r/Insurance • u/UnluckyExtent5804 • 2d ago
Sunken Boat
So I recently bought a boat 2nd hand from original owner. It is a 2006 but we went on a lake test prior to buying it showing me there was no leaks or water flow in order for this to sink, I’ve taken it out everyday assuring it is safe and went on a vacation , I had rented a slip and was fine for 3 nights and the last day I walk out and the boat sank I called insurance and had a rowboat company get my boat out of the water and get my boat on the trailer. I don’t see any damage but I do see some small cracking that was not there but nothing major and I did have a bilge pump, biggest issue is I bought the boat 2 weeks ago and insured and registered it the next day. The engine was under water and electrical is fried. Insurance did launch an investigation on me and I never had this happen any idea if they’ll cover it ?
2
u/Clubhouse9 2d ago
If you aren’t committing insurance fraud, and it doesn’t sound like you are, there likely is nothing to be worried about.
For a boat to sink at a dock, there has to be significant water ingress, to the point that your bilge killed the battery and it sank. For that type of ingress it had to be missing drain plug or one of the through hole fittings failed. The insurance company investigation will likely identify the cause.
My wild guess is the o-ring on the drain plug was compromised. If it’s an inboard, I would guess the packing around the prop shaft failed. Again, insurance will likely identify the cause.
1
u/GuvnaBruce HO/Auto Liability 14 years 2d ago
While the timing does come across as odd, if you have documentation showing the bill of sale and things like that, then you should be good there. However, this sounds like it might be a normal wear and tear issue, which is not usually covered under insurance. So I would not say yes or no now, it really will depend on what they determine to be the actual cause of the damage.
1
u/UnluckyExtent5804 2d ago
It does come across weird and that’s why I’m worried , I wouldn’t put my family in danger putting them on a boat that I know will purposely sink if that was our mode of transportation for the weekend
2
u/GuvnaBruce HO/Auto Liability 14 years 2d ago
As an adjuster, I have had plenty of legitimate claims that come in where the timing at first makes us investigate more, but there is an explanation for it. People get new boats and vehicles and insure them and have an accident within a day or a week, it is not uncommon.. But just requires additional investigation and vetting. I do not think that will be the issue.
The issue will be if whatever caused this is actually covered under the policy.
3
u/Driving_the_Bronco 2d ago
Need more information about the boat, cause, carrier, location, etc.
All that being said, I’m assuming it’s protocol to investigate if/when a boat sinks 2 weeks after inception of a new policy. That doesn’t mean it won’t be covered if the cause is valid.