Boat insurance

Bill,
Check out NBOA Insurance @ 800-248-3512. It is an agreed value policy and I have used them for the last two years. They have better coverage and are about 1/2 of what Boat US charged me. I found them to be very knowledgeable and easy to deal with. They have some special arrangement with Sea Ray and insure a lot of boats. The coverage is actually placed with ACE Marine Insurance Co and I have high limits required by my homeowner's umbrella policy.
 
I'd like to follow-up on Capt Chris 53 who started this thread, which I am resurrecting. I have a 2009 R25 and just received my 2012 policy period premium notice from BoatUS marine insurance = $1396. I followed a Mainship 33 owner's advice and contacted a local broker who specializes in marine insurance and got the same insurance amounts and essentially the same deductibles with several important improvements through ACE for $714. That's pretty close to 50% off which is not insignificant!

My interactions with my new agent are very different then dealing with BoatUS. Calling BoatUS about your policy puts you to a salesman who immediately transfers you to an "underwriter" if you have a question. They often have to get back to me, which they do. You deal with different people on each call. Now I talk to one person who's cell phone I have for emergencies or his partner in his office who actually recognized my address since my buddy's Mainship is laid up over the winter in my yard. While polite and efficient, the application is done mostly by phone interview and is quite intense and I felt the agent knew exactly what he was talking about. My guy examined six different companies for the best price/coverage which helped reduce my cost so much.

Seek out an independent agent and check out options. In Massachusetts I'd certainly recommend Stanley Ashman of Aero-Maine Insurance (he does planes and boats only) at 800-872-7080 to review your current policy.
 
Jerry,
I still stand by my post on the first page (sleepyboat) near the bottom. I believe I got big coverage for less than big rates. I have them take me out of the water Nov 1 and back in again May 1 and it is still covered on my trailer next to the garage. It's only a phone call with nothing to loose.
Regards,
John
 
I am using Bob at Anchor and feel it is excellent. Compared to BoatUS and far superior. I asked them for a written comparison and they gave me one. Also, there insurance carries a large dollar amount for towing. Had to use it when the anti-freeze line went and no problem with the claim. 206-352-4014.
Dennis Nitka
 
John, I've just now written to Bob at Anchor. My major point to my fellow TugNutters was to not get sucked into BoatUS by assuming they must be the best for the money given their size. That's what happened with me for the first year. Huge savings for better coverage is possible and helps in the current economic times...
 
In purchasing boat/yacht insurance, although premium is important, primary consideration should be to the type of policy and specific elements of coverage. Does your Liability limit reflect the minimum level of coverage required to provide adequate protection? A Liability limit $300,000 is the minimum that I recommend, advising that (the) premium differential is minimal.

If you sustain a partial loss, does the policy provide 'Replacement Cost' coverage? Does a deductible and depreciation apply? In the event of a total loss, is the policy 'Agreed Value or Actual Cash Value'? Does a deductible and/or depreciation apply? Does your policy provide fuel spill/pollution, salvage, towing and hurricane haul-out coverages? Under 'Maritime Law', a simple towing service assist could result in a boat/yacht owner's exposure to tens of thousands of dollars in expense.

Homeowner and/or 'generic' (Progressive, Allstate, Foremost, etc) policies do not offer these critical elements of protection. Be proactive and aware of the type & level of protection that you have before an incident!!

BoatUS is NOT the most favorable provider of boat/yacht insurance. Their rates tend to be 20%-30% higher than other major insurers (Travelers, ACE, etc) . . without providing elements of coverage critical to individual needs. In addition, first year rates may be low(er) in an effort to write new business with significant increases in second and third year renewals. Although premium is primary, of greater significance are those critical elements of protection described above.

Aero-Marine Insurance direct writes with five companies and has expanded underwriting authority to quote and bind insurance, generally, within minutes. I urge that you call and compare your marine insurance coverage and premiums. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Stanley Ashman
Aero-Marine Insurance
800-872-7080
http://www.aeromarineinsurance.com
 
Alas I might chime in that the above discussion does not include Florida . We live under a different set of rules and there seems to be no such thing as reasonable insurance . I will say that Bob at Anchor in Wa. has done the best for my out of state registered customers ,followed by Progressive . The key is shop and compare . On the towing insurance note ,go with whomever has the greatest presence in the areas you cruise .
Marc
 
Like Marc said shop around. When I first bought my R25 I checked with a couple of companies and each wanted over $1000/year to insure my boat. They considered Alabama is a hurricane state just like Florida. When I mentioned I lived in upper northeast part of the state almost 350 miles from coast and all we ever saw from any hurricane was a little rain they said they had to considere the state as a single area.

