Boat US Insurance = Crap!

[DoghouseII]

Just wanted to give people a heads up who carrys boat US insurance and trailers their boat from a to b. I have insured my boat and trailer through them for a  year now. I had a leaf spring snap on my dual axle trailer, and with a 5500lb boat on top putting alot more weight in that corner, pop my tire and cause me to have to leave it at a gas station an hour and a half from my home. The gas station manager tells me i have to have the boat out of the parking lot in 2 days. So what do ya do, you call boat US since u have paid for trailer insurance. You talk to 3 different boat US reps over the next 24 hours and explain that the boat was not towed and what happend and you are never sent to claims dept. So you finally get ahold of someone to do the repairs with a 27' boat on the trailer. They fix it and of course charge you 900$. You call boat US again and finally get sent to the claims dept.  You go get the boat. Then you send a ton of pictures of the damage and an invoice wiat a month, have a guy come and inspect the repairs, and then find out the claim was denied becuase they didnt have a boat us rep inspect it before it was repaired, pictures were not good enough even though over the phone they said that would be fine. So basically due to absolutely the worst service i have recieved in a long time they wouldnt stand by their word at all and wouldnt cover a dime of the entire incident. MY ADVICE IS DO NO INSURE WITH THEM, TERRIBLE BUSINESS AND A TYPICAL JOKE OF AN INSURANCE COMPANY. 

Edited July 30, 2013 by DoghouseII

[sammyslayer]

Are you talking comp. and collision insurance? Or the tow and emergency service that is $60/yr?

Sent from my VS910 4G using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[DoghouseII]

Im talking the mechanical breakdown insurance I paid for the trailer.

[CaptSpike]

I have had Boat U.S. forever and never had any issues with them at all. This includes two shafts breaking off of my lobster boat repaired and my trailer wheel blowing out last yr basically wiping out the fender and mounting bracket. They replaced all parts, even the rim and tire that blew out. Never had anyone come look at the boat in any instance. They used the estimate provided by the shops with strict instruction that no work be performed until the claim was approved.

My guess is your claim wasn't approved first and proper channels were not followed. Granted it wasn't totally your fault as they didn't get back to you quickly and you want it fixed.

I have no complaints so far with my interactions with them. If I were you I'd take it to the next level and see if they would cover it. The shop you had it fixed at should be able to help you out to answer any questions Boat U.S. might have. Maybe they wont cover it all, but maybe some of it? Worth trying.

 

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. I have been pretty lucky with my dealings with them.

 

Spike

[Roughrider IV]

I bought the Insurance last year, a week after I took out the tow insurance the same thing happened to me, broke a leaf spring. They had a tow truck out within an hour, pulled the trailer up on a flatbed with boat still attached. I was 50 miles from home, they towed to my mechanic, cost to me 0 dollars out of pocket, my boat insurance paid for 4 new leafs installed, total out of pocket 80 bucks. I'm way ahead of the game right now. Also lost a bearing last year, they had a guy out in 30 minutes with a new hub, I paid for parts. Works for me so far.

[bandrus1]

I bought the Insurance last year, a week after I took out the tow insurance the same thing happened to me, broke a leaf spring. They had a tow truck out within an hour, pulled the trailer up on a flatbed with boat still attached. I was 50 miles from home, they towed to my mechanic, cost to me 0 dollars out of pocket, my boat insurance paid for 4 new leafs installed, total out of pocket 80 bucks. I'm way ahead of the game right now. Also lost a bearing last year, they had a guy out in 30 minutes with a new hub, I paid for parts. Works for me so far.

 

 

That probably wasnt a sunday evening when nowhere was open and you are broke down at a private business that says the boat needs to be move

 

 

cant really sit and wait for a claim to be approved when that is the case

[DoghouseII]

All I know is I talked to people that had no clue what was going on until the 4th person I spoke with 2 days later, by that time everything was already done. Poor customer service to say the least, and it couldn't be towed at all even with a low boy due to the height of the boat being over 13' on a trailer so my hands were tied. Had it been able to be towed that would have been an easy thing. I guess it depends on your situation but like my friend said sunday afternoon at 4 oclock and no towing ability and the lack of comprehension of the boat US reps gave me the short end of the stick. Three different reps told me over the phone that pics of the damage would be sufficient, this was not the case. Keep my experience in mind because it was not a fun ride. 

