A boat owner will be covered for damage caused by a bouncing Esky after challenging his insurer’s argument the loss was caused by wear and tear and construction issues.  

The claimant said the 40kg cooler caused floor damage by tumbling around the pleasure craft while it was in transit.

But a Club Marine assessor found the boat’s “aft bearer” did not provide adequate support, and parts of the floor were secured only by two nails and epoxy. There was a “visible gap” in another part of the flooring, which suggested delamination.

The assessor concluded the floor damage was primarily caused by wear and tear, stating the Esky could not have caused the delamination or structural integrity issues.

A second expert arranged by the insurer found the cockpit floor lacked adequate support due to its poor construction and “ongoing loading from heavy objects or foot traffic likely caused flexing and cracking of the fibreglass”.  

In a dispute ruling, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority says the insurer’s experts did not show wear and tear was the primary cause, noting they provided “minimal commentary on the extent to which any such wear and tear caused the floor to ultimately fail”.

It added: “While the insurer’s experts say the subfloor was inadequately constructed, the insurer did not show what regulations were not met.

“Likewise, the insurer’s experts did not show to what extent any wear and tear present contributed to the failure of the floor, or that the proximate cause of the damage was delamination.

“Accordingly, it would not be fair to allow the insurer to rely upon the exclusions it raised to decline the claim.”  

The claimant also sought $2985 for losses incurred facilitating the insurer’s assessments, including travel, storage, missed work and cartons of beer he gave to friends who helped move the boat.  

However, AFCA has rejected this, saying it was reasonable for the insurer to inspect the boat as part of its claim assessment.

See the decision here.