I have had my boat insurance with West Marine the past two years. Each time it was raised 30%. I called St. Paul the insurance company doing business with West Marine and was told the reason for the increase was that they had to many claims the last few years. The insurance company wants a $830.00 premium for $30,000 replacement cost, $100,000 boating liability and $750.00 for personel property. Those of you who own boats on the east coast of Florida and know of another insurer that can give me a better deal, please let me know! I've redoned my 1982 34ft. from bow to stern and would like to insure it for $40,000 this time......
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L
Lee Hadjiosif
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Dick McKee
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Don't try to over-insure
For one thing, you won't be able to...'cuz no matter how much money you've spent on the boat, you'll only be able insure it for its survey value--the amount that the same boat in in similar condition, similarly equipped, sells for in your local area. And all insurance companies require a survey on an 18 year old boat. For another, a complete loss is the LEAST-case scenario. Why pay extra premium for something that isn't likely to happen? The real purpose of insurance is to cover only what you can't afford to replace. Same is true of deductables. The accumulated savings in premium between a 1% deductable and 2% over just a few years is more than enough to make up that difference if/when you ever do have a claim. When you pay for more insurance and lower deductables than you actually NEED, all really doing is betting against the insurance company that you'll ever have to collect...which is actually betting against yourself. Over the years, it'll cost you far less to spend it only if/when you need to, than it will to spend it in premiums.
For one thing, you won't be able to...'cuz no matter how much money you've spent on the boat, you'll only be able insure it for its survey value--the amount that the same boat in in similar condition, similarly equipped, sells for in your local area. And all insurance companies require a survey on an 18 year old boat. For another, a complete loss is the LEAST-case scenario. Why pay extra premium for something that isn't likely to happen? The real purpose of insurance is to cover only what you can't afford to replace. Same is true of deductables. The accumulated savings in premium between a 1% deductable and 2% over just a few years is more than enough to make up that difference if/when you ever do have a claim. When you pay for more insurance and lower deductables than you actually NEED, all really doing is betting against the insurance company that you'll ever have to collect...which is actually betting against yourself. Over the years, it'll cost you far less to spend it only if/when you need to, than it will to spend it in premiums.
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gary b
Sam thing
Same thing with my boat too. The only problem is if you change company's you will proubly have to get a new out of water survey. If you count the haul out and the survey cost you will find it may take you 4 years just to recoup the cost of survey in the premium savings. Rock and hard place come's to mind. good luck
Same thing with my boat too. The only problem is if you change company's you will proubly have to get a new out of water survey. If you count the haul out and the survey cost you will find it may take you 4 years just to recoup the cost of survey in the premium savings. Rock and hard place come's to mind. good luck
Don't require survey if you are insured.
Gary: They quite often do not require a survey if you have been insured with another company (depends on the company). Just because you are getting a survey does not mean that you have to be out of the water. I doubt that an out of water survey is required. With the rate increases that we are talking about here it may be worth paying for the survey anyway. You may be able to recoup your survey costs in the first year. Of course you always take a chance that the next insurer will do the same thing to you next year too. Regardless, shopping around for insurance is something that everyone should do every couple of years. Not so much for the savings but it also gives you a chance to check the type of coverage you have vs. what you can get. BoatUS has replacment cost and agreed values. Many of the insurers like Allstate, State Farm etc. are depreciated costs and about the only thing that they are really going to pay for is a total loss (unless you fight with them).
Gary: They quite often do not require a survey if you have been insured with another company (depends on the company). Just because you are getting a survey does not mean that you have to be out of the water. I doubt that an out of water survey is required. With the rate increases that we are talking about here it may be worth paying for the survey anyway. You may be able to recoup your survey costs in the first year. Of course you always take a chance that the next insurer will do the same thing to you next year too. Regardless, shopping around for insurance is something that everyone should do every couple of years. Not so much for the savings but it also gives you a chance to check the type of coverage you have vs. what you can get. BoatUS has replacment cost and agreed values. Many of the insurers like Allstate, State Farm etc. are depreciated costs and about the only thing that they are really going to pay for is a total loss (unless you fight with them).
