Hypothetical Insurance Question - strip before claiming?

[jonrarit]

Purely hypothetical as (touch wood) my boat is bobbing up and down on her mooring ....... but

If your boat was involved in a claim (damage/fire/whatever) and there was a chance the insurers would declare it a write off ....... do you, or are you allowed to "strip" the boat before making the claim?

Basic strip = all the stuff you normally take off in the winter - sails, outboard, warps etc
Intermediate strip = all above & say nav instruments, heating system but leaving the boat still seaworthy
Full strip = If it unbolts you take it off ....

Also in the event of a write off are you given the option to "buy back" the wreck in the way you can with cars?

What do insurance companies do with written off boats anyway?

JR

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I don't know the facts but a value is being insured which includes everything on the yacht except personal stuff at time of insurance. If the insurance company pays out the the wreck belongs to them. If you add things, which increases the value, you may want to notify the insurance.

 

[theoldsalt]

Do you mean "strip" to protect valuables from theft or to keep? If you are claiming a total loss then the insurance surveyor/adjuster will certainly query the lack of equipment if items appear to have been removed (assuming insured "in commision"; different if insured "layed up"). You will have normally insured a "complete" boat not a boat with "items removed".

Yes it is not unusual for an insurance company to sell the "wreck" which means you will usually be able to put in an offer.

 

[jonrarit]

but a value is being insured

Ah so unlike cars then, the payout in event of total loss is not linked to market value? Or is that where the adjuster comes in says "ok you insured £40K which is what you paid 10 years ago but to replace like for like plus all the equipment will cost £30K these days" ...and that's the payout amount?

 

[jonrarit]

Do you mean "strip" to protect valuables from theft or to keep?

I was meaning to keep so you could put them on your next boat without having to fork out again

 

[theoldsalt]

I was meaning to keep so you could put them on your next boat without having to fork out again

As I already stated, the surveyor/adjuster will almost certainly query missing items so it will complicate negotiations with the insurers if they think items have been removed before inspection/claim unless declared. Insurance contracts require honesty and disclosure.

 

[prv]

I was meaning to keep so you could put them on your next boat without having to fork out again

I guess the theory is that the insurance company has refunded your loss so the new ones aren't coming out of your pocket anyway.

I've no idea what happens in practice.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

As I already stated, the surveyor/adjuster will almost certainly query missing items so it will complicate negotiations with the insurers if they think items have been removed before inspection/claim unless declared. Insurance contracts require honesty and disclosure.

I cannot imagine anything more likely to arouse suspicion than a claim for the full value of a boat from which fixed equipment has clearly been stripped.

 

[Alpha22]

I guess it depends on what is reasonable.... If I had purchased a new DSC handheld VHF, that would be in my pocket on the way out, but unbolting the radar and built in chart plotter is not really fair game.

I had a car written off once that had a quality aftermarket stereo in it. I was able to swap it for the original whilst the insurance wrangling was going on... I don't think I could have got away with a hole in the dash though!!!

 

[Tranona]

What usually happens if the repair cost is greater than or close to the insured value they may well make an offer to settle your claim which may include your retention of the boat. Very common in low value boats where even a small amount of damage is uneconomic to repair professionally. The owner then has the choice of repairing it or stripping and the disposing of the wreck. Boats are not written off in the same way as cars, but it may be better to take the settlement and leave the insurer to deal with the wreck. Not surprisingly they are often not keen on this.

So, no hard and fast rule, you have to consider what is offered on its attraction to you.

 

[Topcat47]

If the insurance company considers the vessel to be a write off, they are entitled to any gear removed when they settle the claim. I know a friend whose boat was written off after breaking loose from it's mooring in a gale. He had the sails and most of the electronics at home but the insurer took them and settled in full. He wasn't offered an allowance for them or the opportunity to buy them back, either. He kept the dinghy and outboard because they were separate items on the schedule but the boat and all it's gear became the property of the insurance company.

 

[J Neeves]

A previous yacht, 4 year old X 99, was written off, 'T' boned by a much larger yacht during an international race. The larger yacht was found totally at fault during a protest and the protest committee included a High Court Judge and some members from overseas, it was not a committee without credibility. Our insurance company was not uncomfortable with writing it off as the insurance company of the larger yacht picked up the tab. However the hull was delaminated over a 2m length amidships, toe rail cut right through, cabin roof cracked, hull/deck cracked, windows destroyed - as near a write off as you can get.

The yacht was sold 'as is, where is'. She was later rebuilt, sold and is still sailing, and racing, more than 20 years on.

The yacht was sold in a closed auction, you put in bids, highest bid gained title (once they had paid). The winning bid was Stg2,000. I could have removed anything of value before the bids closed as we held title till we were paid, it was sold 'as is'. In those days we raced seriously and anything that could be removed had already been removed to lower weight. So I could have removed those toothbrushes with handles chopped off, but it did not seem worthwhile. I could have made a bid but declined, it was too much to arrange for remedial work and I would never have been comfortable with her.

On reflection I wish I had stripped out the sails.

We were paid the full insured value. Which was higher than second hand value. But our insurance was a marine insurance that covered the insured value not the value of the yacht - strange though it might seem - and we had insured for replacement.

Jonathan