Insurance claims in the event of sinking

[LadyG]

8 minutes ago, Troyboy said:

I hope I am wrong but using a boat with a weed hatch that has no gasket and is loose might be seen by insurers as the owner being somewhat negligent. You are about to find out how good your insurers are , hopefully they won't try and wriggle 

 GO AWAY

Edited August 28, 2023 by LadyG

[Troyboy]

12 minutes ago, LadyG said:

 GO AWAY

What a strange response .

[Tracy D'arth]

10 minutes ago, LadyG said:

 GO AWAY

I don't understand your dismissal.

Troyboy is making a valid comment IMHO.

I have seen a weed hatch become detached from the counter due to rust causing a sinking but that would come under corrosion and lack of maintenance.

I fear that Wandering may have problems. Its probably best if he says it is his fault because he failed to refit the hatch securely due to his inability to get down to it and hence it was an accident. I believe that accidental occurrences are insured but a long reading of the policy document is called for PDQ.

[wandering]

30 minutes ago, Troyboy said:

I hope I am wrong but using a boat with a weed hatch that has no gasket and is loose might be seen by insurers as the owner being somewhat negligent. You are about to find out how good your insurers are , hopefully they won't try and wriggle out of paying .

Christ if I end up with nothing I’ll truly be lost. Let’s hope they can help me. 

[magnetman]

35 minutes ago, Troyboy said:

What a strange response .

I made exactly the same comment earlier in the thread and nobody told me to go away. 

18 hours ago, magnetman said:

@wandering

 

One thing which stuck me is you seem to know what caused the boat to sink. You said it was the weed hatch being loose. 

 

I know this circumstance is a total nightmare and believe me as someone who only has boats to live on it is a horrible thought but do you actually know that this is what happened ? 

 

It just seems like this could be a dodgy situation about insurance and the owner's responsibilities. 

Usually a boat will float with the weed hatch cover off. 

 

 

Why nobody tell me to 'GO AWAY'

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I made exactly the same comment earlier in the thread and nobody told me to go away. 

Why nobody tell me to 'GO AWAY'

 

 

That's what happens when you have 90% of the forum on 'ignore' you tend to lose the plot and make random posts  that may well have been answered hours or days before.

[magnetman]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

That's what happens when you have 90% of the forum on 'ignore' you tend to lose the plot and make random posts  that may well have been answered hours or days before.

I never understood the point of a. 'ignore' feature on a forum. It doesn't make sense. The whole idea is you have a group of people 'interacting' on an internet based 'platform' and everyone has the right to say what they think. 

 

I've never used ignore and never will. If someone is annoying you can just  see their user name and not read the content if you want to.

 

You don't need a machine to do this basic task. Giving over to the machines in this way leads to negative outcomes. 

 

Don't use automated ignore do it yourself. 

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

I have myself on ignore for a quiet life.

[wandering]

4 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I never understood the point of a. 'ignore' feature on a forum. It doesn't make sense. The whole idea is you have a group of people 'interacting' on an internet based 'platform' and everyone has the right to say what they think. 

 

I've never used ignore and never will. If someone is annoying you can just  see their user name and not read the content if you want to.

 

You don't need a machine to do this basic task. Giving over to the machines in this way leads to negative outcomes. 

 

Don't use automated ignore do it yourself. 

 

 

 

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxvDJg8lM9TZ2bpVhcthKGrWGpTxiE06Dx?si=3TdAyr_Gkr-FcVAd

[HenryFreeman]

45 minutes ago, wandering said:

Christ if I end up with nothing I’ll truly be lost. Let’s hope they can help me. 

 

I'm not sure people speculating what the insurance company may or may not do is especially helpful to you or your well being. I'd probably ignore some of these comments 

[Tracy D'arth]

Just now, HenryFreeman said:

 

I'm not sure people speculating what the insurance company may or may not do is especially helpful to you or your well being. I'd probably ignore some of these comments 

Agreed, but forewarned is forearmed.  When dealing with insurance claims you need all the ammunition you can muster.

[ditchcrawler]

21 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I never understood the point of a. 'ignore' feature on a forum. It doesn't make sense. The whole idea is you have a group of people 'interacting' on an internet based 'platform' and everyone has the right to say what they think. 

 

I've never used ignore and never will. If someone is annoying you can just  see their user name and not read the content if you want to.

 

You don't need a machine to do this basic task. Giving over to the machines in this way leads to negative outcomes. 

 

Don't use automated ignore do it yourself. 

 

 

Same here. There are peoples views that I strongly disagree with but even they have a useful point of view on some things

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I don't understand your dismissal.

Troyboy is making a valid comment IMHO.

I have seen a weed hatch become detached from the counter due to rust causing a sinking but that would come under corrosion and lack of maintenance.

I fear that Wandering may have problems. Its probably best if he says it is his fault because he failed to refit the hatch securely due to his inability to get down to it and hence it was an accident. I believe that accidental occurrences are insured but a long reading of the policy document is called for PDQ.

And I think OP should sit tight at this time. 

If you have an accident  in your car you do not admit liability, never say anything that could be used against you. BECAUSE IT COULD BE USED AGAINST YOU.

 

 

 

45 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Agreed, but forewarned is forearmed.  When dealing with insurance claims you need all the ammunition you can muster.

And you do not want to mention anything which could admit liability, DAMHIK.

