You have probably heard the
oft-quoted legend that
warns you about getting hit with a claim for salvage
when you thought you were just in a basic towing situation.
Salvage law is very
complicated, in fact most practicing attorneys realize that it is so
specialized that they will refer any maritime
salvage case that crosses their desk to a firm that does nothing but
admiralty law work.
Let's start by rating who knows the
most about what defines a salvage situation:
(from most to least)
-
Admiralty lawyers.
-
Marine insurance companies
and marine towing/salvage companies.
-
Your brother-in-law,
neighbor in the next slip, fishing buddy or any other
self-proclaimed expert who is
not included in 1 or 2 above.
If you can come to terms with the fact that your knowledge of maritime salvage law may be
equal to your knowledge of astro-physics then you must protect
yourself:
-
Insure your boat!
-
Insure your boat!!
-
INSURE YOUR BOAT!!!
If you do have a mishap
and the
responding towing/salvage company believes it is a salvage situation as
opposed to
a routine casualty or covered towing they can seek payment from your
insurance company (if you adequately insured).
Your insurance company is not in the
business of paying out money for no reason. In fact, they will try their
best to refuse to pay the claim or to pay the least amount they can to settle the
claim. If your insurance company and the salvage company cannot
agree then they may elect to submit the claim to an arbitration board
and have the claim decided
by admiralty law experts.
Your obligation is to report the facts
of your mishap honestly (keep in mind that the salvage company will
have taken photos or have video footage of the before and after
conditions) and then step back and let your insurance company decide
how to handle it.
You have already paid your insurance
premium now let them earn it.
