Insurance going crazy

[AlanT]

Another thought for those trying to compare premiums between dissimilar boats and different locations.

The majority of the premium that you are charged is based on the potential for a complete loss of the vessel and therefore is calculated as a percentage rate which is applied to the amount they would have to pay out, in other words the declared/insured value:

Declared/InsuredValue $100,000 Premium $1,000 derived from a rate of 1% for example.


Then there will be modifications to the rate to reflect the particular risk. For example a credit if a larger than 'standard' deductible is chosen, or a load, if applicable (and/or more restrictive conditions) for a location that is considered more hazardous such as FL for example.

So, if you want to compare premiums of boats in a similar hazard zone the easiest way to do that is to compare the rate - not the premium.

You can see that comparing the premiums of even two similar boats with different valuations is not that helpful. Example:

A quick check of GB 42' trawlers for sale showed a range from $75k - $350k.

At my current insurance rate of 1% as an example the premiums for these would range from $750 to $3,500! In reality the rate for the $75k boat would likely be loaded up during 'underwriting review' to reflect substandard valuation. In other words there is not enough premium to pay for the partial losses in the premium charged, so a load would be applied - say $500 to produce a rate of 1.67% and a total premium of $1,250.

I hope this is helpful
~A

 

[AlanT]

Hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th. My insurance company let's me go South of Savannah after November 1st. Where did you come up with September 1st as being the end of hurricane season?

Ted

+1 In the Caribbean September is considered the worst month of the year for hurricanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_hurricane_season

 

[Nikko]

Speaking of insurance… what liability limit would you recommend in order to satisfy most marina/yard requirements one might find in the US, Canada and Bahamas?

$300,000? $500,000? More?

Thanks!

$2Mill is a common requirement for British Columbia marinas.

 

[Robster_in_edmonds]

Keep in mind that your liability coverage has nothing to do with the value of your boat. It covers you for any damage you might do to others (boats, docks, environmental damage). Let's say you are liable for hitting another boat, hull is punctured, diesel leaks, boat sinks and one of the people on the other boat is permanently injured. Your $500,000 liability coverage will be gone and then you can be sued for the remaining damages. Maybe not an issue if you are a dirt-poor live aboard with nothing to lose. But if you're retired, have a few million in your accounts, maybe a second home, you could lose it all. That's why we have a Personal Liability Umbrella to extend coverage beyond the liability of the boat (and our cars, etc.).

 

[NWSeadog]

$2Mill is a common requirement for British Columbia marinas.

Does the $2 Mil also apply to transient boats?

 

[Bigsfish]

My insurance went up to $17 for the year. I’ve had a boat for 40 years with only one claim when I hit a submerged vessel in the middle of a channel in the ICW so now I self insure. Had I done that originally I could have save enough to buy a couple of boats.

 

[Circumnavigator]

Travelers:
$187,500 value $500,000 liability
2013 Webers Cove Trawler
Limits of navigation extended to Strait of Belle Isle

$1,500 premium


I carry a separate Personal Liability Umbrella which covers boat, auto, house, etc.


Jim

 

[Action]

Your $500,000 liability coverage will be gone and then you can be sued for the remaining damages. Maybe not an issue if you are a dirt-poor live aboard with nothing to lose.

Or if you do not own your assets. Your Trust owns them.

 

[Bigsfish]

Liability: my boat is owned by a corporation and I own nothing in my name, all assets are in a trust and divided into slats (Montana) of which I own some percentage. It confusing but attorneys who charge $500.00 + an hour tell me I’m protected.

 

[Action]

+1 ^^^^

There are a number of ways to handle that. the above is just one.

Coordinating the insurance with the entities may get interesting.
And a solution might be the entity hires you as an exclusive skipper.
Say for a nominal annual fee.

 

[woodlord]

Geico sucks

Give United Marine a call I have a 2009 North Pacific 43 and I have been with them for 7 years I just renewed my policy $1800.00 $350000.00 coverage 1,000000.00 liability the only thing they did was double the deductible to 6000.00 and that was last year
Woodlord

 

[Slo-Mocean]

I think there's another way (the insurance company side) to look at this. If you look at hurricane Ian and the thousands of boats lost in SW Fl, there will likely be a percentage of owners who think, " it's insured, not my problem if the hurricane takes it away." While there are owners that make a great effort to keep their boat safe and have a viable hurricane plan, there are probably more owners who tell the insurance company they have a plan, but don't follow through with it.

After hurricane Ian and the loss of all those boats, I find it hard to understand how an insurance company doesn't have a 33% deductible for named storm loss or claims in the prime hurricane zone.

I see a time coming when insurance companies will have large deductibles for named storm claims of movable assets (unlike a house). The idea that you choose to evacuate but not take your car and the insurance has to pay for it, seems ridiculous to me.

For the record, I'm a Fort Myers resident and my boat is based in Fort Myers. My insurance policy has me North of Savannah, GA between June 1st and November 1st. My insurance is very reasonable as I take a proactive approach of keeping it away from named storms.

Ted

My wife writes high end customers insurance in Naples, just trying to find underwriters before Ian was difficult as 6 major underwriters pulled out months before. Even writing insurance today is nearly impossible in SW Florida.

 

[MrPilot]

Seems like Chubb or Markel are friendlier than others? Has anyone been told a boat older than 25 years is uninsurable? I have a 2001 Mainship 390 currently with Foremost and everything has been fine so far but after reading these posts I'm starting to wonder.

 

[Comodave]

We went from Geico to Markel. Better coverage. Good rate. Used Peter ay Novamar. Excellent.

 

[ancora]

We just got our quote from Novamar...less than half of what Geico wanted. We were able to customize the policy to our boating activities, something Geico would not do.

 

[Bigsfish]

Good for you, competition works. I prefer to self insure except for liability. I keep my boat in Miami and haven’t had a direct hit by a hurricane in many years and never had any damage but I make the boat fast to my dock with heavy lines. Lucky? Maybe