insurance claim - out of pocket

[Marsupial]

1. Your boat is insured "all risks" with your insurance company

2. You have either an estimate or quotation the difference is very important - both for your insurer and the repairer.

3. IF its a quotation the the repairer is bound by it

4. IF its an estimate its just that - an estimate no one is bound by it

5. In any event claim on YOUR policy for the FULL cost and let the insurers slug it out - thats what you pay your premium for.

 

[Graham66]

Having dealt with Ins co's and claims I find it strange you were only asked for one estimate.
Most Ins co's have a figure that they will pay out without getting surveyors involved and or see you involving your Ins Co. possibly the estimate you gave them was below that figure however when the yard loaded their estimate by 70% it might have taken you well over their ceiling figure and alarm bells start to ring.
I can understand how an estimate can be increased by 70% but at that sort of hike "betterment" springs to the mind of the Ins Co and they dig their heels in
I also find it difficult to believe that the yard were so nieve to assumed that the Ins Co were going to be a "dripping roast" and continued with the job when it was so obviously going over estimate
Marine Ins is following the automotive Ins route whereby if you have a "bump" your fault or not, you could lose your no claims bonus /discount and they play on this in this type of situation.
Other bullet points that come to mind are :- who gave the yard the go ahead and was it in writing from the perpetrators Ins co? have you asked the yard for a full breakdown of the costs involved as items like slipping and relaunching are not always included in a repair estimate. Have you advised the yard that the Ins co are not prepared to pay the final figure?
genuine oversights or complications will normally be accepted but in my experience never at the full rate and not without a lot of "shouting"!

 

[Anonymous]

You've had good advice here but at a slight tangent, I was reversing in a car park some years ago and didn't notice part of the car behind me jutting out, and I hit it. The damage was slight but significant as the car was fairly new....I couldn't just drive off and leave it though there were no witnesses. I left my contact details on the other vehicle and later that day I had an abusive, furious man on the phone demanding immediate restitution. Instead of doing the decent thing and having the work carried out by the local body shop the owner insisted on taking it to the main dealer AND renting a car in the interim. Sure, he was entitled to that -- I was in the wrong -- but I ended up around £500 out of pocket for my honesty (it was borderline whether to claim on my policy with excess and NCD). I like to think I would make the same decision again but I could so easily have driven off.....

Talking about this to friends since, and about similar yachting accidents, people tell me that almost nobody reports incidents unless they have been witnessed so maybe it is worth being especially friendly to the perpetrator?