Insurance companies?

[cadunkle]

Who do you guys use for insurance? What has your experience been like with that company? Any good or bad experiences with other companies? If you're comfortable with it, please share insured value and annual cost as well.

I've been shopping for insurance and since Sandy it seems impossible to get a policy that actually covers you should something unfortunate happen, or you can get a policy that covers you in most or all cases but the covered value is well below market value/replacement cost and they won't do an agreed value policy. I let my policy with Progressive run out without renewal on account of another company promising to save me $100/yr for the same coverage just needed a couple current pictures showing no damage since Sandy and a no damage/loss/claim since Sandy signed statement. That and I've heard bad experiences about Progressive not paying on claims or repairing damage with shoddy glass work or Chinese (not OEM) parts. Now I have no insurance and they're lowballing me on value after sending pics. Very deceptive as I was initially told no problem on an agreed value policy, and I explained my boat had new stringers/floor/engine/uphostery/etc. and several high dollar upgrades such as Perfect Pass and whatnot. Hopefully you guys can recommend some companies that will write a policy on a boat these days to cover actual market replacement cost or agreed value.

[crystal waters]

here in Canada , as my boat is over 20 years old ( 89 conbrio) I had to get a marine survey done at my expense ( who else of course?) and provide same to my insurance company before they would continue to insure me.Once that was done and all came up roses on the report there was no issue for current value for boat and for trailer plus liablity options etc.
You may wish to enquire if a marine survey would be of help in your case?
best of luck!

[csuggs]

My 86 Sunsport is insured with Progressive. It's a declared value policy of $15K for just under $300/yr

[csuggs]

I've never had a claim with Progressive and hope I don't. But I'm beginning to wonder.

[michael hunter]

Boat US. they only insure boats . Good to have when things go wrong.

[cadunkle]

Switched to Traveler's Ins. after Progressive bent me over after my truck was stolen and involved in a high speed pursuit which ended in a crash.
Totalled two cars since with Traveler's and they wrote me a check the next day. Awesome company that I don't fear retribution when I screw up.
I pay just over $300 / year for $12- $13k coverage.

Travelers is not writing new policies at all for boats in areas hit by Sandy. Same with a lot of others. Progressive was bending me over raising my boat premium two years in a row. Eventually was $470 or so for $12k agreed value. I wanted to switch because they keep raising prices with no change in coverage, no claims on that policy, and no claims on my truck or bike that I also have insured with them.

[cadunkle]

Boat US. they only insure boats . Good to have when things go wrong.


I tried them years ago, they wouldn't process payment over phone with cc, said they'd send me a bill and to send a check. Never got the bill, but did get a letter cancelling the policy for non-payment. They are just a broker and brokered me through to Progressive for the policy. SO I called Progressive and they wrote me the same policy for $20 or $30 less per year.

[Salty87]

i've seen alot of people recommend NBOA on other boards but i've never gotten a quote. nboat.com

[cadunkle]

i've seen alot of people recommend NBOA on other boards but i've never gotten a quote. nboat.com

Apparently they're a broker, not necessarily a problem if they find someone I haven't already tried... But in their web form they said they won't insure anything older than 20 years, which excludes pretty much everyone on this forum.

[scotthons]

I went with Boat US and they placed my coverage with CNA. Being in the insurance and bond industry we do a good amount of business with CNA and they are a great company. I have not had a boat claim so I can not speak to how that might be handled though.

[autobahnracing]

SkiSafe....I sank a boat sitting in my driveway....drain hole plugged and filled up with water over the winter. SkiSafe was the best insurance company I have ever dealt with. I had replacement cost insurance and they not only completely took care of my problem immediately, they did it with a totally pleasant and no fuss attitude. It could not have gone better.

[jasun]

I called NBOA and they said they only had progressive. I called my State Farm Agent and they quoted me about 377 a year for 12K agreed value with 500 deductable. The guy at Boat USA told me to go with my State Farm that is was a great price. I told him thanks for the Honesty, so from my one dealing with them, they seemed like a good company.

[cadunkle]

SkiSafe....

