Insurance Questions

W

Westfield 11

New member
I am familiar with the need for a good comprehensive policy on a vessel that is living on a mooring, after all it could sink at any time. But what about a trailer boat that spends 80% or more of it's life on land? The risks at sea of both boats may be similar, but one has road hazards (!!!) that the other does not. Once the cost gets up near or over $100k I would not feel comfortable self-insuring even if I didn't have a lender requiring that I carry a policy to protect their loan.

What are the legal requirements and how have people dealt with them? Any companies better than other? Or worse? Essentially I know nothing about RV-type trailers either, what have you learned over the years?
 
There are many good insurance companies for trailer boats. I used Allstate for the 15 years that I owned my 22 cruiser.

The boat, motor and trailer are insured for damage by the boat insurance policy. Liability while operating the boat is covered by the boat policy. Liability while trailering is covered by the insurance on the truck while towing.

I would not operate a boat without liability insurance. A boating accident, like a car accident, could expose you to a lawsuit and possible loss of all your assets.
 
Larry H":3bjwc4ji said:
I would not operate a boat without liability insurance. A boating accident, like a car accident, could expose you to a lawsuit and possible loss of all your assets.
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Amen, Brother. I would never be w/o liability coverage, but how many also carry collision? It's one thing on a 14' skiff, another all together on a CD-25 or TC.
 
TO MY KNOWLEDGE THERE'S NO FEDERAL REQUIREMENT TO HAVE INSURANCE ON A NON-COMMERCIAL BOAT. THERE MAY HOWEVER BE A STATE REQUIREMENT, BUT NONE THAT I AM AWARE OF. IF YOU HAVE A LIEN ON YOUR BOAT, NORMALLY THE LIENHOLDER WILL REQUIRE PHYSICAL DAMAGE COVERAGE. WHEN THE TRAILER IS ATTACHED TO A VEHICLE, LIABILITY COVERAGE IS EXTENDED FROM THAT TOW VEHICLE'S POLICY. IF THE TRAILER IS DISCONNECTED, SAY, AT A CAMP SITE, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY COVERAGE, UNLESS YOU HAVE PURCHASED A BOAT POLICY. BOAT POLICIES GENERALLY COVER BOTH LIABILITY AS WELL A PHYSICAL DAMAGE COVERAGE. MY RECOMMENDATION IS FOR YOU TO PURCHASE AS MUCH LIABILITY AS YOU CAN REASONABLY AFFORD. I HAVE 3,000,000.
AS THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR VESSEL YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH PASSENGER, ANY PROPERTY DAMAGE INCLUDING POLLUTION, ALL OF WHICH CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE TO MAKE WHOLE AGAIN.
DEAL WITH A COMPANY THAT IS AT LEAST "A" RATED. IF YOUR AGENT DOESN'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN I/O AND A OUTBOARD, GET A DIFFERENT AGENT. HOPE THIS HELPS
GOOD LUCK
PAT
 
Westfield,

Unless you can pay cash for your boat, your lender is probably going to insist that you get comprehensive to cover them should something happen to your boat. I have a loan on my boat, so I have comprehensive. I would probably carry it anyway, because replacing the boat would be a financial strain and the policy wasn't as expensive as I would have thought.

I've had Boat U.S. in the past, also Progressive but now I have Travelers. All were good. Boat U.S. was the most expensive, which is why I originally switched away from them.
 
We use State Farm for our insurance on the C-Dory - mostly because they have no exclusions in US waters/roads and up to 75 miles off shore. As has been mentioned, no liability insurance could bankrupt you. I carry the same limits on our boat that we have on our vehicles. And yes, collision and comprehensive coverage, including while trailering. If it would cause you a big hurt to lose the boat, you should have insurance to cover the loss.
 
We happen to use Progressive. Boat insurance is difficult to get in Florida after all of the big storms a few years ago. We use International Marine Insurance-Al Golden in Maryland and he checks out all of the various policies to get us the best "deal". Our trailer is covered on the boat policy, including towing if necessary. The RV and auto policies cover the trucks we tow with. I would say that liability is a necessity in todays world. Also some marinas require insurance.
 
