Insurance Claim

[sneuman]

I'm having what feels like a less-than-satisfactory experience with a particular insurer at the moment. I will refrain from naming the insurer (among the most popular for marine insurance). What is a normal timeframe for settling a fairly straight-forward claim?

[drewke07]

Good Luck. We had a damage claim here in Hawaii that was covered by a well known cruising boat insurer. The problem came when the insurer sent in a third party "adjuster" from Mississippi to evaluate the claim. Among the odd things that happened along the way was the adjuster flew in two gentlemen from "qualified repair firm" in Michigan. They were sure they could do the work for the amount the adjuster quoted. Part of their plan was to disassemble our boat's interior and do the repair work in their shop back home. All the would need to do on site was to reassemble. Seems they had a friend with a 747 cargo plane who would drop by Hawaii and fly the pieces of our boat back to Michigan for free..... Took over six months before any work was started.

[sneuman]

Ugh! The claims adjuster I am dealing with sounds either lazy or overworked. Each time I call her she acts like we've never spoken. She promised it would be dealt with "in a few days" about 2 weeks ago.

I am getting really frustrated and if I don't get some satisfaction soon, the name of the offending insurance co. will be revealed and I will be changing insurers.

[Hud3]

How about just asking that they assign another adjuster to your case, since this one's obviously to busy to follow through.

[dennisjay]

There is no normal timeframe in which claims are paid. Depends on a lot of factors.


Many states have requirements that insurers settle claims within a specific period of time (30, 60, 90 days) unless there are extenuating circumstances. Call the company and ask to speak with a claims manager, and try to find out why the claim is being delayed. Claims adjusters usually are over-worked and under-paid.

If you don't get any satisfaction, contact your state insurance department and file a complaint. Contact information can be found at National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) State Web Map.

[boatman61]

Over this side of the Pond I've been pretty lucky... found a good insurer (P) by chance... had a lightening strike in the Balearics that totaled most instruments... sorted in a fortnight...
Had an embarassing 'false alarm' and they flew out a surveyor to Madeira to assess the situation... no penalties...

[bstreep]

We get some abuse/commentary/comments regarding our insurer - Nationwide. HOWEVER, I've yet to find ANYONE who has had a bad claims experience with them. Here are 3 I know of:

3 years ago we were hit by a small tornado in Kemah. $24K + in damage. Check within 2 weeks.

Friends lost their boat in Ike. They had a check for the full, insured amount (more than they had paid for the boat less then 6 months prior) within 8 days.

Friend had his boat primarily cosmetically damaged in a marina fire that destroyed 22 other boats (some minor stuctural damage at the bow). $64K in damage - most of which went to repainting the entire boat. He has been just plain DELIGHTED with how Nationwide responded.

We pay about $2800 per year for $275K in coverage. $1000 deductible, 5% for named storms. We are in hurricane country.

[capngeo]

How about a Public Adjuster?

[amarinesurveyor]

Did the Insurance Co. send someone to verify the damage (like a surveyor)? Is this an incident that might require an inspection by one? If so, they should have assigned a surveyor shortly after the incident. Can you give any more details?
My experience in dealing with insurance conpany adjusters is that they like to get claims settled and they are pressured by their supervisors to do so. The nature of the claim may have something to do with it.
Brian

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by amarinesurveyor

Did the Insurance Co. send someone to verify the damage (like a surveyor)? Is this an incident that might require an inspection by one? If so, they should have assigned a surveyor shortly after the incident. Can you give any more details?
My experience in dealing with insurance conpany adjusters is that they like to get claims settled and they are pressured by their supervisors to do so. The nature of the claim may have something to do with it.
Brian

Yes, they did send a surveyor. I just got a settlement. It was about a third less than the yard estimate minus the deductible. Not really happy about that, but I don't suppose there's much I can do. Among other things, they depreciated the replacement items by 40% due to the age of the boat ... and their limit on Gelcoat repair was far below market prices. I can assure you that I will look closely at insurers at the Annapolis Boat Show this fall and will choose one, probably BoatUS, to switch to.