SkiSafe sounded like a good company, had reasonable rates, and a lot of recommendations from people with ski/wake boats. They will not insure a boat if it is more than 100 miles from where you tell them you keep it. This doesn't work for me as every summer I go to a lake 500 miles away for 2-3 weeks. I asked if I declared that and told them the time it would be there, or called before I left for vacation if it would be covered. The answer is no, if you are more than 100 miles from wherever you tell them it is normally kept, you have no insurance. This makes them unsuitable for me, as I do travel once a year to the lake house with my boat.

[TitanTn]

I'm with Progressive. I've had an excellent claim experience with them in the past, but not with a boat. I don't recall exactly what I'm paying, but it hasn't gone up in the last two years. I'm sure the geographic location has a lot to do with it.

[autobahnracing]

SkiSafe sounded like a good company, had reasonable rates, and a lot of recommendations from people with ski/wake boats. They will not insure a boat if it is more than 100 miles from where you tell them you keep it. This doesn't work for me as every summer I go to a lake 500 miles away for 2-3 weeks. I asked if I declared that and told them the time it would be there, or called before I left for vacation if it would be covered. The answer is no, if you are more than 100 miles from wherever you tell them it is normally kept, you have no insurance. This makes them unsuitable for me, as I do travel once a year to the lake house with my boat.

Good Morning Randy,
There is clearly a big misconception “out there.”
The 100 mile limitation you refer to ONLY applies to windstorm (hurricane) coverage. For anything else the policy covers the boat ANYWHERE in the US or Canada.

We have that restriction in place because, in the past, we had people who kept their boats on the Florida coast but told us they were in Michigan or Indiana or other places. The rates are obviously different when the exposure to hurricanes is greater so we just want to know where the boat is actually going to be kept and rate it based on that. For someone on the West Coast this would never even come into play (because there are no windstorms there) unless they’re keeping the boat at a second home in Florida. Even then it would still be covered for everything except a windstorm.

I hope this helps clear up the issue, but let me know if you have any questions and also let me know if you remember which sites or forums you saw this on so we can try to clear it up for people.

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention.
David Strauss
SkiSafe Customer Service

[TitanTn]

Good Morning Randy,
There is clearly a big misconception “out there.”
The 100 mile limitation you refer to ONLY applies to windstorm (hurricane) coverage. For anything else the policy covers the boat ANYWHERE in the US or Canada.

We have that restriction in place because, in the past, we had people who kept their boats on the Florida coast but told us they were in Michigan or Indiana or other places. The rates are obviously different when the exposure to hurricanes is greater so we just want to know where the boat is actually going to be kept and rate it based on that. For someone on the West Coast this would never even come into play (because there are no windstorms there) unless they’re keeping the boat at a second home in Florida. Even then it would still be covered for everything except a windstorm.

I hope this helps clear up the issue, but let me know if you have any questions and also let me know if you remember which sites or forums you saw this on so we can try to clear it up for people.

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention.
David Strauss
SkiSafe Customer Service

That's a good clarification. Thanks for the info.

[cadunkle]

Good Morning Randy,
There is clearly a big misconception “out there.”
The 100 mile limitation you refer to ONLY applies to windstorm (hurricane) coverage. For anything else the policy covers the boat ANYWHERE in the US or Canada.

We have that restriction in place because, in the past, we had people who kept their boats on the Florida coast but told us they were in Michigan or Indiana or other places. The rates are obviously different when the exposure to hurricanes is greater so we just want to know where the boat is actually going to be kept and rate it based on that. For someone on the West Coast this would never even come into play (because there are no windstorms there) unless they’re keeping the boat at a second home in Florida. Even then it would still be covered for everything except a windstorm.

I hope this helps clear up the issue, but let me know if you have any questions and also let me know if you remember which sites or forums you saw this on so we can try to clear it up for people.

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention.
David Strauss
SkiSafe Customer Service

Thanks for the reply David. I was told this from the SkiSafe agent I was talking to on the phone after requesting a quote online.

