Dealing with insurance company

[w1651]

Originally Posted by zboss

Right... the owner must take reasonable efforts to secure the vessel against unmitigated losses.

So what is reasonable? That's a vague question indeed. I did n't remove the panels for lack of time. There comes a choice you have to make. Board up and help board up my home, moms brothers, aunts house or remove solar panels. This all takes time and in the long run there is never enough time or materials.
So I lashed the sail with a line by wrapping it. The solar panels were mounted using 1/4 inch bolts and aluminium channel. And I double lined all for corners of the boat with 3/4 dock lines. I lashed the dingy to the dock, and cleared the deck of everything I could. Just a bad situation.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by zeehag

apply for fema assistance. you were damaged in a declared emergency so you qualify.
insurance will total your boat. you may be able after that to purchase it from them at the price they demand of you then you can again rebuild it. or you can get fema money and ins money and buy another boat.

Thanks ZeeHag. I looked at my policy and talked to my agent today. I am screwed. Everyone is covered but me. He said that the boat is over twenty years old and Progressive doesn't cover any boats over 20 years old. He also said no company tends to anymore. But if I had been hit by another boat in the marina that has insurance I would be better off. Age has gotten the better of me. Again!

[w1651]

Well back to the drawing board. I thought I was done working on my boat but I guess I am about to learn Fiberglass too. Good thing winter is coming it should start cooling down.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by w1651

I am screwed. Everyone is covered but me.

What????? Does this mean you thought you had full coverage and you only had liability?

[w1651]

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

What????? Does this mean you thought you had full coverage and you only had liability?

No I knew I didn't have full coverage but I thought I at least had something to repair a hit on the bow. It isn't going to sink her but the boat is over 20 years old so my agent said they wouldn't cover the boat itself. If I hit some one they would be covered if it were my fault but only them and the marina of course. But he also said many companies won't cover a boat over 20 years old.

[Mike OReilly]

Rather telling that most advice and experience shows a rather adversarial relationship between the client and insurance company. This factors into my calculation of the value (or cost) of boat insurance.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Rather telling that most advice and experience shows a rather adversarial relationship between the client and insurance company. This factors into my calculation of the value (or cost) of boat insurance.

Mike, for a long time I had no real ideas about insurance companies. I had one dealing with one, and they were good. I told them what happened, and they told me how much they could give me, and that was that. Similar with car insurance. So, thanks for giving me the chance to expound.

Then my daughter became a claims adjuster for a while. I learned a lot that I didn't know, such as that people "know" they need insurance, but don't really understand their coverages till they need it, and then it is too late. Before you buy insurance, you should understand each and every word in there, even if you have to hire a lawyer to help you understand it, or buy a dictionary.

insurance policies need to be reviewed and updated every year in some cases. Some things appreciate; others do not. If item x is not specifically mentioned, it is likely to be excluded. Some items require special riders to be covered.

Finally, when you buy insurance it is because you want financial relief in certain circumstances; therefore, it is up to you to see that you are covered the way you want to be.

The job of the insurance company is to make money for the stockholders, they are betting you won't need them, and you are betting you will. They will not fall over backwards to give you money just because you bought their insurance. You will have to work for it. Kindness is not a necessary part of the transaction, ever. It is a business. They are only on your side to the extent that you are their customer. The guy or gal who sells you the policy is personable and fun and friendly, do not count on that from the adjuster, whose business is merely to tell you what you can have, according to the policy, of which the adjuster has a very good understanding. If you're lucky, they'll be nice about it.

Ann

[zboss]

Originally Posted by w1651

So what is reasonable? That's a vague question indeed. I did n't remove the panels for lack of time. There comes a choice you have to make. Board up and help board up my home, moms brothers, aunts house or remove solar panels. This all takes time and in the long run there is never enough time or materials.
So I lashed the sail with a line by wrapping it. The solar panels were mounted using 1/4 inch bolts and aluminium channel. And I double lined all for corners of the boat with 3/4 dock lines. I lashed the dingy to the dock, and cleared the deck of everything I could. Just a bad situation.

Us too.. we had to leave the solar panels up. But certainly something like not taking down the jib would be negligent. Not closing seacocks would also be negligent.

