Like it or not, stuff happens. And sometimes it happens to your boat. More and more storms are hitting our shores these days, sometimes resulting in severe damage to marinas and the boats located there. And if it isn't the weather, sometimes boats get bumped by stuff in the water, on the bottom, or by other boats. These untoward events often result in a call to your insurance carrier for help. Who do you insure your boat with? Are you happy with the cost and service? Have you ever made a claim? If so, how well -- or not -- was it handled? While many insure their boats with marine insurance companies, others use brokers or the company they have their car or home insured with. Yet others self-insure. Tell us about your experience with insurance on your boat then take the Quick Quiz on the homepage. (Discussion topic and quiz by Warren Milberg)
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I have an old boat! and everytime I talk to an
insurer when I get to the part about it having been built in 1968 they tell me they can't underwrite boats older than------- and they name a date. But since I rebuilt it from a bare hull I figure that I can invest what I would spend on insurance premiums and make any repairs as they become needed.
insurer when I get to the part about it having been built in 1968 they tell me they can't underwrite boats older than------- and they name a date. But since I rebuilt it from a bare hull I figure that I can invest what I would spend on insurance premiums and make any repairs as they become needed.
State Farm also...
Three Lightning strikes. Two different boats. Each time resaulting in all electrics in the boats. Batteries, chargers, radios, auto pilots, lighting, refrigeration, GPS, etc. I pay $474 a year in Florida for a 1988 Hunter 28.5. I think that pretty good.
Three Lightning strikes. Two different boats. Each time resaulting in all electrics in the boats. Batteries, chargers, radios, auto pilots, lighting, refrigeration, GPS, etc. I pay $474 a year in Florida for a 1988 Hunter 28.5. I think that pretty good.
Progressive in Fla
Our 2004 260 is trailerable and is stored either on a dock lift or in the shop about 50/50. Shopped pretty hard and our rates are about $500 yrly, covering $30k loss and 300K liability. I would pull it out for any major storm so I think the highest risk of loss is when it's hurtling down the hwy to some new sailing spot at 60mph. Thankfully no claims in the three yrs we've been with them. Michael
Our 2004 260 is trailerable and is stored either on a dock lift or in the shop about 50/50. Shopped pretty hard and our rates are about $500 yrly, covering $30k loss and 300K liability. I would pull it out for any major storm so I think the highest risk of loss is when it's hurtling down the hwy to some new sailing spot at 60mph. Thankfully no claims in the three yrs we've been with them. Michael
Progressive In NY
I have progressive on my new hunter 36 here in NY with full replacement value and pay $800 this will be my first time with them. But I just found out they will not insure any boat over 30 ft or $100,000 in florida,Had I know that I would have gone some one else. Nick
I have progressive on my new hunter 36 here in NY with full replacement value and pay $800 this will be my first time with them. But I just found out they will not insure any boat over 30 ft or $100,000 in florida,Had I know that I would have gone some one else. Nick
BoatUS for Catalina 320
I pay approximately $1200 anually for my 2005 Catalina 320 that is insured for replacement value and not depreciated value. This is the 5th boat I've had with BoatUS and only one claim for a bent shaft and prop several boats ago that was promptly resolved. I'm also able to keep the boat in the water all year with no loss of insurance coverage. This is great because I like to pull out and land store every third year.
I pay approximately $1200 anually for my 2005 Catalina 320 that is insured for replacement value and not depreciated value. This is the 5th boat I've had with BoatUS and only one claim for a bent shaft and prop several boats ago that was promptly resolved. I'm also able to keep the boat in the water all year with no loss of insurance coverage. This is great because I like to pull out and land store every third year.
Insurance for me, boat is secondary
I see that everyone is mentioning coverage for damage to the boat. Myself, I am more concerned with damage my boat may cause to other things, people, and environmental polution. I carry $500K liability coverage with another $500K umbrella on top ( which covers car, house and boat liability). I pay about $750 to Zurich for agreed hull value of $45K, with 2% deductable, there is also $500 of tow coverage. The umbrella policy is separate.
I see that everyone is mentioning coverage for damage to the boat. Myself, I am more concerned with damage my boat may cause to other things, people, and environmental polution. I carry $500K liability coverage with another $500K umbrella on top ( which covers car, house and boat liability). I pay about $750 to Zurich for agreed hull value of $45K, with 2% deductable, there is also $500 of tow coverage. The umbrella policy is separate.
