. There would have been more damage from being tied to the cement wall of the harbor, but I had all six fenders between the boat and the harbor wall.

While my Dutch insurance company was unable to collect from the international tug boat company, they did pay for the repairs and believe it or not, waived the 500 euro deductible.

I think they felt bad that they couldn't get the tugboat firm to "pony up"...

[boatman1]

I would think that you may benefit from getting the contact information of any who witnessed the incident.. if it gets into a pissing match about what actually occurred you don’t want to be in a one on one with the miscreant: who was at fault. You won’t have a lot of control once the insurers get involved: at least you can do all possible to document the details of the incident.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by roberthowell

Play the game they all play find out the most expensive fiberglass guy in the area get the check and do as you want

Thankfully, most boaters, the kind we take on as clients, have some personal integrity.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@docrn:

You are right to be concerned. Two inches is a lot of deflection, and there surely will be more hidden damage.

Get your own insurance company involved. Be honest with them. They will send someone to look at the damages. Getting Beneteau involved can't hurt, if they will send someone. You will have to take some things apart to gain access to viewing areas of damages. If the boat is one of the liner built Benes, it may be a write-off. It can be very hard to repair properly, and some of the plexus bonds may be broken.

As to a surveyor, look for one who is licensed, and bonded. There are some good ones, possibly in your area. It would be worth fllying someone in, paying for accommodations, etc. Treat him very well.

I am sorry to be the bearer of ill tidings, but you really need to get a look at the entirety of the damage. (Beneteau may inform you about how to take apart the interior.) Lets hope it is repairable.

Ann

^^ This. Have your own qualified surveyor (not your insurance companies) and most likely your neighbors insurance company will have their own as well. Most times insurance companies wont even send out a marine surveyor but will simply be a claims adjuster maybe with marine experience maybe not.
Also don't go and start repairing this, leave untouched until you have a settlement in hand; even if it starts leaking (from above; do something and document if you start sinking) Let everyone know that there is water ingress directly associated from the collision for example. At that point the insurance can pay for emergency repairs until a full settlement is reached. Good luck

[JPA Cate]

rbk made me think of one more thing to say, here, DO NOT SIGN OFF ON THE INSURANCE UNTIL AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEA TRIAL. [With the boat bouncing around, listen for movement you cannot see. New noises are a BAD sign.]

I do feel concerned that the boat may be a write off, due to the costs of restoring it to as new, and it may not get much farther than a big check and the OP finds a new boat.

Ann

[Tillsbury]

There is also the option (I'm not sure if it's been mentioned) of taking the cheque for the repair and selling the boat. This is not always possible, but often can be at your request if the insurer agrees. I've done this before with a car -- significant cosmetic damage from a tree branch falling on it left an eye-watering bill for damage that didn't seriously affect the car, and I was planning on selling it anyway. I sold it dirt cheap, to an eager buyer who didn't care about cosmetics, and the sum of the sale and the repair fund was easily as much as I could have expected from selling it undamaged.

What I avoided was the long-drawn-out process of repair and the uncertainty of knowing whether I had a sound vehicle at the end of it. With a boat both of these would apply many times over. I wouldn't be surprised if you could sell a slightly-damaged boat and with it and the repair cheque buy something better than you had, and have fewer concerns about its structure after the event.

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

There is also the option (I'm not sure if it's been mentioned) of taking the cheque for the repair and selling the boat. This is not always possible, but often can be at your request if the insurer agrees. I've done this before with a car -- significant cosmetic damage from a tree branch falling on it left an eye-watering bill for damage that didn't seriously affect the car, and I was planning on selling it anyway. I sold it dirt cheap, to an eager buyer who didn't care about cosmetics, and the sum of the sale and the repair fund was easily as much as I could have expected from selling it undamaged.

What I avoided was the long-drawn-out process of repair and the uncertainty of knowing whether I had a sound vehicle at the end of it. With a boat both of these would apply many times over. I wouldn't be surprised if you could sell a slightly-damaged boat and with it and the repair cheque buy something better than you had, and have fewer concerns about its structure after the event.

This is what I did. It wasnt planned. I bought my first boat as a compromise, not the model I originally wanted.

Guy ran into me doing a good bit of structural damage. Insurance company had me get estimates from local contractors and had a surveyor come out. 6 months later they cut me a check.

Just happened to look at yacht world the day the check cleared. Upgraded to the model I originally wanted. Sold the old boat for cheap to a neighbor who had the skills/experience to do the repairs himself.

Didn't make any money on the deal but got 5' of extra boat.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

rbk made me think of one more thing to say, here, DO NOT SIGN OFF ON THE INSURANCE UNTIL AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEA TRIAL. [With the boat bouncing around, listen for movement you cannot see. New noises are a BAD sign.]

I do feel concerned that the boat may be a write off, due to the costs of restoring it to as new, and it may not get much farther than a big check and the OP finds a new boat.

Ann

Yes, it is definitely possible.

My very good friend's beautiful 53 metal yacht "Crystal Blues" was damaged by a fishing boat while under sail. The story is here Crystal Blues: Making Lemonade From Lemons ......

This was one of the most well prepared, outfitted, and cared-for yachts I have ever seen. Yet the insurance wrote off the boat.

Personally, I would not have parted with my boat under those circumstances.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Yes, it is definitely possible.

My very good friend's beautiful 53 metal yacht "Crystal Blues" was damaged by a fishing boat while under sail. The story is here Crystal Blues: Making Lemonade From Lemons ......

This was one of the most well prepared, outfitted, and cared-for yachts I have ever seen. Yet the insurance wrote off the boat.

Personally, I would not have parted with my boat under those circumstances.

Ahh that'll buff right out...

[JPA Cate]

@wingssail,

Yes, they are friends of ours, as well. It was that where (expensive area on East Coast of America) the damages would have had to be repaired, the payout would not have come near the costs of repairing to their standards. The party to whom they sold it has the boatshed, and the skills to do it properly. Aussie dollars do not buy as much expensive American labor as US dollars do, either. All in all, a sad thing, but glad Crystal Blues went to a good home.

@docrn, I've seen a number of impact damaged boats, it is amazing how much internal movement "2 inches" of hull deflection can cause. Good luck with it.

Ann

[valhalla360]

Get the insurance company involved.

It's not uncommon for "let me know and I'll take care of it" to turn into "you are running up the bill and I'm not paying". If you try to pull the insurance company in 3 months later when it goes to poo, you have a much more difficult time.

Be honest but firm with the insurance company. There's no reason to panic or assume you won't be made whole before you've even asked.