Basically, if you give reason to an insurance company to deny your claim, they may well do so.

But there is no reason to make it a guessing game... It helps to take positive action with your insurance company and ask outright what an acceptable level of preparedness is necessary. Get it in writing and respond to the email with a simple thank you.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by zboss

Us too.. we had to leave the solar panels up. But certainly something like not taking down the jib would be negligent. Not closing seacocks would also be negligent.

Basically, if you give reason to an insurance company to deny your claim, they may well do so.

But there is no reason to make it a guessing game... It helps to take positive action with your insurance company and ask outright what an acceptable level of preparedness is necessary. Get it in writing and respond to the email with a simple thank you.

I left the seacocks out. Sorry. I had them closed from the time I got to the marina. I tend to do that before I leave the boat after a sail. Standard procedure for me I guess.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Mike, for a long time I had no real ideas about insurance companies. I had one dealing with one, and they were good. I told them what happened, and they told me how much they could give me, and that was that. Similar with car insurance. So, thanks for giving me the chance to expound.

My pleasure .

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Then my daughter became a claims adjuster for a while. I learned a lot that I didn't know, such as that people "know" they need insurance, but don't really understand their coverages till they need it, and then it is too late. Before you buy insurance, you should understand each and every word in there, even if you have to hire a lawyer to help you understand it, or buy a dictionary.

Yes, I agree with all this. But any service that you are buying which requires a 3rd-party lawyer to interpret and protect the supposed client is a service that is concerning from the beginning. As Einstein is purported to have said: “if you can't explain it simply you don't understand it well enough.” I understand the need for precise language in legal documents, but these days the only reason to have such an opaque contract is to benefit one party over the other. Guess which party...

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

insurance policies need to be reviewed and updated every year in some cases. Some things appreciate; others do not. If item x is not specifically mentioned, it is likely to be excluded. Some items require special riders to be covered.

Finally, when you buy insurance it is because you want financial relief in certain circumstances; therefore, it is up to you to see that you are covered the way you want to be.

Yes, completely agree. Which is why it’s so important to have a good broker… Unforuntunately brokers are paid, not by the client, but by the insurance company. So even here the forces are aligned with the insurance company’s interests, not the client’s. Given the typical disparity in resources between the client and insurance company, it’s clear which one has more capacity when it comes to fighting disputes.

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

The job of the insurance company is to make money for the stockholders, they are betting you won't need them, and you are betting you will. They will not fall over backwards to give you money just because you bought their insurance. You will have to work for it. Kindness is not a necessary part of the transaction, ever. It is a business. They are only on your side to the extent that you are their customer. The guy or gal who sells you the policy is personable and fun and friendly, do not count on that from the adjuster, whose business is merely to tell you what you can have, according to the policy, of which the adjuster has a very good understanding. If you're lucky, they'll be nice about it.

Yes, all well said. My only point was/is the same as yours; when you buy (any) insurance to cover your financial obligations you also need to factor in the cost in time and perhaps additional $ to meet all these additional demands. People think they can drop the cash and they’re done. It ain’t so, as we constantly see here on CF.

BTW, in that survey I conducted a few months ago on boat insurance, most people reported being satisfied with their insurance company. Of course, the vast majority had never made a claim. It might be interesting to conduct a similar survey in six to 12 months with people affected by Irma and Harvey.

[Outlaw7]

My Insurance through Boat US is the same. I am covered for the boat should it be totally destroyed. For repairs however they start depreciating at year 10 at 10% per year after. That means a 20 year old or older boat has no repair coverage. You do though have coverage for liability and environmental damage. It is better than straight liability as you have coverage if totalled. Get an estimate on repairs from a reputable company, many times the bill will be greater than the boats market value. In which case have them write it off and buy it back and do the repairs yourself.

[Capt Jerry]

I am a lawyer, and as you can tell from reading the previous posts, experiences with insurance claims vary greatly. I suggest you try to work with the insurance company first and see it goes. Do not sign anything regarding the value of the claim, unless you clearly understand what you are signing and are okay with it. Some insurance companies and their claims adjusters are great and go out of their way to keep customers happy. Others ... not so much. Good luck, and God bless.