Marine Insurance Claims Case Study
'Fixation' is undoubtedly a successful racing yacht. This 32' X99 has enjoyed class wins at Cork Week and both class and group wins in the Round the Island race, finishing a highly credible 15th in the entire IRC fleet in 2004. In 2006 the crew were gearing up for another winning season. Nick Fullagar the owner had purchased new sails and Poole Bay provided the venue for the first regatta of the year. It was late May and with Cork 06 only a matter of weeks away, all on board hoped that they could show the competition what they could do. Nick takes up the story:
I've been sailing, or specifically racing yachts all of my life. Like many other owners, I have probably been cynical with regard to insurance and the service that insurance brokers provide. We pay our premiums, complain about the cost and have apparently little to show for it. My attitude changed last spring. We were excited about going to Cork Week to defend our win in 2004. We had not only won our class that year but had just missed being the top boat in the regatta by a matter of a few points. The IRC regatta in Poole provided an ideal opportunity to make sure that we were sailing fast and only 5 weeks before we had to set off for Southern Ireland an opportunity to make sure everything was working properly.
We were sailing well and on the second day the conditions suited us. It was reasonably windy, with about 15 knots but not so windy that the larger yachts could break away. We were enjoying a fast spinnaker reach towards Bournemouth Pier when we were hit by a huge gust. The boat accelerated and in the commotion one of the runners became dislodged.
The top of the mast folded in front of us as my heart sank!
The immediate problem was just getting the shredded sails down before we could even contemplate motoring back to our marina berth. When we did get back in, the reality of getting the rig back together in time for Cork was on all our minds. Despite being both a Sunday and a Bank Holiday weekend, Coleman's were able to help and advise. Before the insurance world had returned to work on the Tuesday, they had submitted my claim and we were on the road to obtaining estimates for the repair. The Lloyd's Underwriters who Coleman's had used had an independent surveyor appointed on the Tuesday and he was on board the following morning. Coleman's did all that they could to get everything moving quickly and as a number of their yacht team race, they understood just how keen we were to get to Cork. As repairs progressed Coleman's negotiated an interim payment with the insurers and needless to say our replacement mast and new sails were up in time for the regatta in Ireland.
The insurers settlement cheque was issued within 7 days of submitting the final accounts and the only disappointment was that we didn't win our class when we did get there.
We were however second and by only a few points so it wasn't for the lack of trying.
Nick Fullagar
GBR 9851
