That is the same for every insurance policy mate. If you can identify and provide details of the the third party that caused the damage, and they are found liable, then the insurer will waive your policy excess as it will be recovered from the third party.  

That was not what I was told, the club marine representative stated clearly that only if their claims department was able to recover the cost of the repairs from the offender would my excess be waived. Judging by the state of the offenders car, the fact he did not leave a note I doubt very much they'll get anything from him.

Why would I take it to get repaired at a cost of $100 an hour for labour, parts etc and pay $500 excess if I can do it myself for $100 in parts and an hour labour or so.

Contain excess waiver clauses where you can identify the responsible third party (and most require, specifically, the name, address of the driver and vehicle details not simply a rego for the reasons set out below). 

Note that under Privacy legislation contrary to what people might think insurance companies do not simply have access via the Department of Transport to details simply by giving a registration number.  They can only get access to that information if you have lodged a formal police report and the police have followed up the supposedly responsible party - insurers get the information through a formal request process and payment of a fee for a copy of the police report and party details contained therein...... otherwise it is illegal for them to seek to gain access to what is private information. 

The waiver clause in regard to excesses being payable does not generally apply to trailer boat insurance.  The excess is payable up front and will only be reimbursed if the insurer is successful against the responsible party.

So moving your insurance to another company wont place you in any better position.  

Yes I know that is a crock that that is what the general public demanded and were given under Privacy legislation (oh and don't ask any police mates to look it up - they face the sack and potential criminal charges for accessing that info without reasonable cause)   

Yep sad but true.  I found this out the same way on my car.

 If there is an accident then you pay your excess regardless of fault and then when one of the parties is deemed liable then the innocent party gets their excess refunded.

read your car insurance policy closely and I can almost guarantee it will be the same. I had an accident years ago that was clearly not my fault however they took my excess out of the write off payout amount. Then when the whole matter was settled with the other drivers insurance company I was then forwarded a chq for the remaining amount which was originally my excess I paid.

if you can repair your boat trailer to a standard you are happy with for little money then I suggest you do it. To be somewhat fair to club marine, why should they just go ahead and fix everyone's damage no questions asked and not charge an excess up front. I am sure they see plenty of claims with conflicting stories of who was at fault and it is really just a case of establishing facts and getting quotations to start with which they would require.

no I don't work in insurance I merely see both sides of the argument. If your trailer was damaged and you are100% sure it was not your fault then pay your excess and let the experts do the chasing of the other party whilst you are getting your pride and joy back out on the water.

scano

 Just goes to show doing the "right thing" isn't always the best solution. Given the offenders car was still there in hindsight I should of just driven my car into his trailer and called it even. 

I habe absolutely no faith in the insurance company getting money out of this guy and I'm not in a position to pay a $500 excess only to receive it back in a years time, even if they are auccessful. 

Looks like I'll be fixing it myself. Goes to show even with a witness leaving a note the prick still got away with it 

 Speak to the coppers.  Give em details. At least the other bloke will have some dramas

 Take all details to the Cops, they will visit this scum bag and say that they have witnesses etc and that you want to press charges..

it will take longer but in the end these scum will pay..

 Maybe also talk to your insurance company again, because I got conflicting information before from two different claims representatives when I rang them back after speaking to the coppers about it. Only loss would be they would give you the same answer.

 Hit and run. Isn't it as simple as that?

Leaving the scene of an accident maybe?? Nasty charge to have apparently, dunno if it applies if no one injured though.

 I agree, take it to the cops. If you have evidence at least you could offer him a deal. He pays the repairs and you drop the charges.

If its legal to smash into someones trailer and leave the scene (I doubt it) then you could do the same to him and its one all.

for me. My car got keyed, no witnesses, rung the insurance company and they sent out the forms etc. My excess was $500, Bob had a mate that had his own panel beating/spray painting shop.  Didn't claim got the damage fixed for $300 plus his mate gave my new 4x4 (was 12months old at the time) a buff up as had some bush scratches on the black paint from bush bashing.

We witnessed a trolley run down the side of a brand new Ford, the people that let it go, looked at the big scratch all the way down the right hand side, laughed,said not much damage and got in their Merc.  We got their details, description of the colour, rego  and left the details plus our phone number, another lady came and left her details also. The couple of the new Ford rung us and said how lucky they were to have two witnesses, as this was their first ever new car and would do them well after they retired, their insurance company got the a...holes and made them pay everything.

Good luck on your insurance company, as a lot are a...holes from what I've heard.

If an accident happens in a carpark ( minor car/trailer damage ), is it not a civil matter, and the police do not want anything to do with it ?

They are basically on a no overtime at all policy!

so unless someone is seriously injured in an accident they don't even bother attending the scene of a crash nowadays.Tthe same goes for house burglaries, if will take them ages before someone can attend because they are so strapped for time and resource funding. 

 Unless it occurred on a road, coppers can't do anything about it. Car park = insurance companies (unless car park is gazetted for some reason)

you can go to crashreport.com and report it and see what happens, but it will probably get put to file straight away.

if a vehicle crash occurs on private property or not on a road it is the responsibility of your insurance companies to chase up.

 There are only certain offences which apply to a public place and not just on a road. They include Reckless driving, dangerous driving,  Excessive Noise/ smoke Drink and Drug driving and Fail to stop / fail to report crash , Injury  or damage. The crash you described is in a public place and the crash investigators would at least chase up the owner of the other vehicle and advise you of his name and address.  You have nothing to loose by doing a crash report

 Go online crashreport.com and fill it out. You will see on that site the. Criteria for reporting. Under $3000 doesn't need to be reported, unless there is injury. insurance companies deal wth it. I'm not going to go into all the detail about it Im not that good at typing.... Under $3k won't get a look in. 

in parts and an easy fix why would you even bother going through insurance.just get the bits and fix it and save yourself

a lot of dramas