Insurance--DIY fixes that your insurance might not like

[brantleychuck]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

or this one ...... insurance denied.

It’s like I’m looking at my own boat, what’s the solution?

[sailorboy1]

not poor boat owners who don't want to paid for the secrets

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by brantleychuck

It’s like I’m looking at my own boat, what’s the solution?

Which photo ?

[brantleychuck]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Which photo ?

The battery one, But I got the answers after I read the full thread

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

ABYC, CSA, SAE, UL, ULC, CE, Lloyds, ABS, Det Norske Veritas, NFPA, ISO, ASTM, DIN, ASHRAE, API. I don't think you can find a single standards organization that can produce standards for free. It costs a huge amount of money to create, test and publish these standards. Surely you understand someone has to pay. Do you think the volunteers and paid staff should take the money out of their own pockets ? Who do you think should pay ?

BUT, when API standards are mandatory, as in certain building codes, they are incorporated by reference. You are NOT held to standards that are not in the regulation. For example, API has standards for tank construction that are mandatory for tanks containing hazardous materials (some exceptions--let's keep this on-topic), but they do NOT mandatory for oily water tanks, vegetable oil tanks, lube tanks, or asphalt tanks, for example.


If the code is not in the regulation, it is optional.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by thinwater

BUT, when API standards are mandatory, as in certain building codes, they are incorporated by reference. You are NOT held to standards that are not in the regulation. For example, API has standards for tank construction that are mandatory for tanks containing hazardous materials (some exceptions--let's keep this on-topic), but they do NOT mandatory for oily water tanks, vegetable oil tanks, lube tanks, or asphalt tanks, for example.


If the code is not in the regulation, it is optional.

No one ever said ABYC or any of the other agencies I listed (CE excepted and a couple of other isolated references) were mandatory.

You choose to follow them or not and the insurance companies are also free to follow them or not.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

No one ever said ABYC or any of the other agencies I listed (CE excepted and a couple of other isolated references) were mandatory.

You choose to follow them or not and the insurance companies are also free to follow them or not.

So when you posted the photo of the batteries and said insurance denied, was that an actual case of a denied claim, or denied policy?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

...You choose to follow them or not and the insurance companies are also free to follow them or not.

The question is...


Unless the insurance company said "thou shalt follow ABYC in all regards" in the policy, that's choice is really not up to them when it comes to claim decisions. Heck, the boat builder was not even bound by it.

[cyan]

I think we should be careful what we wish for regarding standards for boats. The free USCG compliance guidelines do seem a bit incomplete but you can find answers to quite a few electrical/fuel/structural questions that we DIY folks might have. Sure there are boats out there filled with jinky DIY work, but there is no reason to fail like that in this age of the internet. If I saw battery box mistakes I think I would expect through-hull mistakes, etc...as the DIY person was apparently lazy or unable to look for sufficient codes/guidelines. (or living under a rock)

While the boat insurance gray areas can be a headache, I think it would be much more of a pain if things were handled like a house in the US. If I had to apply for and pay for a permit and then professional inspection just to work on major systems of my own boat, I would most likely not have a boat. The happy little city government in my area has created their own hideous and oppressive bureaucracy regarding land building codes and permits. Poseidon help us if one day I need to pull a permit with inspection to replace a little boat wiring. Ugh.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

ABYC, CSA, SAE, UL, ULC, CE, Lloyds, ABS, Det Norske Veritas, NFPA, ISO, ASTM, DIN, ASHRAE, API. I don't think you can find a single standards organization that can produce standards for free. It costs a huge amount of money to create, test and publish these standards. Surely you understand someone has to pay. Do you think the volunteers and paid staff should take the money out of their own pockets ? Who do you think should pay ?

ABYC gets income from many areas, courses, seminars, membership fees, shows. It is a business decision to keep the specs proprietary. Another business approach could be to release the specs publicly with the plan to extend their reach and effectiveness further, generating more membership and certification business. It is just a business chlice.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

So when you posted the photo of the batteries and said insurance denied, was that an actual case of a denied claim, or denied policy?

Denied policy

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Paul L

ABYC gets income from many areas, courses, seminars, membership fees, shows. It is a business decision to keep the specs proprietary. Another business approach could be to release the specs publicly with the plan to extend their reach and effectiveness further, generating more membership and certification business. It is just a business chlice.

Chicken or egg ?
I'm sure they would if you funded the initial outlay.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Chicken or egg ?
I'm sure they would if you funded the initial outlay.

The initial outlay is already sunk money (in the accounting sense, not nautical). The rest is just a business marketing decision.

[Wotname]

Who should pay for a voluntary ABYC?

Presumably those who benefit most (and who have the deepest pockets); I suspect that may the insurance business.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Denied policy

So it was just one of the items that had to be fixed prior to the policy being written.
More interesting would be some examples you might have where a claim was denied due to some out of spec part or implementation.