Category: Project Management

Yacht Insurance Claim Process Explained!

You’ve damaged your yacht! Thankfully you’ve got suitable yacht insurance and you’re finally going to need to use it to rectify the damage to your vessel.

Yachtwork are going to take you through the yacht insurance claim process for your yacht and we’ll highlight where we, the yacht surveyors, come into the equation!

An important note before we continue: if you have suffered water ingress you must thoroughly clean the affected areas with fresh water and detergent to reduce further damage. If they engine has been flooded, get an engineer to carry out first aid and get it running if possible. This should be done immediately to stop further damage!

First thing for you to do is tell you broker or insurer what has happened. Immediate notification is vital to ensure your claim is valid; delaying notification may void your claim and you’ll be stuck with the repair bill. Don’t forget, if the claim involves a criminal act, such as vandalism or criminal damage, you must notify the police as well.

Next up, record and preserve evidence. It is your responsibility to demonstrate the losses you have incurred to your insurers (or the surveyor). Go crazy with your camera (or, more likely, your phone) and record as much photographic evidence as you can of what has happened. Take down the details of anyone who saw what happened too, witnesses can be useful. If the claim involves another party, record their damage too.

At this stage, you have done everything reasonable to inform your insurers and record what has happened. Just make sure you make every effort to limit any further damage or liability; if you’re at risk of causing more damage, or more damage happening, tell your insurers immediately and ask for advice.

Now this is where Yachtwork come into play. Your insurer will likely instruct an independent surveyor to survey your yacht and report back on the cause, responsibility, and recommendations to make good. If you’re lucky, your insurer will appoint one of our team of expert yacht surveyors and we’ll be along in no time to assess the damage to your vessel, record the evidence and write up a report for your insurer.

At this stage your insurer is aware of the issues and how to rectify them. You should stay in regular communication with them throughout the repairs process; they may be able to advise you on where to get the repairs done. If you’re struggling coordinating your yacht repair, our Project Management team may be able to help; they take total control of the repair management and will return your yacht to you as good as new! Get in touch for a yacht repair project management quote.

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Marine Insurance Profesionals.

Are you a Claims Handler?

Are you an Underwriter?

Are you a Manager of the above?

 

We very much hope that you have read our previous posts, which gives evidence to the fact, that we have quite an understanding of the repair, refit and building of a boat. We also intended our posts to demonstrate that we have a deep understanding of the claims process.

 

Are you a Claims Handler?

We would love the opportunity to sit down and talk to you, and discuss your requirements. I, Jim Vintner, have worked in many areas of the marine industry from a Captain and Engineer of Superyachts, to an Operations Manager of a prolific repair facility with the past four years as the Principal Surveyor and Director of Yachtnet Ltd TA as www.yachtwork.co.uk. We have developed an excellent relationship with our clients and established a UK wide network of Surveyors, currently expanding into Europe, USA and Australasia, saving you time and travel costs, whilst continuing to give good concise reporting, with information backed up by the industry knowledge as mentioned earlier. Many Clients have reported an improved claims ratio, many have reported greater customer satisfaction and client retention. With all of the above points, and the fact that there is no cost in making contact, we will come to you for a meeting, why not make contact? After all, it is part of your role to make sure you are giving the best service on behalf of your underwriters.

 

Are you an Underwriter?

If you are, and have read the above, we very much hope that you may insist on a meeting of minds with the Claims Team, and will find the next part of interest: –

We have developed a system for Conditional Yacht Surveys, that will result in you having a numerical understanding of the risk you are exposed to. Current Surveys tend to be over-worded documents that tell you the weather on the day of the inspection, the designer of the yacht and who built it rather than the Risk you are exposing yourselves to, which is what we believe you require?

Maybe we should talk?

Are you a manager of the above?

I am hoping that the above gets to you, I feel we need not say too much.

Claims ratio down

Client retention up

Risk understood

If you feel the above to be relevant, please forward to anyone you feel may benefit, we are trying to expand our business by offering a service that adds value.

