Insurance Claim Question??

I am a little curious what experience others have had with claims on their boat insurance.

The reason I ask, is that we recently had a fairly severe hail storm and even though my boat was covered with factory cover, it took a beating. The 25yr old upholestry took the brunt of it as the aging cover finally gave way. I found a few spots where it looks like the gel coat took some hits as well.

When I took the boat in to get a quote on the hail, I also asked the shop about some rock damage on the underside where it had rocked on some rocks during a storm while moored a few weeks back as well. That was something I had planned on fixing myself as cosmetically, it's not a big deal, but they quoted it as a $2500 repair and said it's a definate claim!!!

Regarding the hail, what I'm finding is that no one place wants to quote everything, is that typical? The interior and cover alone are about $2400 in damage, that doesn't include the metal flake gel coat that took about a dozen hits and popped paint on the trolling motor frame.

Obviously the hail damage is a comp claim, but what about the rocks during another storm? Is that comp as well and what does everyone out there think two back to back comp claims will do to my rates? I definately need/want the interior to be fixed, but trying to decide what to do about the rock damage.

What have others out there experienced with these types of events????

Thanks

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

Two separate incidents = two separate claims. Anyone that tried to submit it together would be commiting insurance fraud. Perhaps if you said the hail bouncing off your head caused you to hit the rocks .......

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

Not trying to claim together, nor trying to commit instance fraud.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

spdracr39 said:

Two separate incidents = two separate claims. Anyone that tried to submit it together would be commiting insurance fraud. Perhaps if you said the hail bouncing off your head caused you to hit the rocks .......

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Not to repeat, but posted the other from my cell. Don't see how/why you would think trying to make two claims into one, I thought I made it clear they were two seperate issues and unsure how the rock incident should be possiby filed. I'm pretty certain the hail claim will be filed, just have to figure out where to get a quote for the hull work and repainting of things such as troller. Now I have to figure out if the bottom of the boat is something that should be claimed or if it's that big of an issue.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

You have two separate claims.
Within the second claim, you have two types of damage. Upholstery and fiberglass. You are going to end up with more than one vendor doing the repair. Could the fiberglass repair place just have the upholstery done as a "sublet" item? Sure. But if they try to mark up the price of the sublet, your insurance carrier is going to (rightfully) balk. But I am guessing the fiberglass place already said it would only quote its repairs. And that's fine. A good adjuster will know how to handle the claim

As far as two close proximity claims totalling nearly $5000 on a 25 year old boat, what do you think is going to happen? Also, you might want to make sure what coverage you really have. If you have ACV coverage, your interior redo is going to cost you out-of-pocket. Because 25 year old vinyl is WELL past 50% of its life expectancy. So you are going to end up with a better interior/cover than you had, and it's only fair that you will pay for the upgrade. If you have a true replacement cost or yacht policy, your deductible is all you'll pay.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

MASTERBrian said:

Regarding the hail, what I'm finding is that no one place wants to quote everything, is that typical? The interior and cover alone are about $2400 in damage, that doesn't include the metal flake gel coat that took about a dozen hits and popped paint on the trolling motor frame.

Thanks

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I wasn't meaning to say that you are, I was just guessing that that's why no shop wants to quote the repairs together. Sorry if I gave you that impression

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

TilliamWe said:

You have two separate claims.
Within the second claim, you have two types of damage. Upholstery and fiberglass. You are going to end up with more than one vendor doing the repair. Could the fiberglass repair place just have the upholstery done as a "sublet" item? Sure. But if they try to mark up the price of the sublet, your insurance carrier is going to (rightfully) balk. But I am guessing the fiberglass place already said it would only quote its repairs. And that's fine. A good adjuster will know how to handle the claim

As far as two close proximity claims totalling nearly $5000 on a 25 year old boat, what do you think is going to happen? Also, you might want to make sure what coverage you really have. If you have ACV coverage, your interior redo is going to cost you out-of-pocket. Because 25 year old vinyl is WELL past 50% of its life expectancy. So you are going to end up with a better interior/cover than you had, and it's only fair that you will pay for the upgrade. If you have a true replacement cost or yacht policy, your deductible is all you'll pay.

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The adjuster is part of the problem, my understanding is my insurance company doesn't have a local adjuster. In fact I did speak with the adjuster that looked at my auto damage and he said all they might do is have him come out and take some pics as he is the only one in town and not set up to do boats.

You are correct on the Upholstery & Fiberglass claim, they'd sublet it so might as well get independent quotes.

As for the claims, I would imagine they would not be thrilled, not sure if they'd cancel or raise or just what. My understanding is for comp claims they can't raise rates, but that doesn't mean I want to turn in two back to back either. Not to mention, I'm not really sure how the rock damage would be claimed. Hmmm! I always understood the policy was replacement as I stated a dollar amount, but that I would only get as much as the boat was worth. NADA puts it at about $2500, I have it insured for about $7000 and see them sell for between $5000 and $8000, give or take, depending upon condition and timing. Not sure if NADA included trailer and motor, but that is very, very low and they'd have a huge fight if it came to that. I have always thought my $7000, not including trailer, was a tad high, but lately I'm rethinking that due to prices I've seen some of these sell for around the country.

