Help! Thje Insurance 'Nazis' are trying to write her off?

[Jim@sea]

You still need to consult a Chartered Loss Assessor. I have used them on 5 occasions (over a 40 year period in Business) when I have had a claim. They are especially useful when the claim is against a third party and the insured (yourself) is entirely blameless.
If it was a car and a bus hit it when parked you would be entitled to a courtesy car.
If it was my boat which had been damaged I would be after a courtesy boat.
After all you were going to use your boat at Easter when the sailing season starts.
Ask yourself a question, if you appointed a Loss Assessor and he contacted the BF Loss Adjuster would they be pleased. No they would be totally pithed off. Which answers the question if you should get get "Professional Representation"
I would also take it one step further. Apparently the French are seriously into making insurance claims ( I lived in Brittany for 6 years) and I would try and find a French Loss Assessor. That would certainly put the wind up Brittany Ferries.
I would register on the Anglo Info Forum Website (for Brittany) and put a question i.e. "My yacht was damaged by a BF ferry in Portsmouth Harbour and I need to find a French Loss Adjuster, can anyone recommend someone ? And wait for replies.

 

[KevinT1]

What has a French Court or a french Loss adjuster got to do with an incident in Portsmouth Harbour - surely it's within the UK and thus UK law applies ?

 

[Euphonyx]

What has a French Court or a french Loss adjuster got to do with an incident in Portsmouth Harbour - surely it's within the UK and thus UK law applies ?

It does!!!!

 

[lw395]

You still need to consult a Chartered Loss Assessor. I have used them on 5 occasions (over a 40 year period in Business) when I have had a claim. They are especially useful when the claim is against a third party and the insured (yourself) is entirely blameless.
If it was a car and a bus hit it when parked you would be entitled to a courtesy car.
If it was my boat which had been damaged I would be after a courtesy boat.
After all you were going to use your boat at Easter when the sailing season starts.
Ask yourself a question, if you appointed a Loss Assessor and he contacted the BF Loss Adjuster would they be pleased. No they would be totally pithed off. Which answers the question if you should get get "Professional Representation"
I would also take it one step further. Apparently the French are seriously into making insurance claims ( I lived in Brittany for 6 years) and I would try and find a French Loss Assessor. That would certainly put the wind up Brittany Ferries.
I would register on the Anglo Info Forum Website (for Brittany) and put a question i.e. "My yacht was damaged by a BF ferry in Portsmouth Harbour and I need to find a French Loss Adjuster, can anyone recommend someone ? And wait for replies.

Unless it's a fairly expensive yacht, there is a danger that the underwriters will see too much going on unnecessary fees when they have already offered to settle for full value.
This will put their backs up and probably result in delays for most of the sailing season.
The OP won't be compensated for delays that are the result of him turning down an offer of full value.
In general, they will want to settle quickly at a fair figure but will fight if they sense they are being taken too far.
Once they start fighting, they look to trim the claim to cover their costs.

The big question is 'what is full value of the boat?'
That is best answered by looking at the market for comparable boats.
If the boat has an owners/class association, a history of actual sale prices should be fairly easy to put together.
Talking to a few brokers will be useful.
Generally when it comes to cash on the table, people seem to find their boat is a bit less valuable than they thought.

The other big question is whether to spend this summer sailing or arguing with suits.
Lot to be said for taking the cash and buying something good to go, go sailing.

 

[Jim@sea]

What has a French Court or a french Loss adjuster got to do with an incident in Portsmouth Harbour - surely it's within the UK and thus UK law applies ?

In his later posting the owner of the boat said something like "Under French Law he had to contact the French Loss Adjuster" The boat will be insured in France and the damage occurred in a Foreign Port.
All I am doing is to point him in the right direction to maximise his claim. (in my opinion and it has worked fo me in the past)