Anybody have problems with BoatsUS Marine Insurance?

[dennisp]

(Hope this is on-topic.) I have a 2003 Hunter 306 Sailboat and sail the GICW and Choctawhatchee Bay in the Florida Panhandle near Destin. I have had my marine insurance with BoatsUS for over 5 years now - they were cheaper than the USAA marine insurance I had when I bought the boat in 2007. I was pretty happy. I have had no claims (ever!) for this boat. My insurance last year was $740...and I note now that I received a "No Loss Credit" of $185 last year. (Actually, i have received that credit for the past few years...and my policy premiums have been essentially stable.) Today I received my renewal policy for Oct 2016 to Oct 2017, and note that it is for Geico Marine Insurance and the premium is $925, a 25% increase! A little digging reveals that Geico bought BoatsUS in April 2015. Now they are billing for insurance. Perhaps what 'went away' was my "No Loss Credit" which appears to equal the 25% increase over this year's $740 premium and results in the next year's premium being $925. Anyway, I am a disgruntled customer. I will seek a new insurance company. I will not renew my membership with BoatsUS (their stores are everywhere, but their ridiculous prices can always be beat with Defender, or Amazon, or just-about-anywhere-else.). Thought I'd notify my boatin' buds here on the forums. Next letter is to the Florida Insurance Commission. I think a 25% increase is unconscionable, in the light of no claims ever.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Why dont you call them and give them a chance to correct a potential error?

 

[SFS]

This is contrary to what I have observed with my rates and others that buy insurance through BoatUS. I think I have posted elsewhere on this topic, but suffice it to say that everyone I know had their rates come down, in some cases WAY down. Call the very helpful insurance folks (not the membership people) at Boat US and ask them what is going on. Ask them specifically why the premium went up, especially with no claims, and a long-ish history with them. You may be surprised. Now, here's the important part:

If the premium doesn't come down, then ask them to quote you a rate as if "this was new business". Use that specific term. In other words, you want to find out what the rate would be if you walked in fresh from the street, and they had no prior relationship with you. That is ultimately what I had to do, but my rates came down about 80% (though I only carry liability). The folks in the insurance department are well aware that most peoples rates came down, and they are happy that everyone is happy about it. They will likely be very willing to investigate and help you out.

 

[Don Lucas]

In my 8 years of boat ownership I have never had a quote from Boat US insurance that was better than I could get elsewhere

 

[justsomeguy]

I will seek a new insurance company.

This is how it's supposed to work.

Until they all collude, of course.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I have had problems with Boat US on several times dating back to the very early 80's, and never used them. Refuse to even be a member now.

I carry my insurance with Progressive now

 

[rgranger]

I'm with State Farm.... house, boat, car & life. I get a discount for bundling.

 

[Charlie98117]

I'm wondering if there are regional differences in how they set premiums. I shopped around when I got the boat 3 years ago and they were low. Just renewed last month for the same rate as the previous 2 years.

 

[centerline]

In my 8 years of boat ownership I have never had a quote from Boat US insurance that was better than I could get elsewhere

I have found this to be true also.... I have always got a quote from BoatUS as a guideline when searching for boat insurance, and there has never been a time that I couldnt find a better price elsewhere for the same coverage, and nearly always better coverage... and Ive never had to make but 2-3 phone calls to find it.

 

[Bob S]

In my 8 years of boat ownership I have never had a quote from Boat US insurance that was better than I could get elsewhere

I agree but I am a member for the towing although I have never used it. The only time I ever broke down I sailed home.
Anyone ever use them for boat loans? Are they competitive? Looking at moving up but haven't really looked at the finance side yet.

 

[centerline]

I have had problems with Boat US on several times dating back to the very early 80's, and never used them.
Refuse to even be a member now.

I agree....
anyone who has their towing insurance needs to check the fine print to see what they really have.. I have carried the "unlimited freshwater towing" package since we bought our 34, and the last time it came up for renewal, Rochelle looked it over and saw that the coverage was only for a discount of $50 off of the cost of the services, and which the prices for the services are NOT dictated or suggested by BoatUS, but by the local ripoff operators in the area. (some are fair, but this is an exception to the trend).... and there is NO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE OR RULES OF CONDUCT for their operators in place by BoatUS to protect the consumer...it is for these reasons why there are so many bad and expensive experiences/accounts by people who have had to be towed or use the services advertised....

the advertising for BoatUS towing insurance here and in their literature is misleading, because it does NOT offer all the services listed under the package in ALL areas.... in our area, (portland oregon/columbia river) even though we had the unlimited freshwater towing which shows to offer 100% coverage for most of the services one may ever need, the fine print of our contract said we only had a benefit of $50 dollars towards the cost of services in our area... I called them to see where the mistake was, and they confirmed that this area is not covered at 100% unless we were to buy the "unlimited gold package"... when I asked her what makes this place so special that it is not covered as advertised, she said, "its not uncommon, as there are many areas that do not have 100% coverage under the unlimited freshwater package, but in some areas the 100% coverage is available"...
and she went on to say that if I wanted the 100% coverage for the services in my area, that I should upgrade to the gold package (advertised at $97 more).... when all I really wanted was what they were advertising I could get under the unlimited freshwater package... I have since lost all respect for the money grubbing organization.

