Is your boat insured while at the boat shop???
Gday all,
I just thought I would share some bad luck of mine and hopefully avoid anyone else having their gear pinched.
Last year I dropped my normally trusty tinnie in to the Hayway Marine in Belmont( it's ok they have since closed up) for a service and the guys were great and had it fixed promptly. I was away for a few weeks and arranged to pick it up when I returned.
While I was away I got a call from the shop with the bad news that thieves had cut the fence and knocked a heap of gear of including my motor, but no worries he said, insurance would cover it and I would get a nice new motor. Great I thaught, even though my old Mariner was still like new.
Well the next call from them said their insurance would not cover anything as the alarm system was out of service at the time, so now the landlords insurance would cover it. Hmmmm I thaught, this sounds bad but let's hope the landlord has insurance. After 3 months I rang them to see how things had progressed and was told that his insurance would not pay either so no-one would be giving me a motor. I rang consumer protection and was told I could take it to court but it would take time and money with no guarantees. So essentially I have had a great rowboat sitting in my front yard still!
I assumed that every dealership looking after customers boats would have insurance but clearly there are some rogues out there. Be careful and ask them if your not sure, get it on email if you can as this stands up in court much better than a verbal " yeah of course we have insurance!". If you have your boat insured make sure it is also covered while at the dealership.
What goes around comes around and I hope my outboard attacks its thieves with the prop one day, but it has taught me you that you can't be too careful!
sunshine
Posts: 2555
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Incorrect ......they do NOT insure customers boats
Indeed the paperwork ....service agreement you sign tells you that quite clearly.
to successfully pursue the dealer for negligence you would HAVE to show you had expressly requested it be kept locked within the building and they had failed to do so .....even then if burglars forced entry your chances at law are bucklies ( legal precedent is Tottenham investments v Carburetta Services)
your boat insurance does however cover such losses whilst boat in for servicing
Matt T
Posts: 875
Date Joined: 19/11/07
Sunshine is spot on
It depends on the service agreement, however I would pursue under your own boat insurance policy.
You may want to ask them if their liability insurance has a 'care, custody and control' limit and if they would consider your loss under that policy.
Shark1
Posts: 1084
Date Joined: 21/05/12
bloody average m8 hope u had
bloody average m8
hope u had insurance
Broady
Posts: 131
Date Joined: 16/01/13
Hmmm... Makes you think
Reading my own policy (club marine) my boats covered inside the "geographic limits" which is pretty much all of Aus. The only mention of repair shops is under a layup option which I don't use - following this I will be calling them tomorrow to confirm, particularly as my boat is in the shop at the moment and has spent far too much time there in the past year.
Wondering why you didn't make a claim on your own insurance? That's where I would start then let the insurance company recover the funds from the dealer. If the dealer wasn't covered then that would be their issue. Mind you advice in hindsight is never useful!!!
Also sounds like this dealer could have copped a hard time from their insurer as well. Mind you lack of insurance does not absolve their responsibility. Despite the advice you've had, may be worth a conversation with the right lawyer. It's not as expensive as some would have you believe.
Sorry to hear of your experience but thanks for sharing. Perhaps post your motor details including serial number, you never know the power of forums like this.
I do realise the party mentioned is/was a forum sponsor....
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
the layup option on my
the layup option on my Nautilus Insurance covers transporting the boat for "servicing", I take that to mean you best have a booking BEFORE towing it down the road rather than hoping for the best.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Can someone explain why your
Can someone explain why your own personal insurance wouldn't cover it?
Love the West!
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
maybe not insured?
maybe not insured?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
saltlife
Posts: 35
Date Joined: 14/02/14
I had my stereo and boat
I had my stereo and boat cover knocked off while at a fibreglass repairers in Balcatta. They got police out to investigate and left black dust all through boat while looking for finger prints.
The business told me too bad, not covered by our insurance.
Copped it on the chin as it wasn't worth going through my insurance.
West is Best
gilly81
Posts: 2
Date Joined: 15/08/14
yep no insurance...
yeah hindsight is a wonderful thing, I never bothered with insurance as the boat has always been locked up in a shed.
I might have to look into it I think...
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Hypothetically if your motor
Hypothetically if your motor got stolen at home would your boat insurance cover it or not ? Would you have to claim it on home and contents ?
I had my work car broken into in my front yard and they said too bad claim it on your home and contents!
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
broken into vs stolen??. I
broken into vs stolen??. I take it items were stolen (poss work tools??) . did you have contents cover on the car policy - some policies do not cover contents (or only partially as in fixed items) so this may be why they said go to home contents policy...
If the items were covered on your car policy they should be covering them.
Yep if my motors stolen off the boat (or other items as per policy) whilst at home its covered by my boat policy with Club. Same would go if it was at the marine mech, but club may seek recovery from their insurance if able.
I do take the sounder/gps, epirb, radio out when it goes in for a service to avoid the grief anyway.
Youtube Channel - FishOnLine Productions
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUVNa-ViyGm_FTDSv4Nqzg/videos
sunshine
Posts: 2555
Date Joined: 03/03/09
No home insurance excludes boats and motors
Only covers very small craft and canoes ...........most have an exclusion for any craft over 3 metres
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
and further more if it was
and further more if it was not excluded it would likely fall under an item limit anyway (unless specified in which instance they would have to cover it) so you may only get $1,000 for the $50,000 boat or $15,000 motor etc.
Youtube Channel - FishOnLine Productions
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUVNa-ViyGm_FTDSv4Nqzg/videos