boat insurance what for?

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Oct 16, 2009
65
oday 25 long island sound
So I have geico (ancient mariner), insurance on my oday 25..I called the insurance company so I could be more aware of what my coverage actually covers..I gave her a bunch of different scenarios and I did not like the answers I got back...I have 8000 dollars worth of coverage..I pay 450 a year..I asked her what would happen if my yamaha 9.9 outboard got stolen, and she said I would get nothing because the outboard is only covered for up to 25% of the total, which is 8000..and I have a 2000 dollar deductable on theft...I then asked what would happen if the rigging failed and the mast came down..boom..again she said if it was due to wear and tear and it was old equipment..it would not be covered..So why in the world do I have full coverage on my boat?? I dont think anyone is going to actually steal the boat itself..I believe the two biggest threats on my boat is the outboard being stolen or the rigging failing...is there better sailboat coverage out there anywhere???Should I just have the bare minimum liability? Are there any insurance companies out there that cover old boats (1981)???
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Check BoatUS. It will probably be 1/2 what you are paying and you will have a more comprehensive policy.
 

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Do you really expect an insurance company to cover your loss if the rigging comes down and it is from lack of maintenance??? Why should they cover it?

PS, lock your outboard.
 
Jan 22, 2008
146
Macgregor 22 Marina Del Rey, CA CA
After having problems with other insurance companys I checked with my home insurance company (Allstate) and found that they were not only the cheapest but also had the best coverage. Chack with your local Allstate agent, I think you will be surprised.
Novelman
 
Oct 2, 2006
1,517
Jboat J24 commack
Well

ANY policy is going to have Depreciation (I have Boats US) on some items like motors boats us seems to kick you hard on some stuff at 15 years

You picked a 2000 ded as the risk you were willing to take

I would focus on your sinking fuel spill part and be sure you have the 800K as its one of your big risks

Your guest medical tends to be bare bones and can be much higher
 
May 6, 2004
196
- - Potomac
To heck with insuring a 30 year-old O'Day 25 itself. Losing the boat itself is a very low risk anyhow, but you want liability, lots of it. A fuel spill can be super expensive and the CG will make you pay the tab, especially if there is negligence. And there are no serious sailboat accidents, just minor ones and catastrophic ones. Someone falls off the deck, they get wet or they get dead. Huge liability.
 

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Drew13440 is absolutely correct - LIABILITY INSURANCE, especially within 500 miles of NYC.
At any incident involving 'any other boat' in the NYC area, the FIRST thing your are going to hear is: "I need to call my lawyer (loi-yah - in the local dialect)". Sadly, thats the way it is in NY/Long Island Sound. Be sure to get 'good' liability protection when boating in this area.
:)
 
Jun 8, 2004
853
Pearson 26W Marblehead
Boat ins

Time to look elsewhere Ive got A 1975 Pearson26W approximately the same value as you. only $500 deductible more liability 100% outboard coverage minus the deductible of
course. For half what your paying. A good place to look might be your homeowners insurance Co.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,577
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Towing, Salvage, Road Dings

There is a three foot deep rock off Middle Bass Island, north of Put-in-Bay that we found one day due to navigator and helmsman mistakes (and, of course, the Captain is always at fault.) It put a pretty good road ding in the bottom of our keel. Our insurance paid for a tow boat to accompany us to the nearest repair shop in Huron, who inspected the damage, and said we could make it home. They they paid around $1,100 to drop the keel, fix it, repair some cracks in the fiberglass, and remount and paint the keel. They have paid for another tow when I stupidly ran aground in Erie Bay.

When a friend grounded on the rocks off Cedar Point, their insurance paid for the tow, the salvage claim, and the repairs, totalling around $5,000, if memory serves.

Other covered incidents include damage from boats playing "bumber cars" as they return to port, and a medical helicopter rescue when another friend found the same rock off Middle Bass, and a crew member suffered a significant wound while below in the head.

Let's not forget lightning and fires, both of which do happen from time to time!

All of these claims were minus the deductible the ploicy owner signed up for, but insurance seems like a good deal to me. Other sources of good pricing in Ohio include USAA, and Cincinnati Insurance.
 

caguy

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Sep 22, 2006
4,004
Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey
Our storage yard requires $300k of liability. I would have to totally destroy 4 of the biggest and nicest boats in the yard to use that much coverage, but that's what they want. My older boat is not worth the deductable so I don't carry comprehensive just liability. Here is a copy of my coverage from Progressive. I understand they are a pretty good company and what guy doesn't love Flo, the Progressive girl.

