Strange Claims Indeed 8

September 2, 2008

During a late-autumn storm while Chris Fletcher, account manager, HRH of Connecticut, attended is freshman year at college; a small tree fell in his yard back home.

Unfortunately, the tree fell directly upon his 14′ single-handed racing sailboat, stowed away for the season.

The force of the tree onto the hull split the bottom of the fiberglass boat, dislodged some of the internal cross members, and cracked the deck. The hull was clearly not worth repairing, and he filed a claim with the insurance company.

He purchased a yacht policy from Mutual Marine Office (MMO) through his dad, an account executive at A&A. Even with a purchase price of nearly $900 (not much now, but it seemed a lot back then), it seemed prudent to insure its value.

When John Blackman, the president of MMO, saw the claim file, he denied any payment declaring the vessel “untreeworthy”.

After tense moment followed by a few laughs at Dad’s expense, John authorized the settlement in full.

Then, after a few laughs at John’s expense, Chris took the abandoned hull and rebuilt it during the off-season.

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