Is there any circumstance in which you will write a policy that covers windstorm damage while more than 100 miles from where the boat is normally kept? If not, rare as it may be, if I got a policy with SkiSafe what am I to do if I am at the lake house in Maine and a windstorm comes through? A hurricane would most likely be strongest to the south and cause little damage as far north as Maine. If I was on vacation, knew a hurricane was coming, and would have no insurance coverage my most likely course of action would be to pull the boat out of the water (which I do regardless, for any big storm), and then start driving south to get within 100 miles of home in NJ so I would have insurance coverage. Incidentally that would mean I would be driving from Maine, where a typical hurricane on the east coast will be weakest, to NJ where such a hurricane would be much stronger. This type of policy, for me, would encourage travel from an area of lower risk to an area of greater risk, potentially towing in wet windy conditions.

I have no place to keep a boat in Florida, no desire to purchase a lake house in Florida, nor any reason to take my boat to Florida. I hate gators and any sort of overgrown man-eating lizard. I have no desire to get into water where such prehistoric beasts hunt.

I find it frustrating that insurance companies write these policies that exempt them from paying if something unfortunate happens. If it's because of fraud (saying boat is in MI, when it in fact stays in FL) then I would think with disclosure of all places the boat is used, writing a policy to cover it in those places would not be a problem. I want an agreed value policy that covers my boat from a total loss scenario wherever it may be. I have no problem declaring where the boat is used and the timeframe is is used in each place, or calling/emailing to let you know if the boat is going to be in an area I have not stated it will be used. Will SkiSafe write a policy that covers my boat during windstorms at either of the two locations it is normally used?

[dastrau]

Thanks for the reply David. I was told this from the SkiSafe agent I was talking to on the phone after requesting a quote online.

Is there any circumstance in which you will write a policy that covers windstorm damage while more than 100 miles from where the boat is normally kept? If not, rare as it may be, if I got a policy with SkiSafe what am I to do if I am at the lake house in Maine and a windstorm comes through? A hurricane would most likely be strongest to the south and cause little damage as far north as Maine. If I was on vacation, knew a hurricane was coming, and would have no insurance coverage my most likely course of action would be to pull the boat out of the water (which I do regardless, for any big storm), and then start driving south to get within 100 miles of home in NJ so I would have insurance coverage. Incidentally that would mean I would be driving from Maine, where a typical hurricane on the east coast will be weakest, to NJ where such a hurricane would be much stronger. This type of policy, for me, would encourage travel from an area of lower risk to an area of greater risk, potentially towing in wet windy conditions.

I have no place to keep a boat in Florida, no desire to purchase a lake house in Florida, nor any reason to take my boat to Florida. I hate gators and any sort of overgrown man-eating lizard. I have no desire to get into water where such prehistoric beasts hunt.

I find it frustrating that insurance companies write these policies that exempt them from paying if something unfortunate happens. If it's because of fraud (saying boat is in MI, when it in fact stays in FL) then I would think with disclosure of all places the boat is used, writing a policy to cover it in those places would not be a problem. I want an agreed value policy that covers my boat from a total loss scenario wherever it may be. I have no problem declaring where the boat is used and the timeframe is is used in each place, or calling/emailing to let you know if the boat is going to be in an area I have not stated it will be used. Will SkiSafe write a policy that covers my boat during windstorms at either of the two locations it is normally used?


What you are describing makes perfect sense and there are several ways to handle it.
We could endorse the policy to include Windstorm coverage ANYWHERE in the state of Maine (or make it even broader by saying North of NJ). As you point out, the risk is significantly reduced as you go further north. We can always cover within 100 miles of a different location for anyone that needs it --- they just have to tell us so that we can rate it properly. And there wouldn't be any need to notify us or think about it because it would be taken care of in advance.

Of course, a winter trip wouldn't be an issue because there wouldn't be a windstorm then. You can get the basic quote at www.skisafe.com and just let us know what you need. We are always happy to make a policy work for what the customer needs.

[cadunkle]

Thanks for the reply. I've been working with one other insurance company which has seemed to come around a bit regarding hurricane coverage but have not pulled the trigger yet. Their underwriters are questionable, and have been trying to put my Saltare into a higher speed category of 60+ MPH which they weren't clear on the reasoning or affect on coverage/pricing that would have. I don't think they understand what an inboard ski boat is, they must see 454 and think Donzi or flat bottom. I'll review my quote from previously and call to see what you guys can offer now that things have settled down from the storm.

[matt24vsunsport]

Boater's Insurance Danville, CA. Great rates on insurance. Never had a claim so can't speak from experience on that, but the rates were very competitive.