I had some idiot do a survey on my flat in Scotland, I mentioned that the bathroom had a new suit following a burst pipe, I used the word "flooded". He then wrote a report saying the property was subject to flooding, and though I disputed his "report" I was unable to insure the property because it was subject to flooding. It was at the top of a hill, 100m above sea level. 

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by LadyG

[Arthur Marshall]

My weedhatch had no gasket for about 15 years, until the yard that blacked it suggested I should have one. For the first ten years it didn't have a locking thingy either. It's never leaked. Presumably the top of it was high enough above the waterline. The revised version put on when the boat was resteeled had no facility for locking it down until I got one welded on.

If I was the OP I'd say nowt about it except that the vibration of the boat may have loosened the screw holding it down.

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

If I was the OP I'd say nowt about it except that the vibration of the boat may have loosened the screw holding it down.

 

Does it have a screw-down ?

[LadyG]

4 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

My weedhatch had no gasket for about 15 years, until the yard that blacked it suggested I should have one. For the first ten years it didn't have a locking thingy either. It's never leaked. Presumably the top of it was high enough above the waterline. The revised version put on when the boat was resteeled had no facility for locking it down until I got one welded on.

If I was the OP I'd say nowt about it except that the vibration of the boat may have loosened the screw holding it down.

OP should say nothing about it.

Deny responsibility.

We don't know if the point has been raised, it's speculation.

Obviously OP is not culpable, the insurance company may speculate, but most likely they will pay out.

[wandering]

31 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Does it have a screw-down ?

My hatch has a bar with two holes at each side to screw it down tightly. I'd previously opened and closed it before without any issue or leaks. I think the one starboard side came loose owing to the vibrations of the boat (just an assumption) ! It was fine when I checked it before setting off and then it suddenly wasn't fine. Not sure when happened... I didn't get the best look either as the engine bay was filling with water quite quickly.

35 minutes ago, LadyG said:

OP should say nothing about it.

Deny responsibility.

We don't know if the point has been raised, it's speculation.

Obviously OP is not culpable, the insurance company may speculate, but most likely they will pay out.

I'm praying they do! I'll definitely deny all responsibility. Thursday's gonna be an intense morning... 

[MtB]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

OP should say nothing about it.

Deny responsibility.

We don't know if the point has been raised, it's speculation.

Obviously OP is not culpable, the insurance company may speculate, but most likely they will pay out.

 

I agree, no point in volunteering information which may harm one's claim.

 

The OP is best to act dumb I reckon. Along the lines of "I was happily cruising along and the boat started sinking. What a shock. Look, its sunk. Good thing I have insurance."

 

Then let the loss adjuster arrive at his own conclusions about the cause. The OP might after all, be wrong about it being the weed hatch. Something else might have happened. 

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

I agree, no point in volunteering information which may harm one's claim.

 

The OP is best to act dumb I reckon. Along the lines of "I was happily cruising along and the boat started sinking. What a shock. Look, its sunk. Good thing I have insurance."

 

Then let the loss adjuster arrive at his own conclusions about the cause. The OP might after all, be wrong about it being the weed hatch. Something else might have happened. 

There is of course the well used and proven C&RT reason for failure.  Vandalism.  Must be OK, it is used to cover all sorts of major disasters.

[GUMPY]

I do hope that the insurance co don't follow the forum.

It wouldn't be the first time someone came unstuck cos of what was posted on a forum. 

[LadyG]

8 minutes ago, GUMPY said:

I do hope that the insurance co don't follow the forum.

It wouldn't be the first time someone came unstuck cos of what was posted on a forum. 

How would you know that. [RHETORICAL]

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, wandering said:

My hatch has a bar with two holes at each side to screw it down tightly. I'd previously opened and closed it before without any issue or leaks. I think the one starboard side came loose owing to the vibrations of the boat (just an assumption) ! It was fine when I checked it before setting off and then it suddenly wasn't fine. Not sure when happened... I didn't get the best look either as the engine bay was filling with water quite quickly.

I'm praying they do! I'll definitely deny all responsibility. Thursday's gonna be an intense morning... 

If you checked it before setting out (which is more than I ever do) then whatever happened cannot possibly be attributed to any carelessness on your part. Catastrophic failure, by its nature, can't be predicted.

[Ianws]

2 hours ago, GUMPY said:

I do hope that the insurance co don't follow the forum.

It wouldn't be the first time someone came unstuck cos of what was posted on a forum. 

The other side of the coin is if the insurances company do them over we may decide not to insure with them in the future (assuming named at some point).

[john.k]

In general ,you are covered for your  negligence,it is your  wilful misconduct that is excluded.

Edited August 29, 2023 by john.k

[Lily Rose]

14 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

 

If I was the OP I'd say nowt about it except that the vibration of the boat may have loosened the screw holding it down.

 

 

My weed hatch is not easy to get at, requiring crawling under the deck of my trad stern, so tends not to get much attention. In 8 years I've never needed to use it to clear the prop. However, when the boat is blacked (not DIY) every 2 years the weed hatch gets blacked as well and the tape is replaced with new. This was last done 14 months ago.

 

In light of this thread I checked it a few days ago and found the screw-down thingy could easily be tightened by almost a quarter of a turn by hand. I suppose it could have been left slightly loose but I also suppose it could have been due to 14 months of vibration. There was no sign of water penetration.

 

I'll be checking it regularly now, probably each time I turn the stern gland greaser which is located quite nearby.