Jim Vintner                            support@yachtwork.co.uk                     07712713740

 

 

 

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Following an accident

Causation, repair requirements, costings, project management.

 

So, you have been unfortunate enough to have an incident, be it your fault, the fault of another or extreme weather. Your next move is the most important, let your insurers know as soon as you can, they are  more qualified to deal with what is to happen next.

 

The Cause

The cause, although important, is not as important as you and your crew’s safety. The safety of the vessel following an incident, is also important to mitigate any further loss. The cause needs to be understood, and the insurers and their panel of surveyors, will clarify this.

People: Make the people safe and secure immediately.” Oh, well John would have been fine, but we spent so long cleaning up the boat, following the incident, by the time we got him to hospital, his internal bleeding had caused……”.

 

Repair Requirements

The repair requirements are always going to be varied, this will obviously be dependent upon the incident. As the owner, first aid of the vessel by qualified persons is imperative to mitigate increased repair costs. If you are the owner, act in a prudently uninsured manner.

Do not start the actual repair process, until all costings are understood and agreed with your insurers.

The yard, who you have used for years, may not be the most qualified, or the most competitive for the requirements.

 

Costings

Again, your insurers will have vast experience in appraising this aspect or they may instruct one of their surveyors to carry out this part on their behalf.

Insurers, make sure the surveyor you appoint is qualified to carry out the appraisal.

 

Project management

The insurers will generally not cover the cost of a project manager for the repair procedure, they use yards that have vast experience and do not require this, on most occasions. If you, as the owner, feel this to be a requirement, please talk with your insurers at your earliest convenience, rather than presenting them with an invoice for project management upon completion. You may be disappointed with the answer you may well receive.

 

  • Safety of you, your crew, your family.
  • Safety of the vessel.
  • Clearly laid out estimates for repair.
  • Clarification with your insurers.
  • No hidden surprises.
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Refitting A Yacht

Refitting Your Yacht

 

Refitting of a yacht is a requirement from time to time. It is like the refurbishment of our houses or our cherished cars, a necessary requirement that can be quite a stressful experience or one of great enjoyment and a sense of achievement.

 

We have, over the years, been involved in many refits and have experienced what we would consider satisfaction and disappointment from owners, and yards in equal measure.

 

The Owner.

Whilst it is important to understand, that the owner’s satisfaction is paramount in this process, there are factors that can, and do, detract from this.

Example: –

“I want a bow thruster” the Client has asked.

“OK, we recommend this model Sir”.

“Oh No” the Client has replied,” I have seen a much cheaper option online!”.

Upon completion, the finding was that the bow thruster was under powered, therefore, over utilised, leading to eventual overheating and failure. Luckily, no fire.

The yard then changed the thruster for the one that they recommended in the first instance. It now works fine.

Bow thrusters do have similarities to ears.

You don’t have to use them, but generally it helps, and what is the point of having something if you do not use it!

Having a third party surveyor in the above circumstance, may well have removed the stress, eased the decision making process, and reduced the financial and time penalties.

We could harp on about this for many paragraphs, but feel the above alone, gives a firm example of how things can become stressful.

 

The Yard.

The yard, or yards, invariably are busy places, with many projects underway at the same time. Projects can become very convoluted and timelines stretched, budgets over run. Eventually the vessel approaches completion and the invoice arrives on the owner’s desk. The invoice is now 35% more than the owner was expecting, and a dispute ensues! The yard’s opinion is that certain jobs were fraught with problems, corrosion etc., and the over runs were unavoidable. The owner’s version is,” Why was I not told”. The yard operatives were requested to undertake works, keep time sheets, but were never told of the budget, or the exact specification, it happens, daily! This is eventually cleared up, generally leaving a bitter taste with one party, and the vessel is launched.

 

 

 

Sea Trials.

 

The vessel goes for sea trials, “where is the new navigation equipment”, askes the owner.

“What new navigation equipment”, says the yard hand.

“Well, when I visited the yacht in mid February, ish, I spoke with one of the electrician chaps, and we agreed it would be a good idea”.

