Boating and boats are meant for good times and relaxing but what happens when the times are not so good and your boat does not spell relaxing for you? What happens when things go wrong and you need to fall back on the insurance?

Here at Seatech Marine, we deal with insurance claims on regular basis and decided to put our expertise and experience with marine insurances to good use; to help you.

Firstly, understand your insurance. Make sure you and your boat are adequately covered; damage, theft, other mishap and all. You need to consider the type of boat you have or are looking to purchase, the way you will be using your boat, will you need insurance for the content as well and so on. So do your research, get quotes and be diligent with the details of your insurance.

Once you have your insurance and are out on the water on your adequately insured boat, there is a couple of must-dos that you want to remember. All insurers have a 24/7 emergency line. Make sure you have the number for your insurer’s emergency line on your boat at all times. If you need it, you do not want to waste time.

Every time you make an insurance claim, you need to provide as much evidence as possible so make sure you take photographs, keep written records, have medical reports and receipts and anything else you think will be useful.

In a case of grounding, lightning strike, collision or other unfortunate mishap, stay calm and record and photograph all damage, exchange details with other parties if necessary and report the incident to your insurer.

If your boat was stolen, vandalised or in a serious accident, you need to contact the police without delay to report the incident. Retain a copy of the Police Report to send to your insurance company.

So how can we at Seatech Marine make this process easier for you? While you have to make the initial contact with your insurer and get a claim number, we can take it from there. We are insurance certified to deal with most major marine insurers. After your initial contact with the insurance company, we are your full-service provider and will deal with all aspects of the process; liaise with the insurance assessor, provide the required paperwork and undertake the approved work. The only thing for you to consider is where to go on your next day out on the water!

Something worth reminding though; you can’t rely on your insurance policy to cover damage that is your fault. If you failed to properly maintain a vessel or its equipment, you may be unable to recover your losses. Keep on top of servicing and maintenance, know your insurance coverage and let us do the hard work for you!