Feeling burned by his insurance company

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - He wasn't burned by the flames, but a man close to a boat explosion that occurred in South Haven over the fall now says his insurance company is burning him.

The owner of the boat suffered serious burns when the boat exploded, and a woman and child inside the boat were also injured, but now another boat owner nearby on that afternoon says he's dealing with financial damage.

The boat sits in storage, but the damage from the explosion is still evident, the plexi-glass is gone, the fiberglass is cracked and the cover has melted into the foam supports.

"I didn't hear a bang or a loud noise, all I heard was a whoosh," said Steven Eberhard, recalling the Sunday in October.

Eberhard first helped the three people injured in the accident.

"She was screaming for help and I said, 'jump in the water,'" Eberhard said.

Steven then turned his attention to his 44-foot boat, which was just two boats upriver from the flames.

"All I heard people saying was 'get your boat out of there, get your boat out of there," Eberhard said.

Today, Eberhard's boat sits on blocks in a warehouse. At his home in Jackson, he showed Newschannel 3 how the costs for repairs quickly added up, he estimates the total will be close to $50,000.

Eberhard has insurance with Foremost, but he says when he contacted him he was told something that surprised him.

"I has not been determined who is at fault, and I said, 'I wasn't at fault'" said Eberhard.

Eberhard says the claims adjuster told him that conclusion could take years, and that he now has to pay the two-percent deductible, which is about $4,000.

Eberhard says his option are either to wait for Foremost Insurance to pay or to sue the owner of the boat that exploded.

"Well I don't want to sue him, gee, he's had enough problems on his own," Eberhard said. "My boat was damaged, I was hurt, I was doing a kind deed, trying to help people and how do I get repaid?"

Eberhard says that none of the other boat owners with damages have had problems with their insurance companies, and that includes the man whose boat exploded, a man Eberhard says also has a policy with Foremost.

Newschannel 3 left messages with officials at Farmers Insurance Group as well as with the Foremost Insurance Division, but did not hear back.