Wind, Waves and Insurance?

Well, I spent Saturday and Sunday preparing Mom and Dad's lake home for a Summer of family fun and bonding. I was very happy that everything seemed to be in good shape and that I would not be spending a lot of time fixing things like usual... (rare if you use/rent/own lake property...) The docks went in, the lifts were good, and the boat & jet ski were running. Life was GREAT when I came back Monday !!!

Oh what a difference a day makes !!! About noon on Tuesday, the folks call me to say that the wind is severe and coming straight down the lake. (~40 mph w/ near 50 mph gusts) About 3 PM they call and say that I should run out there because the front cross beam on the lift broke and dropped the front of my boat into the water/whitecaps. And worse yet, the jet ski dock caught the boat rub rail on the way down and peeled the top of the hull away from the bottom.

I got there around 7:30 PM to find my boat like the pictures below. Somewhat worse than I imagined... The upside was that the electrical, engine, battery and stern drive seemed pretty safe, secure and relatively dry. I was surprised but not dismayed. (ie my pragmatic just fix it self...) My parents, my friend (Tim) and I got to work. (thanks for the help !!!) We turned on the bilge pump, lowered the back end, bailed with a bucket and thankfully the boat started up and was operational!!! We put it on the trailer and I was back in the cities by 12:30 in the morning.

Now... In general, this post is just an interesting story. Yet there is a topic involved. On Wednesday I spent a few hours agonizing over whether to call my insurance agent and claim the damage. I know it is strange, but the potential for increased premiums made me stop and think. Is it really worth it? I mean I can fix it with some pop rivets, fiberglass, resin, gelcoat paint, sand paper, etc.

I finally did decide to claim it due to the extensive nature of the body damage. Now I am waiting to see what the Adjuster thinks, and to see if it negatively impacts any of my premiums? (hopefully not) Now isn't it odd that we buy insurance to handle accidents like this, yet we have to be concerned that some actuary is going to jack our rates for claiming our rightful portion of the insurance pool? Thoughts?