Agree with Scott ( I have BoatUS)
Liability is the greatest risk and with our litigious society and hungry laywers happy to take ANY case on contingency, you better make sure you're covered! I have coverage with BoatUS and an Umbrella through my homeowner's policy. Personally, I had an accident last fall... the other party was at fault... he admitted it.... both of us are covered with BoatUS and they payed me every penny of the estimate to have repaired and no deductible from me. I'm a satisfied customer!
Liability is the greatest risk and with our litigious society and hungry laywers happy to take ANY case on contingency, you better make sure you're covered! I have coverage with BoatUS and an Umbrella through my homeowner's policy. Personally, I had an accident last fall... the other party was at fault... he admitted it.... both of us are covered with BoatUS and they payed me every penny of the estimate to have repaired and no deductible from me. I'm a satisfied customer!
I must be blind
Well. I pay about $360 per year for my 320 Catalina. I am with Progressive (home and car insurance) and have only had one minor dent with the dock in 7 years (tranny failed in forward!). File a claim for a new rub rail that was dented but frankly looked better than my neighbor's well worn rub rail. I paid $50 deducitble and received a new full rub rail with labor included. My rates have not gone up since the event 2 years back. Maybe I just did not understand, but it seems you all are paying a bit too muck.. Please advise! Ted
Well. I pay about $360 per year for my 320 Catalina. I am with Progressive (home and car insurance) and have only had one minor dent with the dock in 7 years (tranny failed in forward!). File a claim for a new rub rail that was dented but frankly looked better than my neighbor's well worn rub rail. I paid $50 deducitble and received a new full rub rail with labor included. My rates have not gone up since the event 2 years back. Maybe I just did not understand, but it seems you all are paying a bit too muck.. Please advise! Ted
Insurance
My experience with Boat U.S. has been very positive. 1. Grounded my 4'9"-draft Cal 2-29 in sand, 3 feet of water. We were making a winter passage from Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Light; Coast Guard had pulled all the ATONs; even continual sounding couldn't keep us in the channel. TOWBOAT U.S. arrived, towed us out. We showed our Boat U.S. card, signed on the dotted line, and were on our way. Couldn't have been easier. 2. We were tied up to a bulkhead, fenders and fenderboard in place. A 36 foot cruiser flew by, ignoring No Wake signs and pushing a huge wake. Our boat was dashed against the pilings, and the hull was spiderwebbed just below the chainplates. Boat U.S. recommended a service marina, who promptly sent a mechanic to estimate the damage, which was more than $3000. Since Boat U.S. had much experience with the marina, they accepted the estimate and paid for the repairs without sending an adjuster. Other Insurance companies may offer good rates, but may know nothing about the natural hazards of boating. It may thus be difficult to convince them that certain expensive accidents sometimes happen, and that having such an accident should not brand you an incompetent captain.
My experience with Boat U.S. has been very positive. 1. Grounded my 4'9"-draft Cal 2-29 in sand, 3 feet of water. We were making a winter passage from Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Light; Coast Guard had pulled all the ATONs; even continual sounding couldn't keep us in the channel. TOWBOAT U.S. arrived, towed us out. We showed our Boat U.S. card, signed on the dotted line, and were on our way. Couldn't have been easier. 2. We were tied up to a bulkhead, fenders and fenderboard in place. A 36 foot cruiser flew by, ignoring No Wake signs and pushing a huge wake. Our boat was dashed against the pilings, and the hull was spiderwebbed just below the chainplates. Boat U.S. recommended a service marina, who promptly sent a mechanic to estimate the damage, which was more than $3000. Since Boat U.S. had much experience with the marina, they accepted the estimate and paid for the repairs without sending an adjuster. Other Insurance companies may offer good rates, but may know nothing about the natural hazards of boating. It may thus be difficult to convince them that certain expensive accidents sometimes happen, and that having such an accident should not brand you an incompetent captain.
Location, location, location
We also have BoatUS with an agreed upon value of $85k on our 1994 Hunter Vision 36. They are charging us $600.00/yr.
We also have BoatUS with an agreed upon value of $85k on our 1994 Hunter Vision 36. They are charging us $600.00/yr.
I use Nationwide
I use nationwide for a Catalina 42 last 4yrs and catalina 30 for 6yr before that. Never had a claim. Have $2000 deduct. on declared value of 210,000. I have a large liability, and fuel spill protection. Premimum is 1,200 yr. Boat located on west coast of Florida
I use nationwide for a Catalina 42 last 4yrs and catalina 30 for 6yr before that. Never had a claim. Have $2000 deduct. on declared value of 210,000. I have a large liability, and fuel spill protection. Premimum is 1,200 yr. Boat located on west coast of Florida
Allstate and Boat US
I used to have Allstate when sailing out of WI and they were veryeasy to work with. I had two claims over the 25 years and they were veryfair and reasonbly quick. A friend also got a nice settlement on the loss of his boat. When I moved to NY state, I tried to stay with Allstate, but redoing the policy here was a nightmare, they wanted me to have a boat yard repair everything on the survey that needed attention. I had taken care of most of the stuff myself and the other stuff was minor like the varnish on my boom gallows needed redoing. I then went to Boat US and so far so good. Price is reasonable - around $350.
