Insurance revisited

[ELECTRA VI]

My latest attempts at seeking out insurance for my 1966 34C appear to ending up staying where I am. I have tried Gowrie, Bardon & Brett and they referred me to an agent in South Florida who basically told me to stay put. I have tried Charter Lakes but can get no answer and no one returns my calls. Anyone got a late quote from BOAT US. I was told to look for 50% increase.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I was shocked to find how much more Boat US wants for insuring a boat in Florida. We may move our 36C to FL this year, a permanent move from the great lakes. My initial checking tells me that my insurance costs will tripple. Of course, the insurance companies up here specify that the boat must be out of the water and properly stored from November through March. I guess that is one major reason for the difference, but that is a huge difference in cost.

 

[Fat Boy]

I would check with Allstate. I moved from Boats US to Allstate and saved about $2k per year. Granted, they also have my home, autos, etc.

 

[captddis]

It is almost impossible to get ins. in FL. I have been with Boat US for 21 yrs. they have quadrupled mine in 3yrs no claims EVER. All the companies I called would not do it for some reason, Not in FL, no coastal waters , no boats not on a trailer, no boats over 10 years old, no boats under 1 million, etc.....
Charter lakes did not return my calls either. Karl seems to have pull maybe he can inquire with Chad as to his bad manners. For the others see above. Inamar quoted a price contingent on a out of water survey. I was going to wait until April when I will do the bottom. A couple weeks ago a friend called for his 45C and was told that Inamar will no longer insure boats over 10 years old. So I do not know if I am still eligable. Insurance companies SUCK. They made record profits all the years with no storms now when we need them they screw us.

 

[Traveler 45C]

Ditto the above!!!

 

[Pascal]

what about Hagerty ? they insure woodies but also fiberglass boats older than 12 years, larger than 18', slower than 45mph... very well respected in the collector car community...

I'm with boat US, price has gone up about 15% and they reduced the value by 15% this year :-( but could have been worst... not worth trying something else, get a survey, etc...

 

[ELECTRA VI]

Last year they wanted to give me a 50% increase, but I don't recall them lowering my agreed hull value. Of course, nothing happened last year because the PSC had not approved the increase. When did yoou renew your policy? I am due in January.

 

[captddis]

My policy renewed in Oct. went up 36%. Am told unoficially , to expect about 10% next year. Still with BUS for now.

 

[Angela]

The “getting insurance” part of the whole boat buying process has almost made me consider whether this is really worth it. I’ve spent nearly a month trying to find someone, anyone..., to insure a boat in south Florida. I’ve called everyone recommended on this forum and then some. I’ve been told all kinds of things like a 20+ year old boat is too old, or not in Florida, or not in Monroe, Dade or Broward Counties. I had to go to the UK for my insurance. The only insurer in the States who would insure it was Boat US for a whopping $15,443/year. I don’t think I have enough vasoline for that.

And I even got different stories on what I could insure. Some would tell me I could only insure to what the survey value was and not a penny less. Others would tell me that I could only insure to the amount of my cash investment, regardless of the survey value, which means the insurance company gets the benefit of my bargain, not me. That didn’t seem fair to me and upon further inquiry, I used the hypothetical scenario of what if my cash investment in the boat was only $100K, yet the boat surveyed at $350K - meaning I could never replace the boat for that investment. The response to that scenario was that I could only insure the boat for $100K and in the event of $100K in damage, the insurance company would get to keep the boat. So, does that mean if you inherit a boat or receive it as a gift and have no cash investment, the boat is uninsurable? Never could get a straight answer at that point that wouldn’t have been in direct conflict with what they just told me.

I finally ended up with a premium of around $7,400/year but the hoops I’ve had to leap through....right down to itemizing every single item of personal property, and their replacement values, I’ll be bringing to the boat, i.e. how many forks, spoons, knives, pairs of shoes, towels, small galley appliances . . . right down to the cat's $110 electric self-scooping crap box (my mother bought that for the cat), etc. I thought this was insane for an insurer to require someone to do. This list was hundreds of line items long, but I had no choice - I could only find ONE insurer who would write a policy (other than BoatUS).

Even the boat’s current insurer said “no way” - they were looking forward to a Florida policy being cancelled and stated they didn't want any more Florida customers. Getting insurance just isn’t as simple as it used to be. Heads up if you’re thinking of bringing a boat to Florida.

Ang

 

[Genesis]

FWIW, my policy with Markel renewed a couple of months ago with zero premium increase.....

 

[Passages]

Ang,
Do we take this to mean the 58' MY passed survey and you're setting up to close?

 

[Angela]

Ang,
Do we take this to mean the 58' MY passed survey and you're setting up to close?

 

[Traveler 45C]

Ang, were you searching for a commercial policy?

 

[Angela]

No. Geez, I'm afraid to even go there....but I eventually will have to do that too.