Pontoon Damaged By Fallen Marina Roof

[Rickochet]

I have a 2000 Misty Harbor that I bought new and have kept it in like new condition. Two weeks ago my marina got 15" of snow and ice and the roof crashed down on top of all of the boats. It is still floating and I can see the motor and tubes sticking out. It may be weeks before they get the roof off so I can get my boat out. In the least the bimini is crushed. My big concern is the fencing. The manufacturer no longer makes this style of fencing. So if the front fence is damaged it would necessitate replacing the entire fence with a generic replacement to make it look ok. The same with the furniture. If one piece of furniture all would have to be replaced for it to match. It could be that the damage may get the boat totaled out by the insurance company if the repair costs are too high. A big concern is that most of the lakes had a similar snow with many downed roofs with literally hundreds of damaged boats. Getting a boat fixed in the spring is always tough now adding hundreds of broken boats is going to complicate things. And I am not sure if the boat dealers want to take on this kind of repair. I could probably do the repair myself but I am an old geezer with arthritis in my hands and I would prefer to not do the repair work. I guess another option might be for the insurance co. to total out the boat and let me keep the motor and trailer. The motor is a 2006 Merc EFI 4 stroke bigfoot.

If anyone has been in this situation and can make some suggestions that would be appreciated.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Sorry for your loss. I live just north of y'all and am very aware of the extensive damage to the marina owners and the boat owners. Your best hope is the insurance company totals the pontoon and you can start off fresh without being too much out of pocket.

 

[bajaunderground]

If the insurance company "totals" it, you often times have the option of accepting cash value (essentially, they'll pay you for a loss and then subtract the totalled value and give you the difference.). So if your boat is worth $10,000.00 (in replacement value) and $4,000.00 (in scrap value) then you should be able to take the boat and the difference $6,000.00, in theory. There are usually more steps, but that is the essence of it. Or take the $10,000 and relinquish the boat to the insurance company. They might also allow for fair market value of the things you want subtracted from the loss. Each insurance company has their respective process(es) and with boats it may be different, My experience comes from cars.

This sucks for you! Good Luck with it...hopefully, all you'll need is a New Bimini?!

 

[jbcurt00]

Do insurance companies treat boat, motor and trailer as separate insured parts of the whole?

Or let you buy back the motor and trailer after its totaled?

Hope you and the rest do alright, and soon.

 

[ahicks]

I would want to know if the trailer is on the boat policy. I would guess most are not. If not, make sure you hang on to it. Don't let it go with or become part of the boat deal.

You should see the dollar signs spinning when a hangar roof collapses on a bunch of airplanes.....

 

[64osby]

Do insurance companies treat boat, motor and trailer as separate insured parts of the whole?

Mine are listed as separate items on my policy. Each has its own stated value.

 

[Rickochet]

Do insurance companies treat boat, motor and trailer as separate insured parts of the whole?

Or let you buy back the motor and trailer after its totaled?

Hope you and the rest do alright, and soon.

Good question. The boat, motor and trailer are all listed on my policy with separate values. I haven't asked the insurance company about me hanging on to the motor and trailer. A concern of mine is how much the new boats have gone up since I bought this one in 2000. At age 66 I am not sure how many more years we will be boating.

 

[Rickochet]

You should see the dollar signs spinning when a hangar roof collapses on a bunch of airplanes.....

I am a pilot and I can appreciate that. Also bad when a roof crashes on a houseboat. We had our houseboat under cover at a different marina in 2005 and the roof came down in an ice and wind storm and did $47k damage to it. Fortunately the factory where we had it built took it back to the factory and made it better than new. We moved it to a lake with no roof which is where the pontoon is now located. I think that I am about done with covered slips.

 

[Bayou Dave]

You say that the boat is still floating. I assume the trailer is at home or elsewhere and will have nothing to do with the insurance claim.