I used to have Allstate when sailing out of WI and they were veryeasy to work with. I had two claims over the 25 years and they were veryfair and reasonbly quick. A friend also got a nice settlement on the loss of his boat. When I moved to NY state, I tried to stay with Allstate, but redoing the policy here was a nightmare, they wanted me to have a boat yard repair everything on the survey that needed attention. I had taken care of most of the stuff myself and the other stuff was minor like the varnish on my boom gallows needed redoing. I then went to Boat US and so far so good. Price is reasonable - around $350.
Allstate, State Farm, and BoatUS
Had a policy for my H26 with Allstate (also my provider for my homeowners, a rental property, and my two cars) probably about 10 years ago. This was around the time of some severe hurricanes that hit the insurance industry hard. (I live in Illinois, no hurricanes here.) In a two year period, I had the roof leak on rental property ($1800 damage) and a failed drum on the furling jib resulting in a dropped mast ($4000 damage). About 2 years later, I subsequently had sold the rental property and was moving to a new house. Called my agent to see about a policy for the new house, he assured me "No Problem, call me when it gets close to closing and we'll write you up". 2-3 days before closing, I call to initiate the policy, and he comes back to me to let me know because I had multiple claims in a short term, that they could not write a new policy. Sorry, no exceptions, don't care that I've had multiple policies with them over at least ten years. Too bad, so sad. Anyway, I had to scramble to get new insurance set up in order to close on the new house. Was pretty stressful. Anyway, once the house was closed, I called Allstate back and pulled all of my policies from them and would never go back. I ended up at State Farm and they have been very good, treated me well, and got all of my business. When I wanted to start racing my new boat (H35.5) 2 years ago, I checked the policy and it would not cover racing, but my agent made a few calls and pointed me to BoatUS. I had also made a couple of calls and came to the same conclusion. So, the boat is currently with BoatUS and State Farm handles the rest. T J
Had a policy for my H26 with Allstate (also my provider for my homeowners, a rental property, and my two cars) probably about 10 years ago. This was around the time of some severe hurricanes that hit the insurance industry hard. (I live in Illinois, no hurricanes here.) In a two year period, I had the roof leak on rental property ($1800 damage) and a failed drum on the furling jib resulting in a dropped mast ($4000 damage). About 2 years later, I subsequently had sold the rental property and was moving to a new house. Called my agent to see about a policy for the new house, he assured me "No Problem, call me when it gets close to closing and we'll write you up". 2-3 days before closing, I call to initiate the policy, and he comes back to me to let me know because I had multiple claims in a short term, that they could not write a new policy. Sorry, no exceptions, don't care that I've had multiple policies with them over at least ten years. Too bad, so sad. Anyway, I had to scramble to get new insurance set up in order to close on the new house. Was pretty stressful. Anyway, once the house was closed, I called Allstate back and pulled all of my policies from them and would never go back. I ended up at State Farm and they have been very good, treated me well, and got all of my business. When I wanted to start racing my new boat (H35.5) 2 years ago, I checked the policy and it would not cover racing, but my agent made a few calls and pointed me to BoatUS. I had also made a couple of calls and came to the same conclusion. So, the boat is currently with BoatUS and State Farm handles the rest. T J
Some Differences.
I know a number of people who insure their boats with companies that are basically car/house insurers. If you have a claim with some of the more reputable ones (like State Farm), you will probably come out ok in the end. But if your boat is involved in a major catastorphe, like Hurricane Isabel which hit the Chesapeake a few years ago and wiped out or damaged thousands of boats, you'll quickly be confronted with some differences between car/house insurers and marine insurance companies. With the former, you'll be on your own to get estimates and repair work done. With the latter, they'll send a team of surveyor/adjusters to the disaster scene and get the estimates for you and may even get you priority with repair facilities that will be overwhelmed. I have a few friends who had boats damaged by Isabel and it took their car/insurance companies a looooong time to come to grips with the magnitude of the disaster. Those who insured with BoatUS, for example, had claims settled to their satisfaction in about a month...