Coverage & Premium Information



1982 MacgrBODILY INJURY & PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY$32.00 $300,000 COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT UNINSURED BOATERS$36.00 $300,000 COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT MED PAY/WATERSKIER'S MED PAY $10,000 EACH PERSON$12.00FUEL SPILL LIABILITYINCLEMERGENCY WATERCRAFT TOWING & LABOR$50.00 $1,000 EACH INCIDENT COASTAL NAVIGATION 75 NAUTICAL MILESINCLPremium by Watercraft$130.00Total Policy Premium$130.00
 
Jun 2, 2004
3,496
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
Two Things to Check

1. I think up to 26' your covered under your homeowners policy

B. Salvage costs are not always covered by automobile companies writing policies on boats

Three. A friend who sells insurance say "I don't care if you buy your insurance from me or not but buy all your stuff from the same place. That will eliminate you getting the companies pointing their fingers at each other instead of writing you a check."
 

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,704
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
Expect trouble with Allstate in NY state. they will want a survey and then get ridiculous from there - at least that was my experience.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Medical liability coverage to a million would not be too much. My planned hip and spine surgery are going to come in close to $125,000 The same work to repair accidental damage would probably hit a half million.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Just try to file a claim with Allstate. They will determine that most everything is wear/tear. This is NOT a marine policy. I had two claim, both of which they denied.

Allstate, State Farm, Progressive etc. all have policies that are similar to the automobile policies.

Cost for marine insurance varies greatly from the west coast to the east. The east coast is much more expensive in general. Digitek did a good thing by questioning his carrier on what if's.

http://www.boatus.com/insurance/faq.asp#8
 
Oct 12, 2009
63
beneteau 321 digby
I only carry liability on my vehicles and my boat.My take on insurance is have an agent tell you what you need to do to comply with them do it and dont get insurance if you do what they want you to do in order to get insured chances are nothing will happen.
 
Jul 1, 2007
169
hunter 29.5 Nanaimo BC
My insurance is about $800.00 give or take.I have $1,000,000 liability ,$500 deductable and replacement cost of anything on the boat. If I choose not to replace it then it is only depreciated value.
Three yrs ago I had a fire on board and they were very good ,no fight and no hassle, they even paid my wife for the time she spent doing laundry and cleaning life jackets.It was credited towards the deductable.
The total was $14,000. and I ended up with a better boat.
my insurance went up $75 .
 
Jul 29, 2009
71
Irwin 37 c.c. Cutter indian rocks beach, fl.
Allstate(except Fl.) and Progressive(ly more expensive) will both weasel. Better off with BoatUS or google marine insurance, someone that does only boats. Might be more money, but worth it. Unlimited towing thru BoatUS is a good buy. Wonder who is insurance company on the BP oil rig that blew up. 1 Billion already. Oil doesn't come here but I bet we pay for it again.
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
I think you really need to call an agent that specializes in Marine Insurance. I"d recommend Christine Hartge of Hartge Insurance out of Maryland.

I'd point out that my insurance coverage is about three times the cost of yours but I have substantially more coverage for the money... The agreed value on my policy is over 10 times what your policy covers...and my deductible is lower.

The reasons to have insurance have been covered pretty well:

liability—if you hit someone else's boat or if someone gets injured on yours
environmental remediation—if you spill fuel from your boat
Salvage and towing—if your boat gets grounded, sunk or disabled
Theft—depends on the policy, but mine covers electronics, the dinghy and dinghy motor with a lower deductible than the big boat and at REPLACEMENT COST.
Medical—if anyone gets hurt by your boat

There are a lot of companies that do marine insurance properly. There are two types of policies as well. The more expensive is an Agreed Value policy, where you and the insurance company agree on a value for your boat and if your boat is lost, the agreed value is what they pay you. This is generally a good idea on newer, larger, more expensive boats. The second is an ACV or actual cash value policy. This is generally what older, smaller, and less expensive boats are covered under.

I'd point out that in many cases, boats smaller than 26' can be covered under your homeowner's insurance as a rider....rather than requiring a separate policy of its own.

Many insurance companies segregate boats at the 26' mark, with those under 26' being considered ACV policies and those over 26' having "yacht" policies—which are usually agreed value.

So I have geico (ancient mariner), insurance on my oday 25..I called the insurance company so I could be more aware of what my coverage actually covers..I gave her a bunch of different scenarios and I did not like the answers I got back...I have 8000 dollars worth of coverage..I pay 450 a year..I asked her what would happen if my yamaha 9.9 outboard got stolen, and she said I would get nothing because the outboard is only covered for up to 25% of the total, which is 8000..and I have a 2000 dollar deductable on theft...I then asked what would happen if the rigging failed and the mast came down..boom..again she said if it was due to wear and tear and it was old equipment..it would not be covered..So why in the world do I have full coverage on my boat?? I dont think anyone is going to actually steal the boat itself..I believe the two biggest threats on my boat is the outboard being stolen or the rigging failing...is there better sailboat coverage out there anywhere???Should I just have the bare minimum liability? Are there any insurance companies out there that cover old boats (1981)???
 
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