Act of God clarification
I wasn't clear in my previous post regarding BoatUS's coverage for "Acts of God."Acts of God ARE covered. Hurricanes, tornadoes, meteors, tidal waves - all covered. Check with your carrier to see if they have an exclusion for such.What IS excluded in this area, and can be found in the GENERAL CONDITIONS part of your policy booklet, is WAR, SEIZURE, [and} NUCLEAR. But those ARE NOT Acts of God.I apologize for only referring to hurricanes before.Onto premium increases.The insurance companies, in order to stay in business, need to bring in enough premium to pay out on their losses. Not having had a claim in 20 years, for example, doesn't mean that you won't have a biggie next year. And the costs of claims (actual repair costs for more sophisticated equipment, litigation costs, salvage and/or wreck removal costs, etc) have been rising at alarming rates over the past years.Here's an example. Mr. Noclaims has been insured for 20 years on his 1980 40' Beneteau, for a current agreed value of $50,000. He has paid a total of $10,000 in premium. On year 21 with his insurance company, a hurricane hits, and does $40,000 in damage to his boat. Assuming he is with a company like BoatUS, that covers Acts of God, and doesn't have a special storm deductible, he receives $40,000, less his deductible. So in the end, he has STILL received $30,000 more than he has paid. When you multiply that times thousands - or hundreds of thousands - of boaters, the potential payout is huge. And because Florida is considered due for another big hurricane (Andrew-sized), that is why premiums are rising so fast there (plus high theft rates, and a 12-month boating season adding to on-water incidents).Rate increases are a sad, nasty part of life when it comes to insurance. I hate saying it, but it's true. I don't like having to tell people that their rates are going up, even when they've done nothing wrong. But it's the way that insurance has evolved.My best advice is to shop around every year for insurance. You'll know that you're either getting a good deal (assuming the coverages are comparable), paying comparable rates, or that you're getting hosed. Either way, it benefits you to spend the time shopping.