Boat US
When we first got our 1967 Tartan 27' four years ago we got insurance from BoatUS for about $700 which included a replacement value of $7K. That same year our single mooring pennant chafed in a nasty westerly blow and our boat got lodged under a dock, bow in, that damaged the RF and shredded the genoa, killed the bow pulpit and damaged the hull/deck joint for about 1 foot. BoatUS was helpful in getting the local salvor to capture our boat and left it at a marina at City Island. Luckily the engine and prop seemed fine so we motored to our winter yard in Glen Cove NY. We had trouble getting anyone to do an estimate on the repairs and so put one together ourselves that quickly added up to around $5K. BoatUS considered our boat totalled which they apparently do anytime a claim reaches 50% or more of the insured value. This meant that they now owned our boat and we had to buy it back from them for $800 so we got a check for $6200 to do the repairs. We could have taken the $7K but would have had no boat. This practice is a little bit underhanded but I was ultimately happy that we were insured with them. I ended up doing most of the repairs myself and learned a lot. The following year BoatUS would not insure us since we had been totalled so we went 1 season without any. Many insurers do not like insuring boats as old as mine and Ross'. My big concern that season was potential damage we could have caused to other more expensive boats out there if anything went wrong. I considered trying to get liability only but we ended up getting coverage through my partner's homeowner's insurance carrier for about $350. No new claims yet - knock on wood, er, fiberglass.
When we first got our 1967 Tartan 27' four years ago we got insurance from BoatUS for about $700 which included a replacement value of $7K. That same year our single mooring pennant chafed in a nasty westerly blow and our boat got lodged under a dock, bow in, that damaged the RF and shredded the genoa, killed the bow pulpit and damaged the hull/deck joint for about 1 foot. BoatUS was helpful in getting the local salvor to capture our boat and left it at a marina at City Island. Luckily the engine and prop seemed fine so we motored to our winter yard in Glen Cove NY. We had trouble getting anyone to do an estimate on the repairs and so put one together ourselves that quickly added up to around $5K. BoatUS considered our boat totalled which they apparently do anytime a claim reaches 50% or more of the insured value. This meant that they now owned our boat and we had to buy it back from them for $800 so we got a check for $6200 to do the repairs. We could have taken the $7K but would have had no boat. This practice is a little bit underhanded but I was ultimately happy that we were insured with them. I ended up doing most of the repairs myself and learned a lot. The following year BoatUS would not insure us since we had been totalled so we went 1 season without any. Many insurers do not like insuring boats as old as mine and Ross'. My big concern that season was potential damage we could have caused to other more expensive boats out there if anything went wrong. I considered trying to get liability only but we ended up getting coverage through my partner's homeowner's insurance carrier for about $350. No new claims yet - knock on wood, er, fiberglass.