This obviously never got to the office, and it never got done. I am sure the yard would have preferred to have done this, and had it gone through the correct channels, it would have been done.

 

A Surveyor.

 

In all of the above, a suitably qualified marine surveyor would have been invaluable. A comprehensive specification with all pricing signed off prior to a yard being awarded the project.

Any anomalies to work requirements, to be notified, and costs agreed, prior to the work being complete.

What was not mentioned above, was the fact, that many items may well have come in below budget, and these funds could have been used against any over runs, and more competitive pricing may have been obtained for many items prior to the refit commencing.

 

Surveyor, or no Surveyor?

Qualified to manage the above?

Contact Jim support@yachtwork.co.uk

 

 

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Building a Boat

Building a boat?

 

You lucky thing!!!

 

So, you are going to buy a new boat and it is one of the slightly or totally bespoke options available.

The question is – do you have a Project Manager/Surveyor to oversee this or not?

Unless of course, you are from a marine background and have all the relevant experience to undertake this without it taking over your life you will need to know the following: –

 

 

Contracts.

Specification.

Timeline – knowing what is realistic and what is just plain ridiculous or unachievable.

Option list pricing –  with a lot of options having a price tag of more than 100K, do you understand enough about this to possibly save a few points on all of them.

Quality control – have you built a boat, with your own hands, have you overseen a team of boat builders, have you been involved in the repair of vessels when it has gone wrong, do you have industry connections within just about every part of the marine industry to check out if things you are told are correct?

We Do…….

 

Drop us a line.

 

Let’s get safety and operational quality designed in, rather than being an after thought.

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Choosing a Marine Surveyor

Choosing a Marine Surveyor

 

If you are looking to own a boat, it is almost written in stone that you will at some point require the services of a marine surveyor.

 

Buying a boat. Pre Purchase Survey

 

Insuring a boat. Conditional survey for the insurers to base their decisions upon

 

Building a boat. Project management, contract negotiations, quality control

 

Refit of a yacht. Pre project planning and costing, project management, quality control, yard selection, negotiation, sea trials upon completion

 

Following an accident. Causation, repair requirements, costings, project management.

 

Are you a claims handler? Understanding the cause, are the costs fair and reasonable, are all items within the claim incident related, is the yard suitably qualified.

 

Safety systems and crew training in the use of. You may have all required equipment, are your crew aware of systems to mitigate loss and danger to your craft, family and friends?

 

The above list of possible requirements is not exhaustive but we feel pertinent to some of the most frequent requirements. We will not try and cover all items in this post and aim to add one item per week for the next seven weeks. We hope you find this an interesting read and we aim to not be to biased towards ourselves, that may be harder than we think!

 

Buying a Boat.

We will firstly start with a case study so you have an overview of what we feel is amiss with the current system of appointing a Surveyor for a pre purchase survey.

We were contacted by a potential purchaser and asked to give costings for carrying out a pre purchase survey. The prospective client found us through the website of the International Institute of Marine Surveyors.

We gave a fixed price for attending, inspecting and delivery of our report. The client called us and after some, “why are you more expensive than others”, agreed to proceed.

We sent the contract and received a telephone call, requesting that we remove the oil sampling from the survey, the broker assured the client this was not a requirement and although I disagreed in principal, I told the client we would report that this was suggested but declined. The client made payment and we began the organisation, I requested the vessel was lifted the night before the out of water survey. We received another call from the client. The Broker had told the client that most surveyors would have the vessel lifted in the slings and held for two to three hours as to inspect the below waterline areas. He asked why we would not do this. We replied that we vehemently disagreed with this practise and that we would only comment as to the condition of the below waterline area if we were allowed to carry out a proper inspection. The client reneged and agreed to this.

 

We carried out the inspection and found that the vessel had been subjected to a very sub standard osmosis treatment and had de-lamination in many areas and a very unfair finish to all. We then found structural defects to the internal structure and advised that we did not believe this vessel to represent good value. The owner was very disappointed and felt it had been an expensive day for himself, he also told us that he had been offered a good price for his boat in part exchange, in fact, almost double its value, in our opinion.

