Insurance claim for damaged tender

[Kelpie]

I posted at more length about this on the Wooden Boat section of the forum.

Yesterday I was hit by another boat and my ply/epoxy dinghy sustained a fair bit of damage. Fortunately the other skipper is accepting full responsibility, and he has his own insurance, as does the boat.

We're also insured but it doesn't specifically cover the dinghy.

Our most pressing need right now is to get a replacement tender, as we're living at anchor and basically are now prisoners on our boat.

It looks nigh on impossible to get anybody to come and look at the dinghy to assess the damage, let alone start the repair work, of that's even an option.

It was a DIY build so not easy to find a figure for replacement cost. Although I was quoted £3k before I decided to build it myself.

Questions:
- does it matter that I didn't have dinghy cover? It was entirely the other guy's fault, surely he should be the one paying?
- given my lack of cover, should I still be doing everything through my own insurance company? I've hardly ever made an insurance claim in my life so I'm very new to this!
- is it reasonable to expect a replacement dinghy to be provided so that I can get on with my life? And given that the other skipper has so far failed to provide one, could I go and buy a new one (once I figure out how to get ashore) and then bill him for the cost?

 

[mainsail1]

My view is that it is always best to claim under your own insurance if the insurance covers your dinghy.
Third party claims are full of problems. The Third party liability will be for putting you back to where you were before the incident and by the sound of it that will be quite a discussion as the dinghy was home made. Your own insurance may give a better financial result depending on the wording of the policy.

 

[geem]

I posted at more length about this on the Wooden Boat section of the forum.

Yesterday I was hit by another boat and my ply/epoxy dinghy sustained a fair bit of damage. Fortunately the other skipper is accepting full responsibility, and he has his own insurance, as does the boat.

We're also insured but it doesn't specifically cover the dinghy.

Our most pressing need right now is to get a replacement tender, as we're living at anchor and basically are now prisoners on our boat.

It looks nigh on impossible to get anybody to come and look at the dinghy to assess the damage, let alone start the repair work, of that's even an option.

It was a DIY build so not easy to find a figure for replacement cost. Although I was quoted £3k before I decided to build it myself.

Questions:
- does it matter that I didn't have dinghy cover? It was entirely the other guy's fault, surely he should be the one paying?
- given my lack of cover, should I still be doing everything through my own insurance company? I've hardly ever made an insurance claim in my life so I'm very new to this!
- is it reasonable to expect a replacement dinghy to be provided so that I can get on with my life? And given that the other skipper has so far failed to provide one, could I go and buy a new one (once I figure out how to get ashore) and then bill him for the cost?

Sorry to hear about your loss of dinghy after all your hard work.
We had a similar predicament in 2014 when our Caribe rib was stolen in Spain. We couldn't find anything to replace it with in a quick timescale. We put the boat in a marina. I would contact your insurance company. Explain the issue and agree that they will pick up marina costs until you can get a dinghy. Not unreasonable request. Your insurance company should be able to recover the costs from the boat that hit you. They should also be able to give you advise on your dinghy insurance situation with the other party. You may find it quickest to get a dinghy couriered from one of the European online chandler's to your marina location. Good luck

 

[Kelpie]

Update: The other skipper has at last found me a dinghy to use. It's not exactly a like for like replacement- smaller, older, heavier, cannot sail, oh and both rowlocks have broken off the gunwales and I'll need to reattach them before I go anywhere. But it's a start.