Legal Question in Insurance Law in Alabama

Deffinition of collision on a boat owners insurance policy.

Per the policy, "Collision means the upset of a watercraft or trailer or its impact with another watercraft or object".

While operating the boat under its own power the craft ran into/ran through fishing line discarded by someone other than the operator or passanger. The fishing ling became entangled in the prop cutting the seal resulting in loss of lower unit oil. The pinion gear among other gears and stuff was damaged.

Does hitting a fishing line meet the definition of "impact with another object".


Asked on 7/09/10, 2:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Murray Steven W. Murray, APC

In my opinion, yes. If the insurer wanted to limit the kind of objects being impacted, it could have said so. I don't practice in your state, but the line was obviously floating in the water like any other hazard to navigation. It wasn't lying on the bottom.

Having had similar experiences with buoy mooring lines, I think the insurer would be hard pressed to deny this claim. But I would research any Alabama cases to see if there is law to the contrary. And in some states, unreasonable coverage interpretations are bad faith. Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 7/09/10, 6:02 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Insurance Law questions and answers in Alabama