Several yrs ago I hit a reef and tore up my lower unit. The estimate to repair the lower only was more than what a complete brand new drive from Bam was. A no brainer disicion. My Ins. Co. even paid me to install the new drive at a lower hourly rate than a dealer would have recieved if they would have done it. Anything to save them a buck, they were all for it. I actuallly made a couple $100 from that incident.

Keep in mind that all that stress that damaged your lower unit and even the coupler, was also applied to the upper 1/2. It just didn't break..... yet.

Be best if you can work out replacing the whole drive and having all new pieces parts with a warranty, even if it cost you a few bucks.

hey strip poker i was serious.i am going to tell them i want it done and they will have to get off some of that $$$$,lololol.

i know the upper was stressed and so does the insurance man.i think all they are seeing clearly is green.it would be nice if they paid me for removing the lower,but thats not going to pan out either.......ding ding...round 4 comming up!

Well tell them that the shaft needs to be xrayed/magnufluxed the inpack might of fractured them also and might fail later when your out in the Ocean and might put you family in danger.that the upper gears might blow apart and exploded inside the case tearing up the ujoint assy blowing it all apart making the boat sink they would in theroy be liable. But there acting in Bad Faith

i just talked to the comissioner of insurance in Va.going to file a complant w/them.my uncle is a insurance investegator and said write or file a complaint.that would get there attention.....what do you think?i like the idea about at sea and my family at risk....good thinking strip poker.i will try that too.....hell at this point i will try anything.thanks all.ding ding.....round 5 coming up,stay tuned.brad

Its going to take longer.I have gone thru the state comissoine's offer before even knew the Lawyer for the comiss it still took months, but it wad a larger claim and it worked .

How much money are we talking about??? if its just 1-2k diff I would rather pay and be on the water. But if its the principle about it ,ive been there .

Strip's right these things can drag out. If you can or will pay the difference you can still file the complaint. You may also have an arbitration clause in your policy. This allows a third party, agreed on by you and the insurance company, to inspect and render a decision.

the whole job,r/r drive/r/r coupler,tear down,all labor is about 7800.00.they only want to pay 3400.00 for the lower,and tear down labor...not my labor.no $$ for the coupler,or labor.if they see damage they will pay for the coupler+labor,no damage,i pay.the coupler part is about 1400.00.i should just take money out of the bank ,and do it myself....but what *** have i got insurance.i guess i will be riding the pachanga and the waverunner this summer while i make payments on the fountain.....this sucks.

So true.....

Years ago I did an insurance job on a 45 Sonic that ran over a 55 gallon drum. The lower unit sheared off and destroyed the upper and the entire drive needed to be replaced, it also broke the drive bell housing. When I wrote the estimate I suggested mandantory replacement of the engine coupler along with everything else..... Insurance adjuster wanted us to just replace all the broken parts minus the coupler....

I put it all together ($10K bill) and went out for a test ride with the owner... The 20 minute test ride everything went fine... The following monday I was pulling the engine because the engine coupler was wiped out..... We charged the Insurance company a higher rate to R&R the engine to install the coupler than if it was included in the whole job.....

Meanwhile the owner couldn't use the boat that weekend cause it was broken..... Sounds like stupidity to me....

the insurance companys use the labor books that mercury provides them....