However, Progressive only considers 2 or 3 counties around Mobile as Hurricane areas and my cost from them was only about $400/year (full replacement value).
 
I had Boat US insurance but after having some damage repaired that cost around $2000 (on a prior boat 🙂), and after being a customer for many, many years, they dropped me. I am now with Allstate with no regrets and would never go back to Boat US for insurance, even if they begged me. I understand dropping a policy for 10's (maybe) or 100's of thousands of dollars, but around 2,000 is ridiculous. Also, their policy limited my active season at the time in the North East. If I remember correctly I had to have the boat out of the water by early November, which kills the season early for me. In any event, read the fine print before you sign the dotted line.
 
doke01,
I agree, its is "buyer beware". I have the Anchor policy on my R-29 and I decided to take AeroMarine up on their offer to compare policies (earlier post). I got the quote back from AeroMarine and it was $500.00 less than Anchor. BUT, there is a clause in the AeroMarine policy stating "7 month navigation, 5 month layup". Being in Southern Ca. with 12 months of boating weather I would not be interested in a 5 month layup. I think I'll stay with Anchor and the wonderfull service Bob offers.
 
This last Saturday night, Sunday morning we had a big wind storm in Anchorage (110 mph gusts within a mile or so of the house). I keep my R25 on a pad next to my house in the winter. The wind pushed the boat backwards 25 feet, toward a large drop-off at the rear of my property. The boat was pushed into my travel trailer, which is why I believe it stopped. The point for this is to relay my insurance story. I have had Progressive boat coverage for 5+ years, both the R25 and my previous boat, a C-Dory 25. I reported the claim Sunday, also requesting a tow rig as the boat and travel trailer were wedged together. Progressive dispatched a tow rig within the hour and the boat was back on its parking pad within a couple more hours. The boat was damaged, primarily just chips in the gelcoat (the travel trailer fared much worse). Today the adjuster inspected the damage, wrote up the repair estimate and left me a check.

I could not ask for better service. I won't be able to get the boat to the repair facility until spring, so won't know the rest of the story until then. The adjuster assured me if more damage is discovered in the repair process, Progressive would take care of it.

So far, kudos to Progressive. 😀
 
Jroyle,

On the issue of the "7 month navigation 5 month layup" clause in the AeroMarine policy I would talk to Stanley Ashman (see his previous note on this thread) about how that works. In my case, my ACE declarations page has no layup period stated at all, and I just re-read the ACE Yachtsmand/Boatsman Policy manual and I see no requirement for this. They may have inferred a layup period and entered it in your quote, so I'd ask them to re-issue the quote without any layup period.

I move between Florida and Massachusetts, and in order to avoid Florida insurance rates I need to have the boat out of hurricane prone southeastern states during the hurricane season. I am not allowed to "layup" the boat at all in Florida, in the summer–even keeping it out-of-the-water on a rack storage system from which the boatyard removes the top level boats with any predicted ≥70 mph wind. This isn't a problem since my boat spends the summer season on Cape Cod in Mass. I have no required layup time on my ACE policy issued through AeroMarine.

It sort of works out, because I figure the $700/year I save in insurance along with no winterization costs in Mass helps pay about 1/4 of the professional transport fee I have to pay moving the boat back and forth each year between Florida and Massachusetts allowing me to use the boat year round. If I was retired and could take the boat back and forth myself using my trailer and truck, I might come close to breaking even!

Stanley is licensed in all New England states to write policies under AeroMarine using difference insurances, so I'm puzzled why AeroMarine even offered you a quote for a boat in California as I do not believe he is licensed do so? This is another reason I have to keep the boat six months or more of the year in New England; i.e., in order to not have a Florida broker write the policy and thus, save $ by avoiding a Florida-based policy.

Stanley has the power to underwrite (I think that means he can adjust quotes depending on his assessment of your boat's risk) and he is especially keen on anyone with formal past and on-going boating education. That means lots of the ex-navy guys, coast guard and six-pack captains who seem to purchase Rangers might get an especially favorable rate. Its also nice to be recognized for all that formal learning by someone. If you base your boat in New England than, in addition to Anchor, I'd suggest a call to AeroMarine as–if nothing else–you'll get some educated advice from Stanley and/or his partner. Just ask for a policy estimate with no layup period if you plan to use the boat year round.
 
Jerry,
Thanks for the feedback. Stanley did indeed repsond with a 12 month quote for So. Cal. waters that is still around $580.00 cheaper than Anchor. I will be taking a serious look at the AeroMarine policy when my Anchor policy lapses in 6 months. The licenseing issue is a little troubling but I'll double check with Stanley.
Jeff
 
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