when the other guys insurance company won't respond

[Seapig]

The other guy was trying to dock his boat and messed it up very badly. Initially he reasonable, assuring us that he would make it good, wanted to keep the insurance company out of it. It is a cosmetic repair but when it turned out that it was going to be around 1K He became ugly and gave us what he states is his insurance carrier, except that 5 attempts to contact the company with no response. ( phone calls, emails, and website contact forms.)


Coast guard says they don't care because it is not commercial.
Local police say they don't care because it took place on the water.
Marshals office not their problem.
No way of registering the incident with the state registration authorities that we can find.

Made the mistake of contacting our own insurance agent for advice. she promptly informed our carrier who informed us that the damage was below our deductible but the information has been added to our file and would be considered when it comes time for renewal.



In the boating world this is a small sum but it irks me that this jackass is going to skate completely. He has refused to give us any contact information. He is leaving today and laughing all the way out of the harbor.



Any suggestions for avenues we have not pursued?

[AKA-None]

If you have real contact info you could spend the time in small claims court and try a Lien on his boat. Assuming it’s a he

[pesarsten]

Was this during docking? Who owns the dock? Coast guard doesn’t care about them leaving the scene of an accident? Harbor master contacted?

I would be very angry at the other party’s attitude. Did you photograph his boat? And them?

[Seapig]

We have photographed everything up the wazzoo. He refuses to give us any contact information. We were able to google the the boat registration but other than saying the registration is active the website is not very informative. We also have several quotes for the repair.

There is not much the harbor master can do because they have allegedly given us their insurance information. They cannot give us any contact information. And yes the Coast Guard won't get involved unless someone was injured or it is a commercial vessel.

We are very gun shy of courts and insurance companies and there is a question of what jurisdiction we would have to bring a small claim against him. A judgement that we can't collect is not much of a judgement.

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by Seapig

We are very gun shy of courts and insurance companies and there is a question of what jurisdiction we would have to bring a small claim against him. A judgement that we can't collect is not much of a judgement.

In small claims/magistrates court always file at the maximum allowable regardless of your actual loss. Typically $10-20k. Always pay the extra $50 or so for service.

If he is served (before leaving) with a suit for $20k he may change his mind.

If not, and you then win $20k by default, you may be able to sell the judgement for pennies on the dollar getting you at least someway towards being whole and at the same time giving him a lifetime of extreme annoyance at minimum.

[Seapig]

flightlead404 does it matter where you file? ie does it have to be in the area that the accident happened? There is no chance that this is going to be able to be filed before he leaves but I really like being able to cause him some annoyance as he has been such a horses ass about the whole thing.
By the way he is leaving with just an innerstay as his forestay decided to leave (who can blame it). It is my understanding that this would invalidate his insurance as he is setting out in a boat that is not safe. Is this correct?
thx

[Bobby Lex]

WHERE did this happen (what country/state/jurisdiction)? Typically the doctrine of lex loci applies (local laws determine your legal rights and options).

(Incidentally, I can't imagine why the marina won't give you the guy's name and contact info. You're not asking for his credit card info or social security number. Just his name and address. If this happened in the US, you could subpoena that info from them, so they might as well just give it to you.)
Bob

[zstine]

if documented, a uscg abstract of title will give you the registered owners name/contact info from the name of vessel and port of call, which I assumeyouhavefrom his transom. if state registration only, I imagine the state has the info that you can get somehow... yes, there are fees involved. I agree that small claims is a good way to proceed. I would file complaints with harbor Master and local coast guard and keep records.

[PJS]

I know a guy who knows a guy....
Not condoning anything, just saying..sometimes it has to be an eye for an eye

[TrentePieds]

Seapig said: " but when it turned out that it was going to be around 1K He became ugly and gave us what he states is his insurance carrier, except that 5 attempts to contact the company with no response. "

Well, then — did you mess up, maybe?

Of course "the other guy's" insurance company will not talk to you. Nor should it! The PROPER procedure is that you claim on YOUR insurance - you do have it, don't you? If the facts show that you are in the clear, i.e. that you have fulfilled the terms of your "bet", i.e. met the requirements of the "wordings" in your policy, YOUR underwriter will send you a cheque.

His adjuster will then deal with "the other guy's" underwriter's adjuster in a process called "subrogation" and the two of them will settle the matter between them without you ever getting to know anything about it!

All the best

TrentePieds

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Bobby Lex

WHERE did this happen (what country/state/jurisdiction)? Typically the doctrine of lex loci applies (local laws determine your legal rights and options).

(Incidentally, I can't imagine why the marina won't give you the guy's name and contact info. You're not asking for his credit card info or social security number. Just his name and address. If this happened in the US, you could subpoena that info from them, so they might as well just give it to you.)
Bob

Ah, there lies a big problem. The OP lists his location as “ Caribbean “. He has already said that every legal agency has passed the buck. This type of incident is tough enough in the US, in the banana republics forget about it. Personally I’d be looking at some vigilante style Justice for the sob slimeball.

[StuM]

OP's doesn't say where this occurred, but his details show his location as "Caribbean".
Without knowing where in the Caribbean, any advise about how to proceed would be of limited value.

[Shrew]

Did you find out what the 'uninsured vessel' deductible is? It's usually much lower than the collision or liability deductable.

[dszerlag]

Quite the contrary, you should not have your insurance company get involved in a claim where you have no fault. It is the other company's responsibility to review adjust and cover his liability claim.

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Seapig said: " but when it turned out that it was going to be around 1K He became ugly and gave us what he states is his insurance carrier, except that 5 attempts to contact the company with no response. "

Well, then — did you mess up, maybe?

Of course "the other guy's" insurance company will not talk to you. Nor should it! The PROPER procedure is that you claim on YOUR insurance - you do have it, don't you? If the facts show that you are in the clear, i.e. that you have fulfilled the terms of your "bet", i.e. met the requirements of the "wordings" in your policy, YOUR underwriter will send you a cheque.

His adjuster will then deal with "the other guy's" underwriter's adjuster in a process called "subrogation" and the two of them will settle the matter between them without you ever getting to know anything about it!

All the best

TrentePieds

[John Williams]

I am a retired lawyer. Forget it and get on with life. Not worth the effort for $1k.