Although COLREGS exist it would be rare that they would influence the insurance settlement unless one vessel was not insured. The controlling regulation is as SEAHAG mentioned - the
rule that each and every vessel do what is necessary to avoid a collision. So you end up with a 50-50% finding in court.
- - It is highly likely the insurance companies with simply split the total bill up to their covered limits and avoid the costs of going to court which will solve nothing for them especially since it would take years to get a final court decision.
- - Practical life is usually based on the least costly way of fulfilling the insurance
contract. This is where it is critically important to read all the fine print in your insurance policy. There are things in there that will shock you. Especially since "addendums" to the policy can override and cancel basic coverage listed in the main policy body.
- - With a large boat like a Gulfstar the cost of
repairs (especially considering labor rates) can easily exceed the market value of the boat. With the damage listed in the OP's first post, the
repair and replacement costs of those items will easily greatly exceed the given insurance policy limit and certainly the market value as shown in the link in post #13.
- - I have seen this happen dozens of times during the
hurricane Ivan loses in
Grenada when I was there. Beautiful boats with major but less than total damage were "struck" as total losses by the insurance companies for two main reasons.
- - First the boat was "under-insured" as the owner could not afford full market or replacement value coverage. And secondly because the
current cost of repairing the boat exceeded their market value.
- - And the insurance paid off the full limit of the policies and took possession of the boats. That was the real shocker to the owners, they did not know that they would lose
ownership of the boat. In essence when the insurance pays the policy limit there are automatically
purchasing the boat from you. This can be avoided if you have the much more expensive version of the comprehensive policy if the particular insurance company offers such a policy.
- - It will be very informative if the OP will let us know the results of the
survey and what the resolution is with the insurance company.
- - Although it worth finding out about repair yards further from the "scene of the accident" - it is the findings of the
surveyor that will control everything. He will normally base his findings on "local" professional repair and replacement costs - D-I-Y repair work costs are not considered. And
Rhode Island is not known as one of the economical areas for professional boat
repairs.
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