In any case, looking up online it appears the coverage is an agreed value policy, so depreciation shouldn't come into play.

I guess time will tell how this is played out..... I'm just hoping I can fix the bottom myself and forgo the claim on it.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

We once had two insurance claims on our home - the first was some water damage from a rotten pipe behind a wall and the second was a couple of kids shot our picture window with a bb gun. Both claims totaled less than 5k and the kids were apprehended and ultimately paid restitution to all the home owners. As soon as it was time to renew my home owners policy, the insurance company dropped us like a hot potato -stating we were "high risk" - the best part of the story is that my wife actually worked at the insurance company and couldn't do anything about it..... We had to go to the Massachusetts Fair Plan, in which the premiums were double and couldn't get back to a normal plan until we moved 5 years later.... The lesson I took from that was to only use the insurance on large claims....

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

My insurance company (BoatUS) hired a local adjuster who does that work for all the insurance companies, so that isn't unusual.

Make sure your estimates are detailed, with all materials and material costs listed, along with estimated hours and hourly rate for each stage of repair. Insurance companies want to see details, and not just an estimate that says 'storm damage repair- $2500.'

My .02

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

MASTERBrian said:

In any case, looking up online it appears the coverage is an agreed value policy, so depreciation shouldn't come into play.

I'm just hoping I can fix the bottom myself and forgo the claim on it.

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That is not necessarily what "Agree Value" means. Agreed Value is USUALLY only for a TOTAL LOSS. Repairs are usually at ACV. Which are subject to betterment. So what policy do you really have? Read it, don't look it up online.

I would fix the bottom yourself, as I am guessing that the shop's repair estimate is ridiculously high. Heck for rock chips all you really need is a $30 can of Marine Tex epoxy and they are repaired. It's pure white, so it won't match, but you have a 25 year old boat, and it's on the bottom.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

TilliamWe said:

That is not necessarily what "Agree Value" means. Agreed Value is USUALLY only for a TOTAL LOSS. Repairs are usually at ACV. Which are subject to betterment. So what policy do you really have? Read it, don't look it up online.

I would fix the bottom yourself, as I am guessing that the shop's repair estimate is ridiculously high. Heck for rock chips all you really need is a $30 can of Marine Tex epoxy and they are repaired. It's pure white, so it won't match, but you have a 25 year old boat, and it's on the bottom.

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This is what the policy says:

2. Partial loss?Our limit of liability is the
lowest of:
a. The amount necessary to replace
the stolen or damaged property,
reduced by the applicable deductible
shown in the Declarations;
b. The amount necessary to repair
the damaged property to its
pre-loss condition, reduced by the
applicable deductible shown in the
Declarations; or
c. The limit of liability shown in the
Declarations, reduced by its salvage
value if you or the owner retains
the salvage.

3. Property subject to depreciation ?
No adjustment for depreciation will be
made in determining the limit of liability
with the following exceptions:
a. Sails and protective covers of any
type;
b. Batteries;
c. Personal effects;
d. Outboard motors and outdrive
units over five (5) years old;
e. Machinery (including inboard engines
and equipment) over ten (10)
years old; and
f. Trailers

So, based upon that, I'm reading it to say, they'll depreciate the cover, which I'm fine with as I admit it was wearing out, though still useable. They should however, repair my seat skins and any hail damage to the hull and paint damage to some painted surfaces such as the trolling motor, etc. as well as damage that I keep forgetting about to the fake wood dash panel.

As for the bottom, unless I find something unexpected, I am going to move forward in repairing it myself.

What I do need to figure out is how they depreciate my trailer, because it is a stated value on the policy. No damage to it, but.....

Also, not sure what others think, but based upon the post above about reserving claims for high $$$ claims, typically, I agree, but a weather related claim should never count against you and when we are talking about a claim representing potentially half the stated value of an object, I'd say that's claim worthy. In this case, we are talking about a boat insured for $7k, not including trailer and extras and so far just over $1500 to repair the interior and another $800 to replace the tarp (which will likely be depreciated), not to mention a new dash panel, paint on accessories and some gel coat work. I'm curious what others would say.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

Good job reading and interpreting your policy, I concur.

For $2300 I would turn it in. Now, if I had all kinds of time, I would look into replacing entire seat assemblies and do the work myself. If I could get that number down to not much more than my deductible, I wouldn't pursue a claim at all. But if you can't do that kind of work, or have that time, then have a professional do it, and pursue the claim.

Re: Insurance Claim Question??

TilliamWe said:

Good job reading and interpreting your policy, I concur.

For $2300 I would turn it in. Now, if I had all kinds of time, I would look into replacing entire seat assemblies and do the work myself. If I could get that number down to not much more than my deductible, I wouldn't pursue a claim at all. But if you can't do that kind of work, or have that time, then have a professional do it, and pursue the claim.

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I agree, which is why I'm not looking at turning the rock claim in. The seats and the rest of the repairs will take some time and I'll still be out about a grand if I do the work myself. Not sure I have the time or not, but it's something I can do as I find the time. I guess I don't mind doing the work, but I also feel why shouldn't I get compensated....there's always something I could be doing instead! Like fishing!!!