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View Full Version : Wait time on marine insurance payout?



wetryin
23-09-2010, 09:20 PM
I had the unfortunate incident of a boating mishap early February10. Now that the boat is back (final paperwork done back in June) I still wait on the payout for the lost gear. Admittedly I did not lodge the lost gear claim paperwork till a few weeks after the incident however the the claim for the boat and damage to it was processed by the dealer a few days after the incident.

It is now end September and I am still waiting. I have never received any written or email confirmation of claim and my phone calls have to go direct to the state agent which go unanswered (the main info line cannot handle my claim as they say it must go to the state agent). To date I can only recall 2 phone calls from the insurer- one to say that they needed more information and next to say that the claim was approved for the lost gear (back in July) . I am not dependant on the payout for the lost gear but I can only say the service from the insurer ( well known marine insurer) in my opinion, has been appaling. :hammer:

For those of you out there that have had a similar incident, what is the usual wait for final settlement of the claim? Am I just unlucky to have little or no correspondence or phone calls from the insurer, or is this normal? Total insurance claim approved by the insurer was around $30K.

I was also told that tackle including sinkers, hooks, jigs, lures are consumables and are not covered. Is this normally the case? I dont normally lodge claims but am just checking coverage of items from other insurance providers that others have been happy with.

Captain Seaweed
23-09-2010, 09:26 PM
who is the insurer?

Captain Seaweed
23-09-2010, 09:26 PM
hope its not the Club M?? I will change if this is the case.

wetryin
23-09-2010, 09:28 PM
Spot on captn seaweed. Sorry to say. I too expected more from them.

Captain Seaweed
23-09-2010, 09:33 PM
I am spewing I have had insurance through them for over 8 yrs and chose them not because they were the cheapest (cos they arent) but because they specialise in this stuff and I wouldnt have to explain to a someone what trim tabs are or a hds10. Thats a real shame. Is there question over the claim???It seems odd.

Marty

wetryin
23-09-2010, 09:47 PM
No question at all. The claim from my end and their end was straightforward. I hve never had a boat insurance claim in the past and I have had power boats for at least 5 years. The final paperwork was signed off on it a couple of months ago (sorry not sure of the date I did it at work). Just called the qld assessor a month later after the approval and got the comment claim all approved. After that the phone calls not returned. Maybe just a slack rep. Admittedly I have not checked the bank account for an eft in the last week or so but I am not expecting it to have come in during that time.
I did reinsure through them this time as a matter of courteosy but next time???
IMO a car claim is so easy to lodge and claim and easy to get correspondence re a car claim progress. Why is it then so difficult to get a bit of service and correspondence on a boat claim?
I did however lodge the claim at the same time that bad weather hit Central Qld back in Feb March (lots of boats damaged) but that was 6 months ago and any backlog should have been cleared up by now.

bugman
24-09-2010, 09:11 AM
Wetryin,

About 10 years ago I had to make a claim through Club Marine and I must say the experience was appalling.

After losing my boat in a storm I was told by their assessor that my boat was over-insured and that they would only pay half of the value. This was despite the fact I had a Club Marine agent physically inspect the boat and do the valuation himself for the original insurance policy.

They refused to pay point blank. I had no recourse and this went on for over three months. I explored all options but was given legal advise that I had no leg to stand on via what you contractually sign up to in the fine print.

Anyway after a big fire went through Manly Boat Harbour resulting in a few million dollars claims I was contacted by the assessor and asked if I would settle for around 70% of the payout figure. I said know and he said #....# you, have you're money I don't care, I've got bigger things to worry about than you at the moment.

It took another month for the cheque to come through.

I've stayed so far away from club Marine since then it isn't funny. One other thing which resembles your case. Nearly all communication was done via phone. There was nothing in writing. My guess is that these guys don't want to leave a paper trail that can be held against them later.

Good Luck

Brett

ric
24-09-2010, 10:00 AM
I had the unfortunate incident of a boating mishap early February10. Now that the boat is back (final paperwork done back in June) I still wait on the payout for the lost gear. Admittedly I did not lodge the lost gear claim paperwork till a few weeks after the incident however the the claim for the boat and damage to it was processed by the dealer a few days after the incident.

It is now end September and I am still waiting. I have never received any written or email confirmation of claim and my phone calls have to go direct to the state agent which go unanswered (the main info line cannot handle my claim as they say it must go to the state agent). To date I can only recall 2 phone calls from the insurer- one to say that they needed more information and next to say that the claim was approved for the lost gear (back in July) . I am not dependant on the payout for the lost gear but I can only say the service from the insurer ( well known marine insurer) in my opinion, has been appaling. :hammer:

For those of you out there that have had a similar incident, what is the usual wait for final settlement of the claim? Am I just unlucky to have little or no correspondence or phone calls from the insurer, or is this normal? Total insurance claim approved by the insurer was around $30K.

I was also told that tackle including sinkers, hooks, jigs, lures are consumables and are not covered. Is this normally the case? I dont normally lodge claims but am just checking coverage of items from other insurance providers that others have been happy with.

just call up the insurance main line.1300 00 2582 they should tell you how long a claim is 'processed' before a payout. Once you know this, assuming they are already overdue to pay you, go straight to their dispute center.
Don't bother chasing up the qld rep fellow your just flogging a dead horse. They then have 15 days to respond to your dispute (YES its 15 days, i read through the policy). EASY AS! You get better response out of the dispute center, and if they can't quickly resolve it then you have the ombusdman etc. and they hate it when you go there!!

hope this helps
Ric

PS- i looked through the club M info and couldn't find a payout timeframe. :(

IcyDuck
24-09-2010, 04:38 PM
You never really find out how good or bad an insurance company is until you need to make a claim.

I had to make as claim with the previously mentioned insurer last year and was quite dissapointed with the whole process. It seemed to drag on for ages. As has been mentioned by others, most correspondence was by phone so I made a point of recording dates, time and details. That definitely helped when following up promises and referring back to previous conversations.

It was eventually sorted out but not without a fight and some determination to "stand my ground". I was asked to cover the repairs 50/50 at one stage. When I refused I was then asked to make an offer with a smaller contribution. It took about 4 months but eventually I got what I thought I was paying my premiums for - insurance against accidental damage or loss. I've only made probably 2 or 3 motor vehicle claims over about 25 years but they were quick and easy. It seems the marine insurance industry is not so straight forward.

bluefin59
24-09-2010, 05:13 PM
Many years ago i insured a ski boat with them ,full comprehensive we paid it for 5 yrs and when we had a problem they dropped us like hotcakes so i have never insured with them since . They do have a nice magazine though [big deal] ,i have had my insurance with suncorp for about 12 yr and have always had good service with claims whether it was house ,car or boat ..matt

wetryin
24-09-2010, 08:12 PM
Thanks to ric, icy and bluefin for your thoughts on this. Interesting to know that I am not the only one to have experienced this disservice. Maybe our premiums are funding the glossy mag instead of service and reputation. BTW I checked my account today and still no refund of the claim
I intend to take ric's advice and follow his thoughts on this. I will let you know how the payout advances.
At least I still have the boat. If I wouldnt have gotten it back and if no payout by now I would have certainly gone insane.