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"ToneJohn" wrote in
: I have BOATUS insurance and recently was invovled in an accident the my insurance company (BoatUS) told me that they would not pay for the entire cost of repairs becuase some was due to wear and tear, eventhough i would not have had it repaired if it wasn't for the accident. Basically a spring broke and in order to repair it they had to replace the others becuase it was unsafe to repair just one. They sent out a marine surveyor and after that I recieved a check for 1/4 of the repair amount.. Basically my question is has anyone had the similar situation? Or, is there a way to complain and/or talk with someone higher about the claim / settlement??? If so, how should i approach the situation??? any help is apprecaited... this is my first accident and encounter with the insurance company. Thanks!! I am going to offer you something very unusual on this newsgroup: advice addressing your specific question based on actual relevant experience. I too have a BOATUS policy. I too had an accident. I too had the experience of being offered the depreciated amount. Well, here's your bad news. If you read your policy, there's a 99.9% chance you will find a clause that allows BOATUS to pay the depreciated value of mechanical, if not all, parts on your boat. They know it's there and that's why they offered you the depreciated value. You signed up for it, and you should live with it. But now, a little hope for you: I fought them, and I won. Maybe cause I was right, or maybe cause I wore them down. First, do or confirm everything in writing. Just the fact that you do that let's them know you're no rube and that a record is being created which they can't deny later. Second, and most important, you need a ground to challenge their offer. I my case, and I believe what may be your only chance, I challenged their assesment of depreciation. My policy, and probably yours (read it, every word) allowed depreciation, but never defined it. The dictionary defines it as a decline in value due to wear and tear. Look it up. The key here is wear and tear, NOT age. In my case, BOATUS kept insisting that a bent prop shaft on my boat had a useful life of I think 10 years (I can't really remember right now, but it doesn't matter, the principle is still the same)and that since it was half that old, they ought to pay half the value. There was nothing in the policy that said that this was the correct method of depreication. It was "just our rules sir." Well I don't give a damn about their rules, and neither should you. The only thing that counts is your insurance contract. My argument, which I believe to be legally correct, is that they had to base any depreciation on ACTUAL wear and tear, not just an estimate based on age and their arbitrary assesment of useful life, and that in my case, because of the meticulous care I had shown the boat, including no salt water ever, there was virtually no wear and tear on the prop shaft and that it would certainly last more than another 5 years, probably indefinately. Remember, its the depreciation on the actual part in question, not the assembly of which its a part. So in my case, sure, the outdrive may blow out someday, but it's unlikey that the propshaft will wear out if properly cared for. I kept writing letters, and eventually they settled for a small deduction. Now in your case, they have sent a surveyor. Did the surveyor determine the actual wear and tear and remaining useful life on the part they want to depreciate, or did he estimate by age alone? If so, there are your grounds to fight them. If the surveyor did determine the actual wear and tear, you could still fight by challenging his findings. Of course you would fare much better if you get an independent surveyor or mechanic to back you up. If you are right, do not give up. It may take five or six letters and many phone calls. Also, it doesn't hurt to mention the Insurance Commissioner in your state. Good luck. |
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