Real Claim Stories - Steering pedestal damage during winter racing

This resulted in damage to the pedestal and associated fittings. A winch handle was also lost overboard and fittings on the mainsail were damaged.

How did the customer contact us?

The customer called us following the incident and spoke directly with a member of our claims team, who was able to start dealing with the claim straight away.

How did we help?

• Responded quickly and appointed a local surveyor to assess the damage.
• Worked around the customer’s availability to arrange access to the yacht for the inspection.
• Reviewed the surveyor’s findings and the options for repairing or replacing the damaged steering pedestal.
• Discussed the options with the customer and explained how the claim would respond depending on whether repair or replacement proved the most economical solution.
• Once it was established that repair was not economical, agreed the replacement and associated repair work.
• Worked with the customer, boatbuilder and other parties involved to keep the repair progressing.
• Made stage payments when requested as the repairs progressed, before promptly settling the remaining balance once the work was complete.

Was there anything particularly noteworthy?

We worked closely with the customer, surveyor and boatbuilder to establish the most practical and economical solution. Once it became clear that repairing the existing steering pedestal was not economical, the replacement and associated work were agreed.

However, the pedestal could not simply be replaced with an off-the-shelf component. A bespoke replacement had to be manufactured in Estonia and shipped to Guernsey, adding another layer to the claim.

As well as working with the boatbuilder to settle the cost, we helped the customer deal with the import duties in Guernsey so that the repair could progress.

The customer subsequently left us a 5-star Google review, highlighting the way the claim was handled: