Stolen Bass Boat

[bac]

I have been the unfortunate victim of boat theft. I took my new '05 bass boat back to the dealer for what was initially going to be a minor fix that would take 30 minutes. Therefore I had all of my equipment in the boat and had every intention of bringing the boat back home. However, upon inspection by the dealer we aggreed that the boat had issues that would not allow me to take it back home and it needed to be left at the dealer. I left all my equipment in the boat with all rod boxes locked up. Someone stole my boat while it was at the dealer. Has anyone ever had this happen to them or does anyone know of anyone that has had this happen. The dealership has been extremely appolagetic and they have told that their insurance will cover the boat and the tackle. However, the insurance company has not verified that yet....I will be talking with them early next week. I want to prepare myself for the insurance company response. I was told to make a list of contents and you would be amazed at the value of the contents that you can collect in your boat over a few years.

Does anyone have any advice or input on what I should expect?

[dpage70]

i am far from an insurance expert but i do know a little bit about it. if the insurance company does not pay for your boat and tackle then get a lawyer. unless you signed some form of waiver then the boat dealer, if i'm not mistaken, took on responsiblity for your boat when you left it in their possesion. i have heard of a few dealers around e-town here where i live who would make you sign waivers, but needless to say they are no longer in business. basically if for some reason their insurance won't pay i would bet that you could take the dealer to court and get your money for the boat since it IS their property that the boat was stolen off of.

[busman1]

I had some fishing tackle stolen from me. After you give the insurance company the total,they will deduct 33% for depreciation. So be aware of this going in. You may want to settle with them on replacement value. You will have to do a lot of leg work to get current replacement costs, but that better than a 33% depreciation.
Hope this helps some.

[Don Smith]

Please let us know a description of the boat, motor and trailer. As well as a description of the major items that were in the boat. Such as rod and reels, graphs, and such as that. You never know when such items will show up at a local pawn shop, or at the ramp at a Friday night tournament

I am sure everyone here will keep their eyes and ears open.

Hope you the best of luck with the insurance company.

Don

[MsgMills]

Might sound silly, but I laid out all my rods, life jackets, anchors, tackle boxes by type of lure while opened and anything else of importance and snapped pictures with a digital camera. That way when it came time for an inventory of what I had in the boat if anything like this might happen I had my inventory handy fast. Plus The Insurance Company can't say that sure right you owned a $200.00 to $500.00 reel combo outfit... Or you owned a certain Fish/GPS graph, pictures don't lie.... My input...

[bac]

Thanks for all the responses.....I agree on taking pic's of all your equipment. You don't realize how much you accumulate.....the contents of my boat, as I start listing things, will be in the mid-to-upper 4 digits. As for info on the boat and contents I will give you some of the basics and the major items: 2005 Stratos 285 ProXL w/ Yamaha 150 ProV (Blue/Silver/Gold Boat). Boat has a keel guard that is starting to peel off in one spot. Contents included 12 rods and reels (Reels varied: Curado's, Chronarch's, Citica's, Brownings....Rods also varied: All-Star, St. Croix, Team Diawa, and BPS rods). They got my brand new GPS GlobalMap that I just installed 4 weeks ago, I would estimate that there were 10 Plano boxes filled with Crankbaits and two very large plastic tubs filled with misc plastics. Not to mention items like rainsuits, scales, net, etc........

My only hope is that insurance companies understand the value and amount of equipment that avid fisherman carry in their boat.

Regards,

Brent Carlton

[Chubminnow]

I wouldn't even begin to be able to put a dollar amount on all of my tackle...The rods and reels, boat, motor, etc would all be somewhat easy to figure out, but how in the world would a guy start putting a price on the lures, hooks, knives and all other gadgetry associated with fishing that can fit inside the tackle box...I guess you don't have to be exact, it's just your word anyway...No matter what dollar amount you end up arriving at, the insurance company is going to find someway to not give you the full amount of all your tackle.

This is an interesting subject and I would appreciate it if you report back on your progress with the dealer and/or the insurance company...if you don't mind my asking, can you share with us which dealer the boat was stolen from?

[justfishin]

I am sorry that your boat was stolen, unfortunetly we livwe in a state that law enforcement folks work hard at trying to recover.back in 02 I had a 14ft jonboat that we used to run trot line on Barren river lake. after crashing for the night we secured the boat to a tree with a chain and lock since they could not have the whole hor they just took the motor gas tanks and a few other items, reported it missing it took a deputy 4 hours to work us in and told us that we would never see the motor again since the gang that work the lake haul it to TN and sell it domn there. now every six months we get a phone call from the Sherriff asking if we had found the motor yet, and we thought that was thier job!

[easy_13]

It's been a five or six years since I had boat insurance (State Farm). They would only let me insure the boat and trailer; not any of its contents. The agent did let me name the dollar figure myself, however, so I just added 4 grand on for gear/tackle.

[bac]

I will keep everyone informed on how the insurance company and the boat dealer handle this situation. My hope is that the Insurance company is going to replace the tackle and that the boat dealer will work with me to replace the boat at no additional cost. If all goes well I will singing the praises of the dealer....if not then I will be singing a different tune.

[motalot]

I would go to Bass Pro Shop and let them know what happened. They may make a deal for you. Tell them you are posting on here as well. They may like the advertisment and make you a great deal on the whole package. It would also be the only way to assure you have everything on a list if you didn't take any pictures.

[GeoFisher]

Man.........that ####.

Here is my take on insurance. I've added a rider for $5000.00 for ANY stuff not covered by the boat insurance, or my home owners insurance. You should DEFINITELY look into something like this rider.

I was told that the boat insurance will only cover stuff that is bolted down in the boat......specifically, fishing gear, tackle, portable electronics, etc......are not covered. Not only that, but most home owners policies will not cover the boat while on the road.

Finally, MAKE sure you checkout the coverage while trailering the boat. Some policies rely on auto insurance for this, and MOST auto insurance does NOT cover towed vehicles.

Bottom LINE........make sure you check with you insurance and BE SURE YOU ASK specific questions about coverage.

BTW.......I've been using State Farm for everything, house, boat, auto, rider, canoe, etc........And they are GREAT.

I've made claims against by boat owners insurance for a blown motor (plastic into the impeller), to bonehead mistakes like accidentally catching/throwing rods in the water.

Later,