HELP! Insurance Problem

[300sflyer]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Highly unlikely... Unless I paid them $105 per hour, which is their hourly shop rate.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Depending on if you can recover court costs, including paying them, it may be worth it. Also, you can make the deal where if you win your case, they fix your boat. I find it hard to believe that they can't write up an estimate of the required repairs with a note in it that describes the damage as an underwater strike. Even if you damaged the darn thing while towing the boat it should be covered. What wouldn't be covered is normal wear and tear which doesn't cause things to just crack like that.

How long have you owned this boat and how long have you had the current insurance carrier on it? Is it likely at all that the insurance carrier believes the drive was damaged before you put insurance on it?

 

[300sflyer]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

I have owned the boat for 3 years. It and my 31' chaparral are insured with them, as are my two automobiles and my house. I have been with them for more than 15 years, and have NEVER had one claim with them on anything.

One would think that as a loyal paying customer, they would want to keep my business... but apparantly not... This is not a small local company either. They are a large and well known insurance company, both here in Canada and the USA.

That being said, I will take my insurance needs elsewhere. I've had enough...

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Ya got medical coverage? Tell that jerk from the ins. co. that you're back is bothering you since the accident & will get worse the more he jerks you around. Tell him you may have to take a trip to the e.r. Plus you had pasengers on board that are sore as hell. I have a feeling that he'll pay up quickly.

Sea Wolf, what you are advocating is Insurance Fraud. You might want to reconsider that.
Secondly, in a First Party Claim (which is where you file a claim on your own insurance) you have limits of insurance, and you don't get compensated one penny more than your legitimate costs. So there is no big (fraudulent) settlement on injuries. Maybe you should actually know what you are talking about before you type your responses?

300, they still need to provide an alternate reason for the damage. Or at least conclusive proof that it wasn't a collision. In their written denial, that you will be receiving shortly, they will have this info. If it's not there, it's definately time to consult an attorney, or maybe first, your agent (if you have one) to see if they can exert any influence.
Good luck.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Sea Wolf, what you are advocating is Insurance Fraud. You might want to reconsider that.
Secondly, in a First Party Claim (which is where you file a claim on your own insurance) you have limits of insurance, and you don't get compensated one penny more than your legitimate costs. So there is no big (fraudulent) settlement on injuries. Maybe you should actually know what you are talking about before you type your responses?

300, they still need to provide an alternate reason for the damage. Or at least conclusive proof that it wasn't a collision. In their written denial, that you will be receiving shortly, they will have this info. If it's not there, it's definately time to consult an attorney, or maybe first, your agent (if you have one) to see if they can exert any influence.
Good luck.

Oh, but it's ok for an ins. co. to deny a legitimate claim? And for your information pal, how do u know that nobody may have to seek medical attention in the future? I'm not advocating that anyone commit ins. fraud. My point is that when you're dealing with an ins.co. that denies a legitimate claim, sometimes u have to play hard ball, & if that means putting the screws to them a little bit, then so be it. Tough. As far as your advice to seek a lawyer, maybe u should know what your talking about before giving advice. The lawyer will cost him more than the claim is worth. If I were him, I would appeal the denial of his claim, & include signed written avidavits from all on board as to what happened to back up his appeal. If the claim is still denied he can take his case to binding arbitration, which will cost him a fraction of what an attoney would charge. So, get off your high horse, & spare me the sermons. Until you yourself know what you are talking about.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

And if he "lawyers up" the ins. co. will dig in their heels. It will turn into a nightmare of back & forth between both parties. Get real.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Sea Wolf, you can do lots of things to play "hardball", but lying about injuries is not one of them. That's fraud. Simple. And again, in a first party claim, injuries don't make you any money.
Arbitration is for claims between two insurance carriers, not a policy holder and their carrier. Any other mistakes you want to make?
You don't know what you are talking about, so stop talking, please.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Flyer, I am sorry that your claim is being denied, but listening to "experts" like Wolf will get you nowhere.

 

[calvinman]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Hi Flyer,

I am very sorry to hear about your insurance claim problem, I agree that "lawyering up will just cause the insurer to dig there heels in. At the end of the day the insurance company will have to pay as long as you have sworn statements from your passengers and the shop you got your repair quotes from.

The insurance company may well be hopeing you do something rash like hireing a lawer or makeing false claims. We had Mortgage insurance and when my wife came down with breast cancer the insurance company first tried to tell us we only had "disbility insurance" which would have made our payments for us while she was off of work. This infuriated us and we almost "lawyered up" but was advised by a friend that he knows someone who did this for a claim on his house when it burned and the insurance company refused to pay for an outboard motror he had in his garage. He ended up getting nothing, no insurance for the house or anything!!!!(how can that be true?) We finally got our settlement, but they played a lot of games with us, trying to get us to lose it and do something rash.

I would like to know who you are insured by, cause if it its the same as my insurer I will drop them like a bad habit.

Calvi

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

bruceb58 asked: Will the boat dealer be willing to put into writing what he feels caused the damage?

No... They will only say verbally that they believe an underwater impact did not cause the damage.

If the shop that inspected the damage and gave a repair estimate told the insurance adjuster that "an underwater impact did not cause the damage" as stated above, then the insurer has a good reason to deny the claim. So Flyer, did you misspeak, or is everyone lining up against you?

 

[sea wolf]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Sea Wolf, you can do lots of things to play "hardball", but lying about injuries is not one of them. That's fraud. Simple. And again, in a first party claim, injuries don't make you any money.
Arbitration is for claims between two insurance carriers, not a policy holder and their carrier. Any other mistakes you want to make?
You don't know what you are talking about, so stop talking, please.

