Severe rain and weather: If you are a Vero customer and need to claim, fill out our online claims form Claims | Vero or contact your broker.
Marine Liability Claims
If you’re involved in an incident where you might be at fault, don’t worry. As long as you’re safe and sound, we can sort out the rest.
Things to do before you make a marine liability claim
Act quickly!
Take steps to stop any further damage and do everything you can to safely look after any insured property or boat.
Don’t admit fault.
Even if you think you’re at fault, don’t say anything until you’ve spoken with us and you’ve heard back from us in writing. Don’t pay, settle, or make any deals that could be seen as admitting you’re responsible for what happened. If you don’t follow these instructions, we might not accept your insurance claim.
Gather evidence and documents.
Take photographs or videos of any damage. Get print-outs from your boat’s electronic equipment and names of any witnesses. You can also draw diagrams of what happened or make notes on marine charts.
Get the names, contact numbers, and insurance details of anyone involved.
If you think there could be a claim against you under the third party legal liability section of your policy, follow Vero’s marine liability claims process below. If you get any emails or letters from third parties who are involved, send them on to us. We’ll handle it.
Information you need to make a marine liability claim
- Letter of demand from third party
- Repair quotes from third party
- Accident/incident report/statutory notice
- Witness statements
- Please attach a separate sketch scene of accident including photographs
Our simple marine liability claims process steps:
You should follow this process if you are insured with a Vero Marine legal liability insurance policy; or insured under the 'third party legal liability' section of another Vero marine policy.
1
Let us know what happened as soon as you can by email or telephone. Have your policy number and claim details ready. For after-hours emergency assistance in New Zealand, call Sedgwick on 0800 800 270.
2
We’ll review the details of your claim against your policy to see how we can help. If there are any issues, we’ll call you to talk through them, to discuss your options, and to let you know what you need to do next.
3
After we’ve reviewed the details of your claim against your policy, we might ask you for more information before we settle the claim. We’ll let you know what documentation we need. If your claim is accepted, we’ll ask you for your bank account details so we can settle your claim by bank transfer.
4
Hopefully the most stressful part is now over. Using the information you provide to us, we’ll work hard to put things right as fast as we can. We’ll be in touch so you know what’s happening at every step of the way.
Making a marine liability claim against one of our customers
If you believe that a person or company we insure is legally responsible for any injury, loss, damage, or expense:
1
Take the names and contact details of any witnesses.
2
If you are insured yourself, contact your insurer and tell them what happened. They might advise you to contact your lawyer.
3
Contact our client immediately and let them know you’ll be making a claim.
4
Take photographs and videos, or draw diagrams of the damage to help show what happened.
5
Make a formal complaint in writing to the senior management of the company you think is responsible. The more detail you have, the better.
6
Let us thoroughly investigate your claim using our surveyor. We need as much information as possible to determine the right policy response. If we can’t investigate your claim properly, the claim process can take longer, or you might lose your legal right to claim.
Brokers and advisers can find more documents in the Broker & Adviser Centre