I know a number of people who insure their boats with companies that are basically car/house insurers. If you have a claim with some of the more reputable ones (like State Farm), you will probably come out ok in the end. But if your boat is involved in a major catastorphe, like Hurricane Isabel which hit the Chesapeake a few years ago and wiped out or damaged thousands of boats, you'll quickly be confronted with some differences between car/house insurers and marine insurance companies. With the former, you'll be on your own to get estimates and repair work done. With the latter, they'll send a team of surveyor/adjusters to the disaster scene and get the estimates for you and may even get you priority with repair facilities that will be overwhelmed. I have a few friends who had boats damaged by Isabel and it took their car/insurance companies a looooong time to come to grips with the magnitude of the disaster. Those who insured with BoatUS, for example, had claims settled to their satisfaction in about a month...
I use AMICA
I have all my insurance through AMICA Mutual. I have never had any problems with their service, in fact I find it superior to other companies that I have had. Several years ago while backing down, I encountered a submerged lobster pot ( up heeerah pronounced LOBSTA PAUGHT). This is a normally floating foam and wooden marker with pot warp ( tough line that runs down to the trap string), however this one was fouled on the bottom and was lurking unseen just below the surface. The warp got caught up in my prop and shaft just as I went from astern to forward. It created such a strain that the prop shaft was pulled aft from its' coupling. Increased engine speed and lack of movement told me something was wrong. A quick look below showed a steady stream of water entering around the shaft. Luckily the rudder stopped the aftward movement of the prop and shaft, otherwise I would have had a 1 " opening to the sea. I was towed to shore, travel lifted out, repaired and relaunched. Because of the tourque, the engine beds also needed work. I was not held responsible, as the lobsterman's gear was dropped in a mooring field and not properly tended to. In another case, a boat owner attempted to move his mooring, had gone ashore before having knowledge that his mushroom anchor had set. He ended up dragging down into me and cause damaged to both port and stbd sides. Again, AMICA came to the rescue. I've had quotes from many providers, and NONE have beaten AMICA's rate and probably would never come close to the service.
I have all my insurance through AMICA Mutual. I have never had any problems with their service, in fact I find it superior to other companies that I have had. Several years ago while backing down, I encountered a submerged lobster pot ( up heeerah pronounced LOBSTA PAUGHT). This is a normally floating foam and wooden marker with pot warp ( tough line that runs down to the trap string), however this one was fouled on the bottom and was lurking unseen just below the surface. The warp got caught up in my prop and shaft just as I went from astern to forward. It created such a strain that the prop shaft was pulled aft from its' coupling. Increased engine speed and lack of movement told me something was wrong. A quick look below showed a steady stream of water entering around the shaft. Luckily the rudder stopped the aftward movement of the prop and shaft, otherwise I would have had a 1 " opening to the sea. I was towed to shore, travel lifted out, repaired and relaunched. Because of the tourque, the engine beds also needed work. I was not held responsible, as the lobsterman's gear was dropped in a mooring field and not properly tended to. In another case, a boat owner attempted to move his mooring, had gone ashore before having knowledge that his mushroom anchor had set. He ended up dragging down into me and cause damaged to both port and stbd sides. Again, AMICA came to the rescue. I've had quotes from many providers, and NONE have beaten AMICA's rate and probably would never come close to the service.
Cheers for AMICA
I too have AMICA for all my insurance needs. In 1999 Hurricane Floyd destroyed my 34' sailboat and AMICA handled the claim quickly and to my satisfaction. They also found money in my homeowners policy for personal possessions on the boat not covered by the yacht policy.
I too have AMICA for all my insurance needs. In 1999 Hurricane Floyd destroyed my 34' sailboat and AMICA handled the claim quickly and to my satisfaction. They also found money in my homeowners policy for personal possessions on the boat not covered by the yacht policy.
Insurance for Maorgan OutIsland 41 in Internation
For international insurance, which a bit pricey compared to rates for the USA, I use Blue Water Yacht Insurance who offers me Lemma Insurance Company. About $2,000/yr but with Medical, Personal effects, Liability Tender/outboard,etc. Although I have never filed a claim, I am at peace because I know I have everyting covered. Currently, I'm sailing in the Dutch Caribbean.
For international insurance, which a bit pricey compared to rates for the USA, I use Blue Water Yacht Insurance who offers me Lemma Insurance Company. About $2,000/yr but with Medical, Personal effects, Liability Tender/outboard,etc. Although I have never filed a claim, I am at peace because I know I have everyting covered. Currently, I'm sailing in the Dutch Caribbean.
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