Claims Advice

15 years in claim management with most of the companies on the market permits us to help you in claim handling.

Prevent

•Fire can be avoided

- Natural airing is always better than heating. Think about ventilation for keeping your boat dry.
- Don't let the shore power H24, you will save your batteries and you limit several important risks as electrolysis which is not covered by the insurers.
- Never stock gas inside the boat, always use the appropriate built-in place
- Open the hatch or ventilate before starting your gasoline engine

•Navigation mistakes can be avoided

- Study the map before entering a creek, prepare your trip on the map before using the tracker, come into the creeks offshore instead of following the coast.
- Think about the tender to permit you to leave a dangerous area
- Don't approach the coast if you are not absolutely sure of your position, don't sail too near the capes

In case of claim, the good reflexes

•Limit the consequences, Protect and Alert

In any case, you must save injuried people and the boat. Fortunately, there are not so many cases with injuried person in boating. You must call the authorithies, they can help you even for medical advices. In France, in any case, you must call CROSS on VHF CANAL 16.

•Localisate and tag the wreck

Think about tagging the wreck, in order to avoid another claim. Even fenders can be used if you have nothing else.

•Save the boat and its equipments.

First step is to minimize the consequences of the claim. You must try to preserve the engine from salt water. These measures are covered by your contract. Be very careful in case of salvage with towing, you must negotiate an accurate deal before towing.

Declare the claim to insurers

•The declaration

It must be written, there is no formal document. It must mention clearly date, time, location and circumstances of the accident.

•Inside the declaration

Don't forget any detail. Explain all the circumstances. You can also use the datas of you tracker. If a third part is injuried, let the management of the file to your insurer, he is used to...

Claim handling - main steps

•Documents

The insurer open a claim file, he will confirm the opening, he will always ask for the following documents :

- Document of property : copy of the british registry, invoice, board documents

- Copy of the driver licence

- QUOTE FOR REPAIRING THE BOAT : That's the main important part of the file. The insurer knows if he need a surveyor or not, depending on the value of the quote.

•Surveyor's mission

The quote from the professional is the first survey report in the claim. This company does all the repairs and is responsible for this. The surveyor checks the compatibility between declaration, damages and quote. You must never accept any quote without surveyor's agreement. You could be engaged to pay an invoice that the surveyor did not accept.

•Claim settlement

After the survey report, the insurer sends a proposal. If you agree, the payment is very quick. In case of total loss, if the wreck is resold, the amount is deduced from the final payment.