Marina Fire in Michigan

[Seevee]

Just saw this:


https://www.9and10news.com/2020/12/...d-as-fire-crews-battle-monroe-co-marina-fire/


I'm sure there are better details, but this is scary.

 

[IRENE]

Thanks for posting.

I worked at that marina, and stored a 16 Donzi in that building!

Hope the firefighters were unscathed.

 

[Jeff F]

Wow. That shed is likely full of boats. That's a big operation.

 

[Lollygag1]

Back in the 90’s there was a large fire on New Years in East Greenwich. I hade a couple of customers who lost boats that eve.

 

[SoWhat]

Helicopter footage - https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=494138364890931&ref=watch_permalink

200+ boats toasted. Fire dept concedes they may never know the cause.

 

[O C Diver]

Having never kept a boat in a winter storage building like that, I'm wondering how the insurance liability works. Does the marina have a policy to cover a loss of that magnitude? Does the boat owner agree to a liability limit when storing his boat in a facility like that? Does owner sign a contract where the coverage is 100% on his own boat insurance policy?

Ted

 

[Mischief Managed]

That's where I bought my current boat 2 years ago. It was stored in a building adjacent to the one that burned. Such a bummer. Those buildings are huge.

 

[Seevee]

Ted,


Yes, that could be an insurance nightmare if the marina were responsible. I'd be surprised if they don't throw the insurance responsibility on the owners.


However, with some 200 boats, there certainly could be a few companies that have several losses with a fire of this magnitude.



What a shame.

 

[AlanT]

Having never kept a boat in a winter storage building like that, I'm wondering how the insurance liability works. Does the marina have a policy to cover a loss of that magnitude? Does the boat owner agree to a liability limit when storing his boat in a facility like that? Does owner sign a contract where the coverage is 100% on his own boat insurance policy?

Ted

The marina will certainly have a policy to cover their liability. However more to the point - The marina almost certainly requires in their contracts that the boat owner add the marina as an additional insured to the Boat Owner's Insurance polity, likely with a waiver of subrogation in favor of the marina. As a consequence of that the inevitable insurance claims would play out like this: Boat owner claims on his/her insurance. Boat owner's insurance (BOI) pays the claim for loss of the boat and salvage costs and starts thinking about subrogating against the potentially liable parties. BOI can not subrogate against another insured on the policy and notes that BOI has added marina as an insured. Therefore BOI cannot proceed against Marina. BOI then looks at other potential sources of liability. Can another boat owner (BO2) be held responsible for starting the fire? If so BOI subrogates against BO2. BO2 passes this claim to his/her insurer. Insurers exchange allegations and ultimately apportion the insurance claim between them. Meanwhile the marina's insurance pays for the physical damage to the docks, and works with individual boat owners and their insurances regarding the costs to remove the presumably sunk boats. Those expenses would be recoverable by the marina from the BOI. ~Alan

 

[O C Diver]

The marina will certainly have a policy to cover their liability. However more to the point - The marina almost certainly requires in their contracts that the boat owner add the marina as an additional insured to the Boat Owner's Insurance polity, likely with a waiver of subrogation in favor of the marina. As a consequence of that the inevitable insurance claims would play out like this: Boat owner claims on his/her insurance. Boat owner's insurance (BOI) pays the claim for loss of the boat and salvage costs and starts thinking about subrogating against the potentially liable parties. BOI can not subrogate against another insured on the policy and notes that BOI has added marina as an insured. Therefore BOI cannot proceed against Marina. BOI then looks at other potential sources of liability. Can another boat owner (BO2) be held responsible for starting the fire? If so BOI subrogates against BO2. BO2 passes this claim to his/her insurer. Insurers exchange allegations and ultimately apportion the insurance claim between them. Meanwhile the marina's insurance pays for the physical damage to the docks, and works with individual boat owners and their insurances regarding the costs to remove the presumably sunk boats. Those expenses would be recoverable by the marina from the BOI. ~Alan

That all sounds good and thank you for your explanation. Wonder if it stands up in court with the insurance companies of 200 boats collectively claiming criminal (intentional) negligence for the marina not having adequate fire suppression systems (sprinklers).

Ted

 

[Rufus]

The first thing I thought of when I saw this string was building heaters, although it's probably early to have them running. We moved our boat to a new to us winter storage facility for this season. The main thing I looked for in their buildings was a redundant heating system in the event of failure in the primary heaters. Then I read the contract more closely and noted the hold harmless lingo, which according to other boat owners was new for this winter. Some of them were winterizing their boats inside a heated storage building. I spoke with the owner about back up heating and he said he has portable heaters. They normally keep the buildings in the 45-50 degree range, so they have time to "fire" up the kickers if necessary.

 

[Comodave]

We store our boat in a unheated storage barn. We do use a portable heater when we are in the boat working but it is never on if we aren’t there. We go work on the boat probably 5 days a week or so. We go through a bunch of the 1 pound propane tanks each year.

 

[slowgoesit]

They're darned lucky that the fire didn't spread to the adjacent buildings!