 

We will not go into any more detail and hope by reading between the lines you will understand why we feel it very important to employ the services of a surveyor who has not been recommended by the person selling the boat.

 

We also feel that the client would save £30,000.00 by not proceeding with the purchase.

 

Next week. Conditional survey of a yacht for insurance purposes.

 

Regards

 

www.Yachtwork.co.uk

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Why Yachtwork?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have shared our expertise and provided you with a crash course all things yachting. We embarked on our journey by explaining our Ship’s Cook Certificate course, continued with discussing the importance of a project manager for any yacht project and sailed through to our third blog on marine surveys.

If you missed something or want a reminder, here´s a useful summary of what Yachtwork can do for you. You can also contact us for more information.

Marine surveys

In all instances, an accurate and timely survey can be the key to avoiding issues now or further down the line. Yachtwork has many years’ knowledge of Marine surveys and cover the following services

– accident repair and insurance claim surveys
– pre-purchase and warranty surveys
– refit surveys
– project-related surveys

As well as a great core team, we have a large network of experienced, vetted and thoroughly coached surveyors who carry out superb work at short notice, anywhere in the world. Discover more about Yacht Surveys or contact us for more information on your survey.

If you feel that you could add something to our team of associate surveyors throughout UK and European coastal locations, working within our insurance claim and pre-purchase department, contact Jim.

Project management

Whether you are embarking on a new-build, refit, repair or retrofit project, we strongly recommend you use our Project management team to ensure a stress-free and successful project. With our team´s many years of experience, their multitude of roles, in-depth knowledge and countless connections across the globe, they can make the difference between a successful and a failed project.

Read the Do you need a project manager? blog or get in touch with us today.

The Ship’s Cook Assessment

Yachtwork is the first UK based provider of the Ship’s Cook Assessment course and is certified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The Assessment in Marine Cookery is a vital step towards being awarded the coveted and important Ship’s Cook Certificate. Our courses take place in our gleaming kitchen in Portsmouth and with places filling up fast we recommend early bookings to avoid disappointment.  For any questions about the Assessment in Marine Cookery, Food Safety or Crew Training, please read ‘The Ship’s Cook Certificate explained’ or contact our Principal Trainer Georgie.

We are currently on the look-out for a well-connected, enthusiastic sales person to work within our training department and be based in the Mediterranean. Get in touch with Yachtwork Training if you suit this role!

Yachtwork was set up to provide excellent service with the best possible outcome. Today we have a proven track record as an outstanding provider of training, project management and survey services. But don´t just take our word for it, please get in touch for any help and to question us on previous work, challenge our experience and allow us to demonstrate our expertise.

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Do I Need A Yacht Project Manager?

Let’s start with the basics, you are going to make some major upgrades, undertake a refit of your yacht or place an order for a new yacht to be built for you. Should you invest in a Yacht Project Manager? In a word; yes. And we will give you four good reasons why you should:

Time:

Yacht build, refit, repairs, painting or retro-fitting are all time-consuming projects and making time for all that owning a yacht involves, can be very difficult. Unless you´re blessed with lots of free time on your hands, we suggest you invest in a PM who will look after your interests for you.

Location:

You might be lucky enough to live in close proximity to your yacht, but lets face it, most owners do not. If you live and work far away from the yard handling your project, any issues that require immediate attention, such as costing, emergent works and overall quality control, will be very difficult. Again, investing in a PM will save you a lot of time and money as he or she would handle any of the above.

Experience:

Do you have experience in project management, boatbuilding, costings, industry best practice and a mass of connections? If the answer is yes, excellent! If not, with the right project manager, you will gain that experience, get someone to react on your behalf at a moment’s notice and someone who will always “fight your corner”.

Money:

This is perhaps the most significant aspect of a project.  An experienced project manager can accurately assess projected costs and will negotiate on your behalf to ensure you get the best value for money, whilst maintaining the level of quality you desire. And here´s a hint; as your PM will very likely know the boat yard involved in your project, he can keep a close eye on them and ensure they deliver on time.

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