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Old 20-07-2016, 16:30   #1
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: East Boothbay Maine
Boat: Irwin 40 Mk II 1982
Posts: 18
Boat US and Frustration

I am not sure if this is the relevant area for this. We have had Boat US insurance since we have owned the boat. We had to leave the boat for the last 3 winters covered at our boatyard due to life. When we left the boat the last time we were on it she was just fine. We bought her the same time life happened so the survey we had was brand spanking new. This year we made it to the boat and are now attempting to live aboard. One snag, we unwrapped the boat and had a severe case of POX above the waterline on both sides. The POX as I call them are all dry as a bone and there is a rust like discoloration mixed into the gelcoat of the same area. Just because the 12000 dollar estimate to fix the POX was a bit steep for us we thought maybe our insurance would cover it. We made a claim on June 16th. One day in July we thought well it has been awhile since the auto response told us not to authorize any repairs until they told us it was alright. The response we got then was it was busy due to July 4th claims. We did get an email of the requested survey report from that call. We then got ignored the next two times we called. The third time we were told it was in for management review and we would be contacted again that day or the next. We waited again and then when we called the next week to ask for an update we got a rather strange response when we asked for a supervisor. The person responded that we were now declined in our claim and that she was trying to get it approved was what was taking so long. I could care less at this point about the claim being approved or declined if it was done correctly. However if your going to decline someone 35 days later after receiving the survey report doing so on assumptions is not a great excuse for taking so long. They assumed the discoloration was due to heat gun damage. I am an ex firefighter the discoloration is not heat gun induced. They assumed the boat was not ventilated while stored. Is ventilation a normal procedure in shrink wrapping of a boat for storage? Our marina did the same job they have done with boats for years and ours is one of only two boats the surveyor has ever seen have this issue. Our boat was not wrapped any differently than any other boat in the yard. The surveyor said it was wear and tear how does wear and tear cause pimples in gelcoat? Again this is not something seen often and the excuses are weak. If your going to deny a claim ave some facts about the cause that are not assumptions. I have been involved in many an arson investigation and if I ever said "Well I assume this is what happened" an insurance company would have laughed at me and a homeowner would have my ass in court. Why do the boat insurers have the ability to make assumptions and refuse a claim on boats? If homeowners were treated with such disdain and contempt for their time on claims there would be hell to pay. Again I am not mad about being denied my problem is having to track down my adjuster and then as soon as I make a complaint the supervisor tells me it is denied due to what she makes up. Is this normal operating procedure for Boat US? is this because Geico is the owner? If I have fire damage from a heat gun why are they not covering my damage? Is there a better insurance company out there? Am I just being sensitive due to not having my boat available for 35+ days because they didn't want us to approve repairs? I just hope this isn't what happens when I have a covered issue. Although if fire damage is not covered damage I don't think I am paying for the right coverage.
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Old 20-07-2016, 16:57   #2
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Boat: Valiant 42
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Re: Boat US and Frustration

So basically the person at BoatUS tried multiple times through several layers of approval to get your claim approved. They did not just take the first "denied" result. They continued to fight for your claim even through the busiest boating holiday of the year. Even though they tried really hard it did not get approved and you are mad at the person who tried really hard on your behalf?

I think you know this claim would not get approved. Shrink wrap isn't designed for multi year storage. It is only for the winter season.

You should read the policy to see what is not covered. Most policies do not cover damage from wear and tear, lack of maintenance, bad repairs/service by a boat yard (such as this case) and some other preventable losses.
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Old 20-07-2016, 17:29   #3
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: East Boothbay Maine
Boat: Irwin 40 Mk II 1982
Posts: 18
Re: Boat US and Frustration

I think you missed the part where we made the claim in June. I also think you missed the part where I said I am not upset about the denial. The fact that I had to hunt down my adjuster at every turn and then to only be denied once I complained is not good practice by any company. Maybe communicate that it was not looking good and you are trying. Maybe say sorry we never called you once despite saying you would. Maybe treating me with a strand of respect when I do complain. Don't make up excuses that are only communicated the day I complain. Have a logical reason it is not covered. Why did I pay extra to have coverage while it was stored on the hard? When I paid extra I was told it was so if any damage happened in the yard. Again don't care about the claim just the way the claim was handled.
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Old 14-08-2016, 09:32   #4
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Location: East Boothbay Maine
Boat: Irwin 40 Mk II 1982
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Re: Boat US and Frustration

Just because I want to be fair I am updating this thread. We were contacted by Boat US and they agreed we had not been handled per the norm for them. They stated they have a 10 day update policy. They also agreed that the way the refusal was handled was not appropriate for the norm. If this was how we had been handled from the beginning this post would never have happened. I am grateful for the contact made by the adjusters supervisor one phone call went a long way in knowing my money is not the only thing they care about.
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