 

[Head Sail]

Never trust a frog. Geico has to pay for all those commercials somehow.

 

[Jacktar]

Just got my Boatus insurance renewal and with the new GEICO marine i have a lower premium for slightly improved coverage, I would check with them, BOATUS is still managing insurance but GEICO is underwriter.

 

[Chevy1217]

I use State Farm and have Full Coverage for everything on the Boat as the gentleman stated above I have it bundled with all my rigs and home owners insurance and I have even had an 8k claim with no jump in premium they are great claims in less than 5days deposited right into your account. I believe I pay 179 a month for 2 cars on full cov. with 0 deductible and a 500 on the boat. I would give them a call and bundle it save some money I also have Boat US as well and it is 24.99 a year only for tow coverage.

 

[Gunni]

1. I don't have BoatUS insurance, but last fall just for giggles I compared similar coverage loss and liability with my current carrier and they were only marginally less expensive, and had some exclusions that represented significant risk to me. So on balance, I stuck with what I have, and the representation of a real, live broker who knows me.

 

[dlochner]

Insurance premium topics show up on the all the forums from time to time. What I have found is that often people are not comparing apples to apples and that affects the premium.

There are (at least) 3 ways of insuring a boat, an Agreed Hull Value yacht policy (sort of the gold standard), a boat policy, and as a rider to a homeowners policy; the premiums follow suit with the AHV policies the most expensive and the riders the least expensive. The amount of coverage and what is covered also varies. Read the fine print on all the policies.

BoatUS has the Towing Insurance (TowBoat US) available to all BoatUS members which is separate from the Towing Coverage in their yacht policies. Easy to confuse the two.

Premiums are determined by a lot of factors you don't have much control over such as sailing area, claims history in the area, and recent events that caused an unusual number of claims (think hurricanes). Premiums are also based on your personal risk. Factors such as the type of boat you own, your credit score and history, claims history on other insurances (home owners and auto), driving record, and who knows what else. Have a recent bankruptcy? A Driving Under the Influence ticket? Speeding tickets? File claims under your homeowners policy? Expect to pay a higher premium than another person who doesn't have those "issues."

Think of premiums this way, an insurance company is betting on whether you will file a claim and the size of that claim. If you are a safe bet, i.e., you won't file a claim, your premium will be lower. If you are a riskier bet, then premiums will be higher.

I've been with BoatUS and its various underwriting companies for over 30 years with 2 claims, one for a stolen outboard and one when my boat fell off its jack stands. In both cases I found the BoatUS claims representatives to be fair and they even reminded me of things that I should include in the claim that I hadn't. There was no effect on my premiums, except that the year after the claim I lost the "no claims discount." That's fair enough.

With less than a year of experience with Geico serving the Boat US members, I think the jury is still out on whether this is good for most boaters.

 

[AXEL]

I have used BoatUS for as long as I can remember. I have made several claims with them including a dismasting just last month which they (Geico) handled quick and fair. I think (not sure) but insurance in Florida is a bit higher in general. I live in NY but own a home in FL. Most of the insurance companies like Allstate won't even insure a home there. This may be the case with Marine insurance as well. You should call them and ask.

 

[dennisp]

Why dont you call them and give them a chance to correct a potential error?

Thanks, Mark. I called - 3 times, yesterday and talked to 3 different agents - same story. Did I think about Florida rates having had to be increased? Why no, cannot say as how I did. (I have been here for 4+ years in Florida - same rates, no claims, and suddenly I get a 25% increase.) They gave me some gobbledygook about how the coverages have changed (not very much, looks nearly like last year's rate structure) withthe major item no longer do I have a $185 No-Loss Credit.

 

[SFS]

Did you ask them to rate the policy as if it were new business?

 

[Johnb]

FWIW I have my insurance bundled with home, auto etc and it seems that I pay sometimes as little as 1/3 of what others mention in these posts. I have an agreed hull value and equipment value amount and a fixed max for towing fees. They also provide for liability and name the marina as additional insured. I would suggest to anyone that they might explore this way of doing it.

I sail in San Francisco Bay and am covered for coastal cruising.