Advice on insurance

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Eaton Crowe

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2021
Messages
11
I am new to the Forum.
I am shopping for insurance on a 1999 Sabre 36 Trawler and wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company. I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread. The boat I just sold, a Sabre 34 sailboat, was insured by Gowrie Group for annual premium of $1,200, similar coverage to what I am seeking for the trawler.
Any and all advice or suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
Chris Mansfield
 
I have Chubb as well and they are one of the best in the industry. I can stand by this statement as i do litigation work for the plaintiff and they are very fair and reputable.
Items to consider for coverage
1. Liability amount
2. Deductable amount
I insure my 2006 Mainship 34T for 175k property damage & 500k liability .
 
There is a member here who is in the biz and I insured through his agency on west coast. Novamar Insurance Group.
 
Eaton Crowe said:
I am new to the Forum.
I am shopping for insurance on a 1999 Sabre 36 Trawler and wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company. I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread. The boat I just sold, a Sabre 34 sailboat, was insured by Gowrie Group for annual premium of $1,200, similar coverage to what I am seeking for the trawler.
Any and all advice or suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
Chris Mansfield
Click to expand...


Chris,
I'm anxious to know why the difference in pricing, who you went with and if you wouldn't mind posting the agents name?


I'm with Geico through Boat US and while I think they are ok, I never have gotten another quote.
 
SILENTKNIGHT said:
I have Chubb as well and they are one of the best in the industry. I can stand by this statement as i do litigation work for the plaintiff and they are very fair and reputable.
Items to consider for coverage
1. Liability amount
2. Deductable amount
I insure my 2006 Mainship 34T for 175k property damage & 500k liability .
Click to expand...

AIG and Chubb are viewed as the gold standards in consumer insurance.
 
Make sure the cover you buy is equivalent. Boring, but you need to check the PDS to compare policies.
 
Thanks to all.
I found a helpful recent YouTube video by Great Loop Radio interviewing Ken Marks of Marks Marine Insurance explaining the current market. You can find it here
I am looking for at least three quotes. I will try AIG and Marks as well. Every dollar saved will be used to off-set rising diesel cost.
I appreciate all your insights and have been reading lots of threads on the Trawler Forum. Joining the Forum might be the best expenditure I have made in my search for a boat.
 
Yesterday, coincidentally, GEICO Marine Insurance has cancelled my boat insurance policy because coverage for steel-hull boats is no longer available. :nonono:
 
markpierce said:
Yesterday, coincidentally, GEICO Marine Insurance has cancelled my boat insurance policy because coverage for steel-hull boats is no longer available. :nonono:
Click to expand...
GEICO has sent me notice that ASD is too old and too big. They will be canceling ours in 2023.

But Peter has my 6....
 
I have bundled my boat into my State Farm policy, and pay about $70 a month. They cover coastal waters from Alaska through Canada to 50 miles into Mexico. I am getting a policy for Mexico through Pau Hana since my State Farm policy won't cover me down there.

No survey was required, and I am billed monthly along with my house and cars, very convenient. My boat is also a 1999 model, and the one claim I filed was promptly settled to everyone's satisfaction. When I go into Mexico I will suspend my State Farm policy until I come back into US waters, to keep the policy active.
 
Eaton Crowe said:
I am new to the Forum.
I am shopping for insurance on a 1999 Sabre 36 Trawler and wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company. I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread. The boat I just sold, a Sabre 34 sailboat, was insured by Gowrie Group for annual premium of $1,200, similar coverage to what I am seeking for the trawler.
Any and all advice or suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
Chris Mansfield
Click to expand...

Hi, Chris

I'd love to see those quotes, as a $1300 delta in premium tells me that there is a 'rest of the story' yet to be discovered. Chubb has 2 offerings (Masterpiece and Masterpiece Select)- Both are top level policies in every respect, with the Select having an edge (and being more expensive).

A lot goes into the calculations of an annual premium- vessel, experience, nav area, loss history, and more. PM or call me if you wish to discuss (206-350-5051 direct).
 
Chris - Congrats on the Saber 36. You grabbed it quick before I had a chance to make an offer! Well done and I hope you have great luck with it!
Capt. Tom P.
 