No, it is you smart guy, that doesn't know what he is talking about. Try doing a Google search on "Binding Arbitration" & learn something before you go spouting off. Yes, Flyer will be hurt, if he listens to clueless posters like you. In the real world, which u obviously don't live in, sometimes u have to beat them at their own game & think like they do, i.e., insurance co's who are only interested in the bottom line instead of being fair with policy holders like Flyer. And I'm not suggesting to anyone that they commit insurance fraud.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

bruceb58 asked: Will the boat dealer be willing to put into writing what he feels caused the damage?



If the shop that inspected the damage and gave a repair estimate told the insurance adjuster that "an underwater impact did not cause the damage" as stated above, then the insurer has a good reason to deny the claim. So Flyer, did you misspeak, or is everyone lining up against you?

Flyer, look at your policy. They have to give you in writing the reason for denying your claim. Verbally just won't suffice. And take pictures of the damage, or have the shop do it. Is the shop that u brought it to use to dealing with ins. co's? If not, find one that is.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

No... They will only say verbally that they believe an underwater impact did not cause the damage.

Yes, small claims is an option, and is good up to $25000.00. Costs a couple hundred to do that.

I am going to investigate what my options are with respect to government insurance industry standards next week.

Perhaps it's different in Canada, but any claim denial should come with a letter of explanation. And there should be a claims appeal process with the company that you may want to pursue- even if it goes nowhwere, it greases the skids a bit should you need to escalate the issue. In the US, individual states regulate insurance, and each state has a department of insurance, and companies don't like it when they get complaints filed, but if you have something like this, that would be something else to consider.
And finally, if necessary, there is the legal end. Sounds like your small claims court limit is pretty generous at $25K. Most states cap it at a much lower amount.
Hope it all works out for you. Unfortunate you have to resort to things like this.

 

[300sflyer]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Guys,

This whole situation has been very stressful already... Do we really need to argue about insurance here as well? I appreciate all the helpful comments but , please... Let?s keep it civil.

Here is a bit of an update:

This morning I took the boat to a 3rd repair facility to have them look at it. I was very up front with them, and told them the complete story, including the fact the two previous shops who looked at agreed that the damage was NOT caused by an underwater impact.

I am now feeling somewhat vindicated. The owner of the marina himself had a good look at all the damage, and stated that while he too would have expected more damage on the drive itself from that type of impact, there simply was no other logical explanation, AND agreed to speak to my insurance company on Monday, on my behalf.
I am feeling a bit better about this.

I will update again once that happens on Monday.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Guys,

This whole situation has been very stressful already... Do we really need to argue about insurance here as well? I appreciate all the helpful comments but , please... Let?s keep it civil.

Here is a bit of an update:

This morning I took the boat to a 3rd repair facility to have them look at it. I was very up front with them, and told them the complete story, including the fact the two previous shops who looked at agreed that the damage was NOT caused by an underwater impact.

I am now feeling somewhat vindicated. The owner of the marina himself had a good look at all the damage, and stated that while he too would have expected more damage on the drive itself from that type of impact, there simply was no other logical explanation, AND agreed to speak to my insurance company on Monday, on my behalf.
I am feeling a bit better about this.

I will update again once that happens on Monday.

Flyer, will do. Good luck.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

two previous shops who looked at agreed that the damage was NOT caused by an underwater impact.

Thank you for being candid with us. I appreciate that. Perhaps a third opinion to the contrary will be persuasive, and for your sake, I hope it will be, but until and unless the insurer has persuasive evidence that your loss is covered under the terms of your policy, they cannot be faulted for denying your claim. If the boat simply "blew up" for no apparent reason, the insurer does not have to pay for the repairs. The burden is on you to establish the cause of the damage. That's just the way it is. Good luck with the claim.

 

[300sflyer]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Actually, I am covered for just about anything. Its an all inclusive policy.

From the actual policy itself,

"Direct Physical Loss or Damage.

Your equipment and accessories are protected for:


Theft

Fire

Sinking

Collision

Explosion

Submerged objects

Damage in transit

Windstorm

Hail

Vandalism

Lightning


Coverage is not protected for general wear and tear, rust, and gradual deterioration. For a full explanation of coverage exclusions, refer to the policy."

 

[krazykatz911]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Something don't make sense here. You state that two different shops said that it was not from an under water impact? If two different shops say their expert opinion is that the damage was not caused by an under water impact, then there is much more to this story then is being told.

The shops have no reason to side with the insurance company. All they want is paid for the repairs. If it was from an under water impact, there is no reason why they wouldn't tell that to the insurance company.

How about you post pictures of all the damage. I have heard of many accidents with boats, underwater, and collisions of all kinds, and nobody was ever denied.

There legally has to be supporting evidence for an insurance company to deny a claim. And it is obvious, not only does the adjust have supporting evidence, he has two shops to support expert testimony.

There is definitely more to this story then what is being presented.

 

[300sflyer]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Something don't make sense here. You state that two different shops said that it was not from an under water impact? If two different shops say their expert opinion is that the damage was not caused by an under water impact, then there is much more to this story then is being told.

The shops have no reason to side with the insurance company. All they want is paid for the repairs. If it was from an under water impact, there is no reason why they wouldn't tell that to the insurance company.

How about you post pictures of all the damage. I have heard of many accidents with boats, underwater, and collisions of all kinds, and nobody was ever denied.

There legally has to be supporting evidence for an insurance company to deny a claim. And it is obvious, not only does the adjust have supporting evidence, he has two shops to support expert testimony.

There is definitely more to this story then what is being presented.

Think what you wish... There has been nothing left out of what transpired.

I will try to post some pictures tomorrow, assuming the rain lets up.

 

[j_martin]

Re: HELP! Insurance Problem

Something does not compute. There were 4 people in the boat, and one behind it that witnessed the impact.

What happened to their testimony?