 

[ondarvr]

The same thing happened here several years ago, hundreds of boats were crushed. Most were totaled and auctioned off, they were cheap because the marked was flooded with them. Most had superficial damage that could be repaired easily, but were still totaled.

 

[jkust]

Isn't this a claim against the Marina's Bop policy or package policy? Something similar happen several years back locally and the Marina's insurance paid the claims.

 

[bruceb58]

I take my boat out of the water(I own a slip) in late fall just so I can do maintenance. No sense in putting it back in the water until spring anyway. My boat is at a mountain lake that gets a bunch of snow.

 

[Rickochet]

You say that the boat is still floating. I assume the trailer is at home or elsewhere and will have nothing to do with the insurance claim.

Trailer is in storage. Motor is undamaged.

 

[Rickochet]

The same thing happened here several years ago, hundreds of boats were crushed. Most were totaled and auctioned off, they were cheap because the marked was flooded with them. Most had superficial damage that could be repaired easily, but were still totaled.

They moved the boat out from under the roof today and moved it over to my houseboat slip. Bimini is toast, major bends in two of the biggest fence rails and punctures and abrasions in three of the apholstered loungers. I will be going down to the lake tomorrow to check for other damage. The binnacle shifter I am guessing is toast as well. This is really sad and I hope I don't come out on the short end of the stick on this one. The damage isn't that severe but to get it back to the like new condition it was in will require replacing the bimini, all of the fencing and all of the furniture.

 

[Rickochet]

Isn't this a claim against the Marina's Bop policy or package policy? Something similar happen several years back locally and the Marina's insurance paid the claims.

Boaters sign a contract with the marina that if something of this nature happens the marina is held harmless and the boaters insurance takes care of it. To get the marina to pay would require proof that they were negligent and would involve legal action.

 

[Rickochet]

I take my boat out of the water(I own a slip) in late fall just so I can do maintenance. No sense in putting it back in the water until spring anyway. My boat is at a mountain lake that gets a bunch of snow.

This was a freak storm that has never happened in this area. Our lake never freezes. The event was a "perfect storm" that combined a huge snow load and wind velocity from the worst direction. Dozens of marinas in the area were hit. We leave out pontoon in all year because we use it and our houseboat all year. I do pull it out briefly in the spring to do maintenance and pop it right back in.

 

[GA_Boater]

I'm sure the marina has a Force Majeure clause in the contract. Meaning an act of God, the freak weather, is beyond you or the marina's control. Stuff happens if you will.

Hope the insurance does right by you, Rick.

 

[jimbo_jwc]

They moved the boat out from under the roof today and moved it over to my houseboat slip. Bimini is toast, major bends in two of the biggest fence rails and punctures and abrasions in three of the apholstered loungers. I will be going down to the lake tomorrow to check for other damage. The binnacle shifter I am guessing is toast as well. This is really sad and I hope I don't come out on the short end of the stick on this one. The damage isn't that severe but to get it back to the like new condition it was in will require replacing the bimini, all of the fencing and all of the furniture.

15 year old boat I don't think they will pay to make like new unless you paid more and they took a like new appraisal .

 

[Rickochet]

15 year old boat I don't think they will pay to make like new unless you paid more and they took a like new appraisal .

We will see. I have been with this company 44 years with two minor claims. I went to the boat today and took lots of pics. The boat is (was) in like new condition. The insurance company can come to see it if they want. Plus our company pretty much insists that our policy is for replacement value. Will be submitting info to the company tomorrow. We shall see.

 

[jimbo_jwc]

We will see. I have been with this company 44 years with two minor claims. I went to the boat today and took lots of pics. The boat is (was) in like new condition. The insurance company can come to see it if they want. Plus our company pretty much insists that our policy is for replacement value. Will be submitting info to the company tomorrow. We shall see.

What Ins ? I like the fact its for replacement value as I only thought was for homes nothing prorated . Most members have pride and joy in their floating hobbies and take care of our Old stuff,House who cares so much it dose'nt go anywhere just people going buy to look or be noisy .