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Firm Ref. No. 312098

Claims Advice

The following is intended for general guidance only in the event of a claim and is not intended as an exhaustive, final definition of coverage. Whether coverage is in force or not depends on the individual circumstances and facts surrounding each claim.

The Policy

The policy of marine insurance that has been issued to you is known as an “all risks” form of marine insurance policy. This covers you for any loss and or damage to your vessel that is accidental, fortuitous in nature and is incidental to the use of your vessel.

However, not all types of damage and or losses are covered.

The policy excludes many types of damage and incident and you should take time to study these carefully and understand how each exclusion could affect your coverage.

The policy exclusions are set out within the insuring agreement wording under the heading “exclusions to coverage A, B, C, D, E & F” . The insuring agreement wording also contains general conditions and warranties that you should be familiar with, which if breached by you could affect coverage. You can obtain a copy of this form of policy from the Policy Wordings section of this site.

If you believe that you may have a claim under your policy above all else:

Do not delay in the proper presentation of your claim.

Steps to be taken in the event of a loss

1. Notify your agent in writing that you have had an incident that may or may not give rise to a claim under your policy.

2. Obtain a claim form for completion. Fully complete this form and submit it to your agent. If you are unable to obtain a claims form, explain fully in writing exactly what has happened and send this document.

Section 10 of the insuring agreement sets out what you should do in the event of loss of and or damage to your vessel (See “Your Duties in the event of a loss” ). Please follow these steps, as any failure by you to do so could delay the processing of your claim and in some cases prevent a recovery.

All that is expected of you is that you act reasonably to preserve your vessel and its equipment from further damage. Consider what steps you would take if you didn’t have insurance.

Once you have told your agent, place a note in your diary and follow this up with your agent if no one has contacted you within 7 days. Do not delay in informing your agent.

We usually appoint an adjuster, who may arrange for the damage to your vessel to be surveyed and who will then send a report to us as to the extent of the damage. The appointment of an adjuster is at our discretion and not every incident will require this. You are at liberty to appoint your own representative, however the costs of such representation may be disallowed.

Because not every incident will require an adjuster, it is very important that you do not simply wait for one to call you.

Try to obtain at least two repair estimates for the damage to your vessel and send these to your agent as soon as they are available. If an adjuster has been appointed give them to the adjuster but please keep copies for your own records.

You do not need our permission to begin repairs to your vessel all you have to do is allow us a reasonable opportunity to assess the damage to your vessel.

If you delay in telling us about the loss, or carry out repairs to the vessel without giving us the opportunity to look at them first, this may affect your coverage.

The adjusting process

We appoint the adjuster and liability for their fees rests with us whether or not your claim is covered (except where you make a claim under the liability sections of the insuring agreement when the fees form part of your limit of cover.)

The adjuster will examine the damages to your vessel that you tell us occurred as a result of the incident in question. They will produce a written report and send that to us. Because we pay the adjuster, the report remains our property and while we may release it at our discretion, we are not obliged to. The adjuster may sometimes give you guidance and assistance on your claim. You can appoint your own adjuster/surveyor at any time to communicate with our adjuster and for agreement to be reached if at all possible but as we have noted elsewhere, the cost of such representation will not always be allowed.

Please feel free to telephone the adjuster or our claims department with any query that you might have. If you have e-mail facilities you can also contact us in that manner.  In many instances the adjusters themselves will have this facility.

The decision

Once the adjuster has reported to us we are usually in a position to provide a rapid decision on your claim.

Once the repair estimates have been approved by us as fair and reasonable, we will instruct the adjuster to make an offer to you to settle your claim. If you agree to our offer we will always ask you to sign a release document, which you should do in the presence of an attorney or Notary Public. Carefully read this document because once you have signed it we will only accept a further claim for the same incident in exceptional circumstances. You can find a specimen copy of such two such releases in our “Downloads” section.

If you are at all unhappy with the decision or any part of the claims process please contact us to discuss your queries, if you still feel unhappy then please write to us at the address provided.

The Insurers are under no obligation to repair your vessel and in certain circumstances, to repair your vessel will not be economically viable and we will then declare your vessel “a constructive total loss”. When we do this you will be paid in full the agreed value of the vessel as appears on your cover note and or any subsequent endorsement. No deductible will be applied normally except where the loss and or damage were caused by a named windstorm or theft. You will normally be given the option of retaining title to your vessel. Your Insurers have the option to take title to your vessel but you must appreciate that they are not under any obligation to do so and responsibility for the vessel remains with you unless you are told anything to the contrary. If your vessel is sold to a third party after it has been declared a constructive total loss you may be required to execute a bill of sale. The adjuster assigned to your case will provide you with all the necessary details.

Payment of the claim

Once you have returned the release document to us, we will usually send you your money within 30 days of receipt. We can pay you by way of cheque/draft or money transfer. If you require a money transfer remember to provide us with

a) The full name and address of your bank.

b) Their routing number or ABA number and

c) Your account number.

A money transfer usually takes three to four days to effect. We will do our best to pay you before the expiration of 30 days from the day we receive the release, but please be patient. If you have nominated a loss payee on your application form we can only process payment by way of cheque. This cheque will be made out in your name and the loss payee.

At this or any stage ,please feel free to telephone, fax or e-mail our claims department with any query that you might have.

Above all we want you to enjoy many hours of safe, trouble free operation of your vessel, but we know that accidents do happen and that’s what we are here for. We will assist and advise so far as we are able to.