Insurance

It's all about location where do you use TBE boat this past year we traveled 4200 miles thru the canal to Colombia every time we reached out to tell the insurance company where we were there was a rider plus a new bill just be upfront as to where you use the boat the 1300 policy sounds cheap that was the insurance cost for our boat for the one day panama canal crossing to be fair I have a 60 ft selene. Replacement value 1mil plus
 
Eaton Crowe said:
I am new to the Forum.

I am shopping for insurance on a 1999 Sabre 36 Trawler and wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company. I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread. The boat I just sold, a Sabre 34 sailboat, was insured by Gowrie Group for annual premium of $1,200, similar coverage to what I am seeking for the trawler.

Any and all advice or suggestions welcome.

Thanks.

Chris Mansfield
Click to expand...
I have all of my insurance thru USAA, and if you are an active duty or honorable discharged veteran or the offspring of one who is/was a member, you are eligible to join USAA. It is member owned and does not use commissioned agents. It is consistently top rated, extremely cost competitive and pays dividends. They write their yacht insurance through Markel and assure top level service with them. [emoji569][emoji569][emoji924][emoji4]
 
We have been with Red Shield out of Portland OR for a number of years and just had our first claim. I hit a pile going into our slip and broke part of our forward rail. Claim was easy and coverage was just fine. Liberty is a 1980 PT-38 SE Trawler. Agreed value is $100,000. This loss was less than $3,000 and out deductible is $1,000.


Our broker is Anchor Marine, Mercer Island WA. Very happy with Red Shield.


That said, our home, auto and business coverages are all with Chubb, Definitely first rate. I would not change any of our insurance!
 
Last edited:
Eaton Crowe said:
I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread.
Click to expand...

Check the navigation limits. I had this happen a number of years ago. The agent accidentally wrote a policy for "Inland Lakes and Rivers". These policies do not cover the ocean and don't cover things like salvage.
 
State Farm

Last year with the price increases I checked around. State Farm was by far more reasonable. The cruising limits are 100 miles from all US, Alaska and Canadian shores which is perfect for my cruising. I had all my vehicles and properties insured with State Farm already, so I got a great discount.
 
I spent nearly 40 years in the insurance business, although ships/oil rigs not yachts. What I can say is that in our category (ie <$2.5M) we are what is called a "program risk". There is almost no individual underwriting and the rules are cast by each insurer (ie age limitation, hull material, owner resume, navigation limits, etc etc). Each insurer is different and more importantly - based on the underwriting results of the program, rules will be changed periodically. This will seem arbitrary to the individual insured because it is arbitrary.

IMO the solution is NOT to pick an insurer, although some are certainly better than others. What you need is a Broker that has the freedom to choose among many insurers, and to evaluate through constant competition which is best suited to each individual owner.

A Marine Insurance broker relies on repeat business. pick a good one and you will get consistent support year after year from someone that appreciates your repeat business.

There are several on this forum.

~A
 
I was willing to go without hull coverage and just keep liability coverage. Insurance company waived survey requirement, and I kept full coverage.
 
Insurance

Eaton Crowe said:
I am new to the Forum.
I am shopping for insurance on a 1999 Sabre 36 Trawler and wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance company. I got quotes pre-survey from CHUBB and United Marine Underwriter for $2,600 and $1,300, respectively, for equivalent coverage. Really puzzled by the spread. The boat I just sold, a Sabre 34 sailboat, was insured by Gowrie Group for annual premium of $1,200, similar coverage to what I am seeking for the trawler.
Any and all advice or suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
Chris Mansfield
Click to expand...

Where will the boat be located? If it’s East Coast or Gulf Coast then salvage coverage is extremely important. Allstate gives you 5% of the value of the boat for salvage. GEICO/BoatsUS is $500,000. Some companies don’t insure for named storms. Some have ridiculous requirements for named storms. I had an international salvage company tell me that they would not deal with State Farm. I recommend GEICO/BoatsUS.
 
I provided a new survey they required so it’s an agreed value policy. Doesn’t get any better than that.
 
We bought our Formula last August. Boat/US (Geico) didn’t ask for a survey so I asked them how to send it to them. They said they didn’t need it.
 
I have same boat can you tell me your Premium? I have Progressive but no experience with claims, thankfully
 
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