Insurance and Hull Repair (what should it include)?

[Karl4Life]

Hello,

Happy to join the forum, frequent reader, never poster (until now).

My boat was in a recent accident that damaged the forward starboard side of the hull, maybe 1/3 of the whole hull surface area. It's most likely not structural.

Insurance has agreed to repair the damage (the other boater was liable).

So my question is when they do this repair, buff out the scratches, etc and make the area that was damaged looked right, what happens to the rest of my hull?

This boat is older, and the hull is not polished, or in particular good cosmetic shape. So if they just fix the one area that was damaged the boat is going to look highly funny and it will be obvious to anyone that there was some sort of accident or issue with that part of the hull, for example if I sell the boat it would come up as a major point of conversation.

I know in other insurance industries that when repairs like this are done any adjacent areas have to match the repaired area so there is no evidence of repair. So in this case the whole hull would have to be buffed out as well so that you couldn't spot the 'repaired' area.

Does anyone have any experience with this? The insurance company doing the work is Progressive.

Thanks!

Karl

[rpeebles]

Agree. Don’t have any direct experience but will be following to see replies.

[Karl4Life]

Buehler? Buehler?

[Orion Jim]

The rest of the hull is your issue. The adjuster only quotes for the reported damage. He will not offer payment for work to any other section of the hull.
If someone backs into your car door they fix the door and paint to match the surrounding surfaces as much as possible. They do not fix the door and paint the entire car so the repaired area won’t stand out.
Unless you have a special policy like that which I have on my Corvette…..

[Sailmonkey]

The insurance is there to make you whole, not better.

[rpeebles]

What fine body shops do you have in your part of the world? Here they fix my car door and paint it to match the rest of the car. They don't "as much as possible", they make it right! They did that on my Ferrari. And they will do that on my Oyster!

[Karl4Life]

Thanks for the replies, however this is not a car, it's a house/home. With my house if there is damage any repair has to match the sightline of all similar parts, RE: if a window is replace all windows have to look the same (which can often mean replacing them all, and yes all of the in the house even the other side).

Also, to make the boat 'whole' is should look like it did before the accident RE: - it should look like it was not in an accident. If one part of the hull is highly polished, and another is not my boat deparciates as it is clear to anyone that it was hit and has been fixed.

I'm not arguing either way but I think the car door analogy seems off, but I'm not sure if anyone here is an insurance agent, or just throwing in their two cents...

[Orion Jim]

I’d like to have your homeowners policy. That is certainly not my experience.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by rpeebles

What fine body shops do you have in your part of the world? Here they fix my car door and paint it to match the rest of the car. They don't "as much as possible", they make it right! They did that on my Ferrari. And they will do that on my Oyster!

As the OP stated it is an older boat in “not particularly good cosmetic shape” . So the new repair will be made to match this less than pristine vessels current color. The alternative is to make the repair stand out like a sore thumb. His insurance company will not improve the overall cosmetic shape of the hull. As stated by a previous poster the insurance company will make you whole, not better.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Karl4Life

Thanks for the replies, however this is not a car, it's a house/home. With my house if there is damage any repair has to match the sightline of all similar parts, RE: if a window is replace all windows have to look the same (which can often mean replacing them all, and yes all of the in the house even the other side).

Also, to make the boat 'whole' is should look like it did before the accident RE: - it should look like it was not in an accident. If one part of the hull is highly polished, and another is not my boat deparciates as it is clear to anyone that it was hit and has been fixed.

I'm not arguing either way but I think the car door analogy seems off, but I'm not sure if anyone here is an insurance agent, or just throwing in their two cents...

The argument that the repair would be obvious ignores your responsibility to disclose the accident and damage to a prospective buyer. The insurance company has no roll in complicity to hide the history.

As to the extent of repair, the obligation of your underwriter is to repair it; not make improvements.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

The argument that the repair would be obvious ignores your responsibility to disclose the accident and damage to a prospective buyer. The insurance company has no roll in complicity to hide the history.

As to the extent of repair, the obligation of your underwriter is to repair it; not make improvements.

It does fit in with one of my methods of judging a repair. If I know it was done but can't tell when looking for it, then that's a pointer towards it being a good repair. If they managed to make it blend in well with the surroundings well enough, it's an indicator that some level of care and attention went into it rather than just a quick fix.

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

It does fit in with one of my methods of judging a repair. If I know it was done but can't tell when looking for it, then that's a pointer towards it being a good repair. If they managed to make it blend in well with the surroundings well enough, it's an indicator that some level of care and attention went into it rather than just a quick fix.

It is easy(er) to make a repair blend in on a boat that has been kept in bristol condition. On a crappy old boat it is virtually impossible to "blend it in," no matter how much care is taken and I see no reason the insurance company should be expected to clean up the rest of the boat just so the repair doesn't stand out.

Remember... the reason the repair is standing out is the rest of the boat is in poor cosmetic condition. That's on you. You let your boat go to hell, there is no reasonable expectation that you should have years of deferred maintenance put right on somebody else's dime.