I need some help on first insurance claim

[ksville]

I have been fishing out of Freeport Texas for 11 years and live in central Oklahoma, I keep my boat in Kirby marina and fish 3 to 4 months each summer. My boat is a Shamrock 1998 260 open and is in a covered slip with a sling. The lucky Charm just happened to be there when Ike came a shore. First my thoughts and prayers go out to the people that lost so much more important things than a boat and to me a boat is nothing compared with a life, home, or livelyhood, these are the important things.
My boat was in the sling about 4 feet above the high tide mark when Ike came ashore. The surge raised my boat in the slip and when the surge went down the swim platform and keel came to rest on the dock with the stern sling supporting the front of the boat leaving the boat at around a 30 degree angle, stern down. There appeared to be some damage. The radio antenia was broken from contacting the top of the slip, the starboard side of the swim platform was pulled from the stern, the cover shroud from the starboard exhost was missing, the keel was bent about 5 or 10 degrees from the verticle and there was a problem with the steering when the wheel was turned hard starboard, it would just keep turning. The stern bilge pump played out at some point and the water remained inside the hull below deck in the rear of the boat for 9 days (thats when I was allowned into the slip). The water covered the ground terminal block inside the stern and the fresh water and wash down pump.

My dock box (marine plywood) washed (pulled screws from the dock) from the dock and was submerged in the water 9 days. There were all kinds of terminal tackle, lures and mono... in the bottom section and 25 rods and reels, Calcutta 700, toriums, tld 20 and 25's and penn stand up lever drag graphite combos and others.

I have taken lots of pictures and will be turning this stuff into the Insurance next week-Just wanted to know about this type of claim and get ideas about what else I might need to do. I did saturate the reels with WD40 when they came out of the box but I don't know how much damage the 9 days in the salt will do th the inside bushings and bearings-
Thanks for reading
Ken S

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

My only advice, tell the complete truth, don't exaggerate any perceived values of the items, have a complete list of exactly what you had, nothing more, nothing less, and keep taking the best steps or the steps that you are directed to take, to prevent further damage (this is called "mitigating your loss" and it's in your policy somewhere).

 

[bowtie4x4295]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

There is no such thing as too many pictures, sometimes the camera sees something you might have missed. Dont pad your losses, it will be obvious. Try to build a small relationship with agent, not buddies, but it would be nice if he felt bad for you, since you were such a great guy. Not butt kissing though. He just might spend more time with you than the jerk a couple slips down. Its easier to go from nice to jerk than it is to go from jerk to nice.

Mike

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

I cannot say it for boats but insurance companies usually will thru out a low ball number at you and hope you grab it, of course releasing them from future claims.

Inspect carefully for hidden damage that may not show up till later. In the home industry, there are claims adjusters that for a fee usually a percentage of the claim, will handle your claim. Insurance companies and most, not all,of their employees and adjusters are NOT YOUR FRIENDS. An agent sometimes will go to bat for you. The adjusters no the system and sadly the game.
I do not know if they exist in the boating industry and the extent of your damage, but something to consider. Sorry for your losses and the other people involved, life can be a ***** sometimes and priorities always need to be in order.

Hope this helps Ike (no relation!!!)

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

And people like Dirty Dawg make claims harder than they need to be. Follow his advice and your claim will be as difficult and painful as possible. Some people just don't understand what a contract is, apparently.

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

TilliamWe. not me personnally, but I have seen insurance companies do a number on homeownwers at the worse possible time in their lives when money was tight and any offer seemed great. Later on , sadly, when the extent of the damage was discovered, they had little recourse. All I am saying is go slow, make sure you know the full extent of the damage and if you are not knowledgable enough hire someone who is.

Ike

 

[ksville]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

Sounds like I am pretty much in line-Lots of pictures , and a movie of the box and boat. I have a good relationship with the insurance company and enough experience to know that it is just business
Thanks for everyones feed back
Ken S

 

[FusionFrank]

Re: I need some help on first insurance claim

As a licensed appraiser for a major Insurance Co. (I do mostly autos but also every other type of motorized vehicle). Your first responsibility is to mitigate your losses as was stated above and it sounds as though you have done that. When I appraise any vehicle, I prefer to discuss the claim directly with the repair facility performing the repairs in addition to the owner, this does a couple of things. First, we come to an agreed price to repair the vehicle so the repair process will proceed quicker - no one is waiting for the appraiser to come out a second time and re-negotiate. 2nd, it minimizes the amount of missed damage - the old 2 sets of eyes are better than one or 3 sets including the owner. If possible, get the boat moved to where it will be repaired, make a list of all the damages you see and go over it with the repair shop, make sure the appraiser gets a copy as well. Photos are great, but receipts are even better. This would apply to all your fishing equipment - if you don't have receipts assign a true & accurate value - appraisers will check and come up with a true value. I truly appreciate when people are honest with me. If I find them padding values or trying to get prior damage covered under the current loss - it sends a message that this person is dis-honest and I find myself scrutinizing the rest of their claim.

As for "low-balling" a claim, my company never engages in that type of practice. We are re-inspected on a regular basis and are disicplined just the same for under paying a claim as over paying a claim. We want a fair & equitable settlement for our policy holders. The Insurance business, is just that - A Business. There is a lot of competition between companies and every co. wants the biggest market share. We acheive this by being fair with our customers, settling claims in a timely manner and being personable. In fact it has become mandatory in the past couple of years for us to take compassion & empathy courses along with all of our technical courses (we must complete 40 hours of education yearly).

I am truly sorry to hear of your loss, my company had a tremendous exposure to Ike and we have an extensive Cat team in place there and I have heard numerous first hand reports. Currently, I am on stand by to go down and assist if the need for more appraisers arises. Good luck to you.​