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Depends on how long since the last survey
If it's been within the last couple of years, maybe not...but if it's been more than 5 years, they'll prob'ly want one. An insurance "condition and value" survey is very cursory compared to a complete prepurchase survey. Most companies don't require a haulout...they don't care whether the bottom has blisters, they're only interested in the overall condition and anything that's likely to cost THEM money...and 99% of those things can be determined in the water. The kicker may be in trying to increase the insured value by 33%. Then things like whether the boat has blisters could come into play in determining the value of the boat, requiring a haulout. However, if there's no record of any other '82 Hunter 34 anywhere in FL that's worth you want to insure it for, the boat can be in brand new condition, with everything but the hull less than a year old...but they're only gonna insure it for the amount others in SIMILAR condition are going for *in your area.* And btw...comparing insurance costs with people all over the country doesn't work. It costs a lot less to insure a boat that's only used on an inland lake than it does to insure one in coastal waters with an unlimited cruising range...and even more where hurricanes are a major factor. Length of season is another factor...a boat in Maine is gonna be on the hard more than it's in the water--therefore, less time for the boat to be at risk of collision, sinking etc than a boat in FL or SoCal that's used year round. So even if we have identical boats, what I pay for insurance has absolutely nothing to do what people in your water pay, even with the same company.
If it's been within the last couple of years, maybe not...but if it's been more than 5 years, they'll prob'ly want one. An insurance "condition and value" survey is very cursory compared to a complete prepurchase survey. Most companies don't require a haulout...they don't care whether the bottom has blisters, they're only interested in the overall condition and anything that's likely to cost THEM money...and 99% of those things can be determined in the water. The kicker may be in trying to increase the insured value by 33%. Then things like whether the boat has blisters could come into play in determining the value of the boat, requiring a haulout. However, if there's no record of any other '82 Hunter 34 anywhere in FL that's worth you want to insure it for, the boat can be in brand new condition, with everything but the hull less than a year old...but they're only gonna insure it for the amount others in SIMILAR condition are going for *in your area.* And btw...comparing insurance costs with people all over the country doesn't work. It costs a lot less to insure a boat that's only used on an inland lake than it does to insure one in coastal waters with an unlimited cruising range...and even more where hurricanes are a major factor. Length of season is another factor...a boat in Maine is gonna be on the hard more than it's in the water--therefore, less time for the boat to be at risk of collision, sinking etc than a boat in FL or SoCal that's used year round. So even if we have identical boats, what I pay for insurance has absolutely nothing to do what people in your water pay, even with the same company.
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Jim Logan
Denise - Look in the archives
Denise, I posted a similar experience a couple of weeks ago - got several replies and did some more research and even got a response from an insurance agent - you might want to look in the archives - use "Logan" for a search term and it will be one of the more recent ones.
Denise, I posted a similar experience a couple of weeks ago - got several replies and did some more research and even got a response from an insurance agent - you might want to look in the archives - use "Logan" for a search term and it will be one of the more recent ones.
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Don
Various options
We recently had a fire aboard which resulted in a total loss and working with our in-laws who are in the business, have learned a lot! First, consider the difference between an actual-cash-vale and replacement-cost policy. The premium difference is not too significant but you likley won't be able to buy replacement cost through WM, BoatUS, etc... Go to a real marine underwriter to get comparable quotes with similar deductibles. In the case of RC insurance, it DOES allow for hull values in excess of the supposed resale value contrary to what others may have indicated. This is a case of making generalizations so don't and look into the options which are varied. Next, liability in the amount you indicated you have (had) is dangerous - had out fire spread to the rest of the boats in the yard, one million in liability would be a more reasonable expectation. This has nothing to do with medical which can easily exceed that figure in not unimaginable circumstances. Write me directly and I'll try to explain further rather than boring everone here. Don S/V Illusion K1vsk@aol.com
We recently had a fire aboard which resulted in a total loss and working with our in-laws who are in the business, have learned a lot! First, consider the difference between an actual-cash-vale and replacement-cost policy. The premium difference is not too significant but you likley won't be able to buy replacement cost through WM, BoatUS, etc... Go to a real marine underwriter to get comparable quotes with similar deductibles. In the case of RC insurance, it DOES allow for hull values in excess of the supposed resale value contrary to what others may have indicated. This is a case of making generalizations so don't and look into the options which are varied. Next, liability in the amount you indicated you have (had) is dangerous - had out fire spread to the rest of the boats in the yard, one million in liability would be a more reasonable expectation. This has nothing to do with medical which can easily exceed that figure in not unimaginable circumstances. Write me directly and I'll try to explain further rather than boring everone here. Don S/V Illusion K1vsk@aol.com
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