Insurance?

[JEN-et-ROSS]

This is a question regarding yacht insurance. My wife and I have a Bav 38 that we keep on a swinging mooring during the summer months and in the winter we have the yacht on the hard at a local boatyard. The yard is well known, not just locally and we pay approx. £1350 for the privilege, not a lot I know.
    Our problem occurred in Feb. this year when a rock approx. 1,5m / 1m detached from the rock face behind and above our boat. It started out about 25m up and came down a 60-70 deg slope before bouncing forward and struck our boat. I've been told it weighed in at about 5 ton !
    The damage amounted to wrecked rudder, top rudder bearing mounting ripped out, rudder stock tube torn out of the hull and substantial damage to the steering and autopilot ( linear drive). It also caused other less serious hull damage.
    When I requested that the yards insurers deal with the claim I was told that this is " a third party issue" and they would not be paying out. So I've had to claim from our own insurance. The upshot is that I've had to do all the running about getting quotes etc. I'll lose our No Claims Bonus and our premiums will go up. Is this normal procedure? I would have assumed that if a boat is damaged in a commercial yard/marina etc. then you would expect to be covered. Has anybody else had their boat damaged in a marina and had a similar experience?.........Bill       
  Also: Is this the first time a rock has struck a yacht rather than the other way round???

[dawntreader]

Suggest you seek professional legal advice.

Please keep us informed (it is of interest to me as I keep my boat in a yard that is a dis-used quarry over winter too  ).

[Symphony]

You have to prove the boatyard was negligent. In some cases this is obvious - for example if they dropped your boat when moving it. However in the case of a rock falling from a hillside you would first have to prove that they had responsibility for the rock face and secondly that the fall was because of their action (or inaction) - in other words it was preventable and they failed to prevent it.

It does not matter whether they are insured or not if they are negligent, you can pursue the yard direct, but obviously if they have insurance they will pass the claim to their insurer. However, the proof of negligence required is the same. It may well be that they are responsible but have failed to get insurance to cover the risk.

So, proving negligence is the first step and this depends entirely on the specific facts of the case and you may well need professional help in establishing that. If you can prove negligence then you can pursue the yard who in turn will make a claim on their insurers. Pursuing claims in this way is not for the faint hearted, but it may be easier if you have additional Legal Assistance insurance.

The alternative is to claim on your own policy. Don't feel bad about that - after all you pay a premium to insure against all risks, and then let your insurers pursue the boatyard. You may well find that your insurer does not penalise you for the claim, but even if they do the amount will be relatively small in relation to the size of the claim. You can't avoid some inconvenience whichever route you go, but arguably dealing with your own insurer is less painful than fighting a third party direct.

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Dawntreader, Hi, there can't be that many boatyards in disused quarries, you don't happen to keep you boat on the West Coast of Scotland do you? I'm wondering if you're in the same yard. I also reckon Symphony has just given me the professional advice you advised me to get.
Symphony, Many thanks, you sound like you have some experience in this area and have answered a lot of questions for me.
  But. The bottom line here is that we pay hard earned cash to have our pride and joy looked after professionally over the winter and when damage occurs ( severe in our case!) it kind of sticks in the craw, so to speak, to be told to go and deal with it yourself. I would have thought (naively obviously) that a gesture from the yard ( free/reduced winter storage perhaps?) would smooth ruffled feathers (mine!) if the insurance situation is as Symphony says.
  Incidentally, the rock that assaulted our yacht wasn't the only one up there, there are many more ( I went up and had a look) but no effort has been made to stabilize them. (Doesn't matter I guess if the yard isn't liable). Anyway. I think we will be moving on for the coming winter. ...............Bill

[dawntreader]

Dawn Treader is over wintered in Galmpton Quay - located near Dartmouth, S. Devon.

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Hi, Dawntreader. Your obviously no where near our rock "problem" but I think it would be prudent to have a good look at the rock face  surrounding your disused quarry boatyard. If you can see any potential problems, take some photos and put that concern in writing to the yard (and keep a copy). In hindsight I can see that I should have done so as the problem could have been foreseen.................Bill.