What's the normal procedure for a bent mast?

I haven't had that many dealings with boat insurers, I'm clearly a more cautious or just less exciting sailor than Sam, but they've all been good. Prompt replacement, little argument. Best exemplified by an experience last summer where someone hit my boat on its mooring, causing damage. I spent months trying to get him to respond and act. I got back endless proposed fudges and claims that his insurers were terrible and he didn't want to deal with them. When he finally gave in months later I had an email direct from his insurers within an hour of him contacting them telling me to deal directly with them in future and to just send the invoice once the work was complete (which was paid promptly once they had it)