[K Gonefishin]

Talk to a supervisor don't settle until you get the coverage you paid for the idiots you talked to are just service reps with zero power take it up the chain even if that means 10 people stick up for what you know what is right and what you paid for period!

[Tim Bromund]

When my boat almost sank back in June, Boat US was great to deal with for the insurance claim.  No complaints at all, my contact/adjuster at BUS was very responsive.

 

Tim

[on the lam]

When my boat almost sank back in June, Boat US was great to deal with for the insurance claim. No complaints at all, my contact/adjuster at BUS was very responsive.

Tim

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

He must have seen the " boat sinking video" and felt sorry for ya!!

[Tim Bromund]

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

He must have seen the " boat sinking video" and felt sorry for ya!!

He did, that was the reason I took the video, documentation for insurance purposes.

Tim

[Tall Tails]

Nearly all major claims to boat insurance require a surveyor to look prior to a check being cut.  I am not suprised that they did not cover this.  It is unfortunate that you had such a tight time line.  Did they not supply you with a direct number to claims?  I know with my insurance company for my boat with 2 claims I was in contact with them within an hour of the incedent and had surveyors present in less then 12 hours in both cases that included something that happened on a sunday morning.  Tough break for you.

[Patriot]

I HAD B US too and they denied a claim for a waterlogged transom. Boat was in Sodus Boat Works (great people to deal with), rep came and checked it out and flatout said it wasn't covered. I dropped them like a hot potatoe the next day.

Who needs that bs?

[fishfight]

Speak to a supervisor, no luck, then higher manager, eventually write to the VP of the company. tell them you do not want to bad mouth them and believe they are still a good company based on what you have heard on line. 

 

it always works for me, even if it takes more written work on my part, since successful managers always have the authority to solve issues or do something right, or they would not be manager. Time had change, US companies have woken up, and services have been improving in many industries just to stay competitive. Companies are paying big bucks to get feedback so they can improve in a competitive industry. Top managers would love to solve your issues to ensure their employees understand customer service.

 

On contrary to what was just posted..... i also read cases regarding people bad mouthing a company on Kijiji or craiglist due to bad services, got sued by the company , and the person lost the case regardless of who was right or wrong. At times , I wanted to get even with whoever ripped me off, but reading cases where bad mouthing a company is a no!no! rule today. I have decided to get issues solve by the right person within the corporation instead. 

 

Here is an example oh what had happened to my damaged vehicle: vehicle worth $700 on today's market, to fix damage would cost them $2000, Insurance wants to pay me $1200, I insisted that my car was in excellent shape and need to be repaired, my excuses include I was not able to find any decent used vehicle of comparable quality even if I were to spend $3000, I tracked down Consumer relation manager at the head office , He immediately called the adjuster, and the adjuster sent me a $2000 check by mail , and for my vehicle to be repaired at any auto body shop of my choice. I responded and wrote a thank you letter to the Consumer relation manager back. Had the car fixed for $1600. My existing car insurance premium never went up as well in the last two years.

Edited August 7, 2013 by fishfight

[Tim Bromund]

I HAD B US too and they denied a claim for a waterlogged transom. Boat was in Sodus Boat Works (great people to deal with), rep came and checked it out and flatout said it wasn't covered. I dropped them like a hot potatoe the next day.

Who needs that bs?

Greg, why would that be an insurance claim?  It isn't damage due to an accident or other covered event, it's deterioration.  When I had the Thompson rebuilt back in 2003, i never even considered trying to make an Insurance claim on it.

 

Tim

[Patriot]

Greg, why would that be an insurance claim?  It isn't damage due to an accident or other covered event, it's deterioration.  When I had the Thompson rebuilt back in 2003, i never even considered trying to make an Insurance claim on it.

 

Tim

Water leaked into the transom because the support brackets for the swim platform were below the waterline and water seeped in where it was fastened with screws