Geico
We lost our Mainship 34 to Florence. Had Geico through BoatUS. We purchased it in March, and had just completed prepping the boat for the Fall cruising season. I contacted them about the loss, and sent photos to show it sunk at it's slip. Weeks went by without hearing anything. Stopping by the boat one day (1/2 mile from the house) we found it in the process of being raised. The crew said it was being taken to a local boat yard. Called Geico multiple times before getting connected to anyone in the Catastrophe Team handling my boat. I wanted them to know the condition of the boat before the storm, as we had just purchased it in March and had a good survey, plus I had done a lot of work to her. The survey valued the boat at $28 to $30K. Geico said send them any information I thought was important. I sent copies of pages from the survey. I sent copies of pages from the log books to show a 240hp Perkins installed in1993, and a new tranny in 1999. Also sent pictures of the manuals. I also sent a detailed listing of my work, including replacing all four ports, four house bank batteries, and one engine start battery. They came back with a value of $24,500, which I refused. I was dealing with a middle man (Justin) who was nice enough, but had no authority to change anything. I said it was ludicrous that the boat would devalue that much in 7 months, especially since I had done nothing but repair and upgrade the boat since owning it. A few days later, they came back with an offer of $27,500, which I refused. When I brought up my list of improvements, Justin said their surveyor said all that was "routine maintenance" and not improvements. I was stunned at such an idiotic statement, and told him so. I also stated that I could not replace my boat with another Mainship with lesser equipment and value with what they were offering. Justin said to send proof of that. So I copied ads for the three 1978 Mainships on Yachtworld, all with original 160 hp engines, averaging $30K, and sent it to them, along with a scathing letter expressing my dissatisfaction with the process. My key element was their surveyor looking at the boat without contacting me. He knew nothing of it's condition or equipment, just went by the sodden hulk sitting on the hard. I also told them I would accept $32K as a fair price. A few days later, a woman called and offered $31K, which I accepted, less 5% deductable for a named storm. This process took over three weeks to resolve, and I know they have a lot of claims to resolve. But I feel they tried to low ball me and get on with other claims. A little communication early on could have made a terrible situation easier to cope with. As it was, even though I eventually got what I thought was a fair price, the aggravation and time consumed fighting them has jaded me on ever doing business with them again. All I can say is keep good records and all your receipts, and keep fighting until you get satisfaction.
