Insurance Claims

[davil]

not sure what will be the most appropriate forum.
Insurance Claims
waiting to return to Morehead City NC after mandatory evacuation.
Afraid will find a total loss
How does it work?
Company pays agreed value,takes ownership of boat?cost of removal etc.
Just finished a total refit with considerable money invested on new equipment,will I be allowed to remove that equipment?is that part of the total loss and loose it??
I paid most with American Express,checked their insurance and will not cover but a a minimum,so that is out.
On the agreed value at time of insured can all these new equipment (last 3 months) be added with proof of invoices and paid receipts.
I understand all of these questions will be addressed by the company,just wandering about owners experiences regardless of what company used (USBoat)

[Moody46CC]

Unless your boat breaks lose from its mooring or dock, she should not be a total loss. The storm has (relatively) not been that bad, and Morehead while on the NE side of the storm, is a good distance from landfall. It is hard, but try to be positive. This does not answer your question, but I really doubt all is lost.

[hellosailor]

Davil-
Start by reading your policy, and checking with your state insurance commission.

For instance, Progressive, a company with a generally good reputation, will write "agreed value" policies. But, in their fine print they define that as "the agreed value or the fair market replacement value" or some such phrase. Meaning that if you agreed to $100k but they can point to a similar sale that just took place at $85k? You're only getting 85k. Even though you paid for 100k.

And, they all have been known to play games with "market value", often taking examples that are too far out of the geographic area (which may be restricted by state law) or not in the same condition, or not quite the same boat. (Like, you've got a Mark III Wonderboat, and they find a Mark II instead.)

Start with the papers, see what you've got and what they are required to do. THEN when the water recedes, check out the boat. Take pictures. And finally call your company or your broker, when you know what the options will be.

If the boat was submerged, you might not want the new electronics. If the policy requires them to be reported within 30 days (installation of new permanent equipment?) and you're more than 30 days out...you may be out of luck. Depends on the policy, and how much they value your business.

[davil]

Moody, Hellosailor
thanks
lets see 3 days preparing the boat and 3 days "in exile" without notices took its toll.
got word today the boat survived,the house survived,all is well.
for now
barely keeping my sanity within check.
thanks for your responses

[hellosailor]

It was most unexpected and very good news to hear that Florence hit as a tropical storm instead of a Cat4 hurricane. Like TS Sandy, that can still be an ordeal, but way better than what was first predicted.

The "damned inconvenience" of all the prep and un-prep, part of the cost of living in warm coastal places. Like having snow days in NE, you just have to figure it happens. Keep a copy of War and Peace around in case the cable goes out for a couple of days.(G)

[Moody46CC]

I live in Charleston, so I've been through a number of storms. I actually keep my boat up on the Chesapeake Bay, and while Flo was not scheduled tom hit there, a very good friend stripped the canvas off the boat just for safety sake. As hello said, it is part of the price of having a boat in a hurricane area. Since the damn storms seem to be everywhere now, it is just part of the price.

And Flo is really slow! We just got the rain bands last night at 11 PM.

[zboss]

If its on the boat and is not considered "personal items" you cannot remove the items... they belong to the insurance company. This is why we remove everything we can when up for hurricane season. Our policy has an agreed value and a personal items coverage (something like 5K), where the personal items don't have a deductible... so we would get both the agreed value minus the deductible and the personal item insurance and the insurance company covers the salvage.

With that said, for a large hurricane it can take weeks and weeks for an adjuster to show up and if it wasn't "built into" the boat, like a personal handheld GPS or something, then you can probably take it but taking a winch would be a no-no. When it comes to perhaps many hundreds of millions of losses, 5k here and there is a rounding error.

[davil]

Originally Posted by Moody46CC

I live in Charleston, so I've been through a number of storms. I actually keep my boat up on the Chesapeake Bay, and while Flo was not scheduled tom hit there, a very good friend stripped the canvas off the boat just for safety sake. As hello said, it is part of the price of having a boat in a hurricane area. Since the damn storms seem to be everywhere now, it is just part of the price.

And Flo is really slow! We just got the rain bands last night at 11 PM.

========================================
thinking to move her out, the convenience of having the boat closer is not longer a consideration,what area of the Chesapeake keep your boat?
David

[S/V Illusion]

There is no general practice on which you can depend. Many people have many different experiences as a result of any number of considerations - which underwriter, policy terms, market value they use to establish replacement cost, how they define "agreed value" which varies among underwriters. No one's experience is a good indicator of what you will experience.


We had a total loss many years ago and it took 2 years of litigation to recover the full claim. And that was with so-called "agreed value" with one of the top underwriters.


Good luck but as they say, we make our own luck which means get ready to find an good insurance lawyer.

[davil]

Just found this on Email
sort of guidelines as to what to leave in the boat and what to take
============================

Dear Policyholder:

We hope that you and your family are safe in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. The BoatUS Marine Insurance Catastrophe Team is headed to the Carolinas and will be operating in the affected areas shortly.

All BoatUS insurance customers have assistance available for post-storm recovery and you can report your claim one of three ways:

How to file a claim:
Use the BoatUS App.
Online at BoatUS.com/Account - after login, click on the "FILE A CLAIM" button.
Call the BoatUS Claims department at 800-937-1937.
In the meantime, if you are able to get to your vessel, there are some things you can do to protect your boat, reduce related problems and help us serve you better.

Once it is reasonably safe to do so, remove as much equipment as possible to a safe place to protect it from looters or vandals.
Protect the boat from further loss. This could include placing a tarp over any holes or open hatches and/or removing wet cushions or fabrics from the interior to allow items to dry.
If your boat is sunk or must be moved by a salvage company, let BoatUS assist you with the arrangements. Do not sign any salvage or wreck removal contracts, including the BoatUS salvage form, without first getting approval from the BoatUS claims staff.
Your policy will pay reasonable costs for professional help in each of these areas. Please remember that BoatUS representatives are standing by 24 hours-a-day to assist you in dealing with these problems

Sincerely,
The BoatUS Marine Insurance Staff