I can not recommend progressive. What I would recommend is insuring your home auto and boat with the same company for several reasons. You will get discounts, you may save a deductible if more than one policy is involved and you will have less of a fight getting extra coverage for contents in the event you exceed the boat policy limits. In terms of liability limits, 3 million is a nice amount though 1 million should do it except in the most extreme situation.
 
Capital Sea":3q8rfqv5 said:
I can not recommend progressive.
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Capital Sea, I am curious as to why you would not recommend Progressive Insurance. I do know from previous "threads" about boat insurance on this site that many C-Brats have Progressive and in at least one instance one of our members had a loss and was (if I remember correctly) totally satisfied with Progressive's response to his claim.

I changed from Boat US to Progressive a couple of years ago and saved approx. $250. on the premium and came out with far better/greater coverage than I previously had.

Westfield 11,
If you explore the "Search" feature in the heading above you will find numerous threads that have addressed Boat Insurance previously and I am certain that you will find a wealth of information and opinions (not that we as C-Brats have any opinions.....LOL :mrgreen: )

Hope all of this is a help to you.
 
You may get discounts for multiple cars but I have been a USAA customer for many (40) years and their boat insurance was more expensive than Progressive by far. Sailboat and TC255 on one policy.

Charlie
 
The March Sea, page 62, article "Insurance & Finance Boo-Boos" provides some good reasons to consider boat insurance independently from home/auto. I've got my boat on a policy with the same company that does my home and auto and I am planning to change for several of the reasons cited, including a lack of flexibility when it comes to destinations such as the Bahamas, Mexico, etc. Also when I asked them about agreed value they basically said, "trust us". Yeah, right.

Warren
 
As Charlie, I have also had USAA for 90% of our insurance and love the company. But they sub out their "yacht" insurance, and you can do better. (One of my neighbors, a retired Captain, was not happy with USAA coverage during Ivan...but he had a massive loss due to flooding).

I did have a claim with Progressive, plus I talked to a number of folks who had total losses with Progressive after Hurricane Ivan--and they all seemed to be as satified as you can be when there is a total loss.

My claim involved stripping the gears in the lower unit of a Bravo III outdrive, when a piece of hurricane debris (1.5" diameter) was caught between the counter rotating props and stalled out the engine--and stripped a gear tooth. I wasn't going to submit the claim, but my mechanic told me they would pay--and they did, all but my deductable.
Progressive was 50% of Boat US for the same coverage. Florida may be a different market, but my experience has been good.
 
I use a MA based broker called Aero Marine Insurance. They have been proactive and notify me when they find better rates with other providers. They will be using Travelers for my new Tomcat.

If interested my rep's name is Stanley Ashman. This guy conducts business the way we all hope people would conduct business...I call at 9am on a Saturday he returns my call by 9:15 for example. I have had only excellent customer service from them. I have never had to file a claim however.

I endorse the above with no benefit or gain whatsoever, they just happened to offer me excellent customer service and I have been using them for 8 years.
 
For what it's worth, State Farm covers you 60 miles offshore and about the same into Canada and Mexico. When we were looking for insurance that was a rarity, but something we use.

We did have a claim with them, and they were helpful. The adjuster said that I could shop around for the best yard (big sailboat, not trailerable,) and they would pay for the towing, which was a hint I should have taken.

They even returned the deductible 2 years later, when the guy who pronged us finally paid up. Judy got the money, not me.

Boris
 
thataway":129kjti5 said:
Progressive was 50% of Boat US for the same coverage. Florida may be a different market, but my experience has been good.
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Bob, have you looked into the availability and cost of riders for trips to Mexico, the Bahamas, Alaska, etc.? That is important to me. From what I have heard Boat/US will cover you anywhere you want to go, but Progressive will not.

Warren
 
We have a policy from Progressive insurance on our TC255. The coverage is nation wide and on both coasts out to 75 miles. It also covers Canada. We also have our inflatable (8.5' and 2HP Honda) and our Tracker Targa 17' (w/90HP Mercury) on the same policy. The total for all three boats is just over $600.00 per year. Yes it also covers $300,000.00 liability on each boat. The deductable is reduced 1/4th each year you don't have a claim.

