Author Topic: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???  (Read 1030 times)

silentfaith

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Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« on: February 02, 2020, 12:41:31 PM »
Just arrived in Marathon fl and pulled into the marina slip for the winter, plugged into the dock electrical pedestol but it kept tripping so it was late and we were tired went to bed, next morning got up and turned on the inverter to make coffee and all of a sudden smoke everywhere, boat next to me pulled out in record time, wife grabbed her purse and our meds and got off the boat just in time before flames and lost everything. Surveyors think it was the marinas fault and if so we can recover more than the insurance I have because of all the stuff  we lost, even burned up money, but if not and it was something that went wrong on my boat I will only get the 140k policy amount, we figure total loss to us was 170k ,,,now, can we collect the difference on our homeowners insurance for our real home??? 

LightStache

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2020, 01:11:50 PM »
That will depend on whether you have personal property coverage on your homeowners policy. I've never seen a policy that covers personal property, but for $30K it's worth checking.

Are the damage surveyors commissioned by your vessel insurance provider?

silentfaith

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2020, 02:06:47 PM »
Yes we do.   The surveyors and forensic investigators are working for my insurance and was also assigned a lawyer on my behalf and I was told that feb19 there is going to be a big gathering at the marina to hash out whatever they do. The boat was hauled and sits at the marina.

ixtap

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2020, 02:19:49 PM »
The switch on the dock box was tripping? If so, that sounds like you weren't actually connected to shore power. That is, you were physically connected, but nothing should have been flowing.

Or, are you saying that the AC switch onboard was tripping? That is usually due to issues which can come from the shore power, the plug or within the boat. As often as not, it is one end or the other of the shore power cord itself.

However, the important thing is going to be what the adjusters agree to. At the very least, you should check your homeowner's insurance to look for a timeline, what items are covered, and what constitutes a covered peril.

LightStache

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2020, 02:48:14 PM »
Given the little info you shared, it's hard to see how the marina could be at fault. It sounds like you couldn't get shore power to work, so you were on battery power and your inverter caught on fire.

If the surveyors are paid for by the insurance company, it's in their interest to find the marina at fault so that their customer (insurance co) doesn't have to pay your claim. What I'd be worried about in your situation is a disagreement between your insurer and the marina's insurer that delays payment of your claim. And also the potential for your insurance co to deny your claim based on maintenance negligence. For those reasons I'd pay to have my own, separate survey conducted. And remember if the insurance co has assigned a lawyer to you, it's their lawyer, not your lawyer.

My advice comes from having been involved in a small vessel claim that took 22 months to settle. I hope your outcome is more favorable than mine!

silentfaith

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2020, 03:05:21 PM »
It is strange what happened and I hope the source of the fire is found, wouldn't be something I did wrong for sure, inverter and batteries below deck were in perfect condition I was told. The 2 30amp cords were connected to the pedistol and boat but switched off at pedistol. The surveyor said the pedistol was blowing the switch when he tested it and told marina to not use it until electrician repaired it so, since I never had a problem in the past it still is a mystery........Was told not to worry that we will be paid soon and sorted out later.

LightStache

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Re: Lost my beautiful trawler in a fire last month,,insurance???
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2020, 03:53:18 PM »
Was told not to worry that we will be paid soon and sorted out later.

That's a good thing to hear!