Weell Helo der.

[Torrence Jenkins]

Hi Al. I presently do not have any boat owners insurance. I have a H26.5, and for insurance I put some money into Bonds, or Stocks to cover the insurance if something were to happen. I'm sure this isn't the wisest but when I had brought up boat insurance with my car insurance broker, he wanted to include water skiing liabilities into it. I told him to forget it. That was 5 months ago. Is there a such thing as just total loss insurance? I mean all I want is insurance that would just cover fire or sinking, at a total loss. Anything else hell I would fix or repair. Is this asking too much?? ThanksCiao TJ

 

[Don]

Easy as 123

Call BoatUS (if you're a member) or West Marine (800-937-8895-I have my renewal notice in hand). They both offer insurance at very reasonable rates. If your boat is relatively new, there's not much of a problem.Check out their web sites. With West Marine you can apply via the web.

 

[David Cox]

Boat US

I have been with Boat US for several years and have had excellent service from them. Just bought a new H240 and they took care of all required coverage in a few hours. Give them a try.David Coxs/v Divine Spark

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

At the risk of uspurping Al's position...

Liability coverage is more important than insuring your boat against loss. Your boat may only be worth $30k...but if you're sued by the surviving heirs of a crew member lost overboard, it's gonna be for a lot more than that! And personal liability umbrellas aren't always enough. You take it from there, Al...

 

[Al Golden]

Yacht Insurance Cost

Your attitude is almost correct, but not quite....While you may be willing to accept the financial risk of the loss of or damage to your boat, the far more important coverage is the liability portion of the policy.For instance: Could you afford to pay the judgement for a $500,000 lawsuit? Could you afford to pay an administrative levy for pollution of up to $500,000? Or, could you afford to pay for the loss of your boat PLUS the cost of removing her wreckage from a marked channel?While there are a couple of companies around who will write liability only policies, the cost of full coverage is so cheap in most parts of the country that that's not a reasonable option.It used to be possible to write policies for boats for total loss only, but those days are history. The scenario that precludes that is: If your boat is on fire and you're only covered if it's destroyed, would you stay aboard to fight the fire or kiss her goodbye?AlIMIS

 

[Al Golden]

Broker/Agent/Company Relationship

>>the leverage you have over any >>settlement and the terms and >>conditions of the policy may vary >>considerably based upon their >>underlying relationship with the >>insurer providing the coverage and >>their motivation to go there.Precisely!A couple of examples: West Marine is a marketing source ONLY. All of their business is booked through McGriff, Seibels & Williams, the agent, to St Paul Insurance Co. IMIS is a "Flagship Agent" of Markel Insurance Co. There are just 24 agents across the entire country that handle their Helmsman program (just acquired from Reliance). Only 18 of those are Flagship Agents, i.e. full service.AlIMIS