On the TomCat 24' we had Boat US. They wanted a different rider for for each coast, and also for Canada, plus the cost was $200.00 more per year, and that was for the single boat. They had massive losses from the 2005 hurricanes, and the costs reflected it.
 
several years ago, there was a fire aboard a large houseboat, docked at lees ford marina, lake cumberland. when the fire department finally arrived they witnessed four houseboats on fire including the dock. when all was said and done, four houseboats were destroyed, several pwc and one runabout, all toasted beyond recognition. all owners, including the marina, had insurance and all companies promptly paid there insureds for the damage to their property, as well as loss of income to the marina. pollution had occurred and i'm not sure if the boat owner, where the fire originated, was fined by the uscg, for same, (note, i have no knowledge of any insurance company policy that pays for your fines).
the insurance companies which paid for their insureds losses, caused by another boater, all have the opportunity to subrogate (litigate) their (payout) losses, back to the boat owner where this fire originally occurred. total damage far exceeded 1,000,000. had someone been injured or worst yet, killed, you could only imagine what figures might be placed on that settlement.
so, when you tie up at a marina, take on fuel, stay for the evening, or just long enough for lunch, #%*& can happen. does it happen all the time, like an irs audit, no, but if it happens to you, that's all that counts.
so, this thread has more issues than a new york news stand, and each one goes in a different direction.
hope this gives food for thought!
pat
 
One of the best deals on insurance comes from the U.S. Power Squadron.
You have to compete their safe boating course and join your local squadron, but I found that the cost of insurance was almost half of what I was quoted by Boat US and a local insurer specializing in marine insurance. As an added bonus, by taking additional courses with the Power Squadron there are additional discounts each year. I guess a well educated boater is less of a risk for the insurer.
Jim
 
I have progressive and can't really comment on if they are good or not because so far I've never had a claim. I figure that's when you find out how good a company or your coverage is. One thing I did not see mentioned in this thread (maybe I missed it) is that there are different coverage for replacing your boat should something happen to it. There's agreed upon value's, depreciated values ect. Basically you want to be able to replace your boat with minimal costs. I have been told that a person should really consider purchasing a yacht policy. They are only slightly more expensive but are more inclusive. Just a thought.

I'm posting a post from another boating forum I frequent. I believe there is some good info in there for all of us. I don't think I've ever read the fine print in my policy before.

------------------------------------------

First off, I'm a marine insurance guy, and this post is about education.

I do presentations for yacht clubs and other organizations about insurance, and EVERY boat owner needs to read and understand their policy- before you need it. Hopefully this will be made a sticky topic.

I just had a call from the Vice Commodore of an Idaho anglers association about a situation he's going thru. He owns a newer aluminum pilothouse boat- 200hp outboard, full electronics, downriggers, etc- $70k worth of boat, engine, trailer, and accessories. It was afloat in Lake CdA, and being used for winter fishing.

On Superbowl Sunday, the boat was resting comfortably in its slip. The next day, the boat was on the bottom.

Cause of loss: a thru-hull had failed from repeated freezing and warming, allowing water into the boat.

Claim-DENIED. He was covered by a boat policy from his normal insurance guy; that policy had a specific exclusion clause for Idaho regarding freezing claims. So, he's had to pay out of pocket for salvage, transport to a boatyard, storage, and teardown of the engine...and there's more to come. He thought he was covered.

Note I said he had a boat policy- not a yacht policy. In short, he probably would have been fully covered under a yacht policy, as most yacht policies don't have that exclusion regarding freezing. Further, the yacht policy would have covered the salvage, transport, pollution spill, storage, and repairs.

Yacht= coverage type, not boat size. My personal 24' Trophy is on a yacht policy.
Yacht= agreed valuation payout in the event of a total loss, without depreciation or deductible.
Boat= depreciated payout in the event of a total loss (similar to your auto insurance policy).

READ YOUR POLICY. Ask your agent if your policy is a boat or yacht policy. Ask about how your policy pays you in the event of a total loss and partial loss. Ask about your navigation limits- especially since most of us like to trek offshore in search of the almightly longfin. Ask him/her if the boat is covered if you let a friend borrow the boat.

Most personal lines insurers (State Farm, Allstate, Foremost, Safeco, Pemco, etc) offer boat policies.

I don't represent the guy that had the loss- but his situation is a good example of what can happen. Insurance needs to be there when you need it- and this guy (so far) has gotten screwed.

The season is coming up fast- I really don't want to read about any of us that have a loss, and get the short end of the stick.
 
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