that’s a great idea. Had not thought about that. Thank you

it’s just so happens that Dan at GelPro was on my list. I have used him before on scratches and nicks. He’s a great guy. We have became friends over the years. He is differently on my list of someone who I would trusts. Thank you.

Is there structural damage to the huli side and bottom ? I agree with Griff, some Ins agents / adjusters probably have a difficult time starting the boat let alone give a competent assessment of the damage and repair cost

Part of the problem is that the hull and inside deck needs to be separated so you can access the inside of the boat. There are no compartments where the damage is to see exactly how much damage has been done to the inside of the boat. Separating the hull from the boat And the cost associated with doing this seems to be the reason the estimator decided it was totalled. The boat would need to be un-rigged and re-rigged. That alone should be a expensive preposition.

Since the amount of damage exceeds the other companies policy limits, you will have to file against your own company. Once the decision is made by your company as to repair or total, and they have money invested in the claim, they will go after the other company. Being they were at fault they will probably settle for the policy limits of that policy. Most companies will require you to pay your deductible in a situation like this.

As far as Deminished value, many insurance companies have provisions in their policy that you can’t attempt to collect deminished value as a first party. In this case the other carrier (persons who hit you) probably will pay the limit which will not allow any money left for a diminished claim, and you being the first party on your own policy, may not allow you to make a deminished value claim. This can vary by state so I would check with the department of insurance in your state.

As far as other expenses these are usually not covered in most policies, check with your agent on what is exactly included in yours. Sometimes these items can be documented by you and brought to small claims court once the other company has paid the limits.

I know this is not always fair but fortunately you or no one else was injured or killed. I am sorry this happed to you and wish you the best. If you have any other questions and I can help let me know.

wow. But you are exactly right. We all walked away ok which is super important. I am blessed to be ok, and that when all the dust settles, we will be ok financially. I do appreciate you taking the time to clarify some things for me. It’s a bad deal for both of us. My first concern was for everyone’s safety. I lost a son in a bad car accident nine years ago. No amount of money will bring my son back. I’ve learned a lot of compassion over the last nine years. Thank you sir 😄😄

You can file a lawsuit against the other driver for the shortage. In that , I believe that you can add all of that stuff, as it was a loss to you. There is a lesson for all of us in this in that when it comes to high end boats claims can be big. When I looked at Foremost for insurance on one of my boats, they would only do $100k in liability, so I had to keep looking. If you do not have much, $100k is plenty, but if you do, it ain't near enough.

My wife was rear ended last year in her Shelby GT500 convertible and the guys liability insurance was $15,000! Fortunately, there was not much damage.

As other have said, fortunately nobody was hurt.

Thank God everyone is alright, and I am sure you flashed back a little to the terrible loss of your son...one can only imagine that grief...my heart truly goes out to you.

I've seen some great responses on this thread and it just goes to show the value of being able to discuss an issue like this with like-minded people, many of whom may have had a similar experience. One of the problems with the other boater's lack of adequate insurance to cover the damage or loss is...whatever ends up hitting YOUR insurance company will ultimately go against you in the form of higher premiums. If, for example your insurance is out of pocket $100,000 then they will essentially assign a 'loss level' to that, and assess a higher premium for X number of years.

I would definitely list as a 'loss' all that described in Post #1, and include fuel cost and other miscellaneous but similar items. The accident was not your fault, one would hope you can recover the financial impact via his insurance but you can't put a price on the loss of use, the now-impossible 'fun' you and your family had expected to have with the boat.

Best of luck, please keep us posted.

Many years ago I blew a boat over and did some serious structural damage to the upper deck. . Best fix was to send back to Mfgr and have deck taken off and replaced with new. Cost of this was far in excess of local half azzed fix.I asked for gurantee that fixed boat would not hurt my azz, I won, they totaled boat, I got new boat.

That’s is my argument. Can they guarantee that the repairs and structural integrity would not be compromised by fixing it. The estimate I got said.no and that was way why he said it was totalled. I appreciate your input. .