Boat Insurance

Any one got any suggestions for companies to insure a used boat in CA? Boat is worth $30-$35K. Thanks.

Oh, yeah, what should I expect to be paying per month for standard coverage?

BoatUS.com - $500 for a year - full coverage for a 50K boat, so yours will be a bit less.

I have Ski-Safe.

ski safe too! good stuff

ski safe here also, 380.00 or so a year for a 32k

State Farm $38 per month for 06 VLX..

aaa! $75000 @ $490/yr! they cover underwater and out of state!

don't do AAA in California, they will not insure you on the Colorado river. I'd recommend ski safe.

Also Ski Safe- you can get a yearly rate or a seasonal rate (March to November). Depends on how hardcore you are.

Progressive...$430/yr for stated value policy (35k) w/ no lay up during winter.

Man I paid 600 for the year and its comming up for renewl pretty quick

http://www.wakeworld.com/Articles/2004/insurance.asp

i have AAA, they are great. 500 a year full coverage on a 50k boat. but i also have everything else with them, auto, home, etc..and i can use my boat were ever i want accept the ocean

i got my house and 2 cars through nationwide and they wouldnt even insure my boat......i went through progressive direct and got 280 for the year on a 15000 stated value policy

What liability limits, medical limits are you guys getting - If you own anything else you better get as much as you can - never know when something bad will happen.

boatersinsurance.com

http://www.westmarinsurance.com/boat_yacht/

If you can get it, you can't beat USAA, I pay like $300/yr. full coverage for my 05 Supreme V220. I too have everything with them, all 3 cars, boat, home, renters. I love them.

USAA.........

does USAA still offer boat insurance? I had my last boat with them but when I tried to ensure my new boat last fall they said that they now farm out their boat insurance to Progressive. The Progressive quote was pretty high.

Progressive was pretty aggressive on pricing, about a third less than state farm (If they are in CA)

(Message edited by fill_er_up on January 28, 2007)

I pay just under 400 a year for full coverage..

Chris P, that was my exact experience. I have my boat loan, Home and Insurance with USAA and they sent me to progressive that wanted $1,200 for the same coverages that others were offering for $600. I went with West Marine Insurance as well.

I have not experienced that with USAA, but that doesn't mean I won't. As far as I know when I called I am still with them "grandfathered" so they said over the phone I am ok, but new customers are being out-sourced to Progressive for boat insurance. I also have auto, jewelry with them.

$419 w/ State Farm replacement at 75k

Ski Safe, 580.00 for the year great coverage on a 2000 Super Air. Seems like I am paying too much

USAA for everything.
I must be "grandfathered" in as well.

Everybody just keeps throwing out 400 a year 300a year etc. What are the deductibles and limits (liability and medical)all of this will vary your rate.
You shouldn't be worried about just the boat - look at it this way you wreck a 50k boat and it is totaled insurance pays you for it right - the girl friend of one of your buddy's gets hurt bad or dies. You only got the 100,000 liability and her parents are sueing you for 1 million. Now you have that boat that the insurance replaced that you have to sell because of the court judgment against you.

I know this may be out there a little but in today's world it is very possible. Maybe if you got 500,000 in liability they would have settled out of court for that?

Just food for thought

I just got a quote for $486 for 06 Supra 24SSV. That is with a 4 month min storage. State Farm seems to be pretty close as well. I need to verify if they are cash value or replacement policies. That is my concern.

I feel like im getting screwed now. I pay almost $900 a year with Progressive on my 2005 Sanger V-210. Will someone please message me and offer some assistance on what I might have set up wrong. I am planning on going back to school soon and this would be a great way to save some money. Thanks in advance.

Boaters Insurance 1-800-344-7488
Usually cheaper than Ski-safe

I just signed with Western Marine Service. $623.00 for a new 06 Sanger V215. $300,000.00 Liability, $300,000.00 Uninsured Boaters. I know I can get a cheaper premium, but they have two new features that I liked. The first is for every year without a claim, deductible is dropped by 25%, so after four years of no claims, no deductible. The other is that if the boat suffers a "total loss" within 5 years, they don't pay you the depreciated value, they will replace the boat with a new current year model. So on my 06 boat, if there is a "total loss" in 2011, I get a new 2011 boat with same options and no deductible. Worth a few hundred bucks a year in my mind!

Shawn

Shawn,

What is the url for Marine Service? I want to compare them.
Thanks

That's the same thing I have. Their website is up there already but another way to get a hold of them is:

http://www.aquapac.com/
http://www.westmarinsurance.com/boat_yacht/

Allow me to jump in here right quick as I wrote the article on insurance for Wakeworld. I write for many of the carriers listed above including Western Maritime, Progressive, Evanston, Colony, Ski Safe, Allied/Nationwide, Foremost, Unitrin and Boat US. and more.....

All have varying forms of coverage offered and you get what you pay for weather it is split limit auto type coverage or Protection & Indemnity.

If you can afford a boat & gas for it then you better step up for your insurance and buy lmits over premium.

Shawn for example has sweet dock in Disco Bay, new 06 Sanger on his profile yet accepted a Westmar policy with 300K limit when he could have had $500K limit for less than $50 more. Is that a good choice? Shawn let me ask you this? If I crash into you and have no insurance or say a Progressive 15/30/5 policy and you or a family member is paralyzed. You will only collect(from my Progressive Policy)$5k toward your boat damage. Now there 15K per person & a max of 30K per single collsiion for you left on my policy for bodily injury to your boat occupants. My question is. Is 300K from your unninsured/underinsured boaters enough to pay all your debts and maintain any decent kind of lifestye for the rest of your life when for $50 more you could collect an extra $200K.

If your boat creates a wreck you are held financially liable for(because you own it)is $300K enough to defend & indemnify you? I dont feel so. My guess is you purchased through either a boat dealer at time of close due to convienence or called them direct and the agent was trying to low ball your premium to get you to buy rather than asking if it really suited your needs? Point is if you call direct or allow a dealer to write your stuff you may not get someone who has your best intrest in mind.

Direct writers are cheaper for a reason. The call center people get paid a salary and override on what they place. Therefore they will almost always lowball coverage limits to drive a low premium they can close.

What about your health insurance? Do you know if they require an assignment from your auto or boat policy.(Kaiser and many others do here in Ca). Why should you care? It means they get to collect any medical releated expenses back from your policy "regardless" of fault if your the named insured or a family member of. What if it is a buddy passenger you dont know what or if they even have medical coverage. So this means maybe for example a blown knee or stitches can result in a medical loss on your boat policy even though you are counting on the medical insurer to take care of it.

Next thought is do you guys carry an umbrella? Do you know what one is? Why dont you have one? Does the carrier that has your current umbrella offer uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage in it? Most dont & only a few do. Why should you care? Well if you use the example above and someone is paralyzed it would be excess liability for boat owner. That means 2 seperate carriers hiring defense team & both must consent to a settlement. What if the owner/family member of named insured is the one injured or paralyzed. Wouldnt and extra mil or 2 from your own umbrella be sweet?

I am not trying to lecture here and I apologize to Shawn again for using him as an example. I have seen all the scenerios presented above, witnessed boat accidents in the delta. I have conducted forums for insurance professionals on this topic, I work with adjusters, surveyors & insurance company staff & I assure you there is more to your insurance needs than getting the lowest premium. Please dont short yourself for the sake of a couple bucks.

Maybe we should send David here @ wakeworld a note and ask him to repost the insurance article for all the newbies as it's spring again.

Again I apologize to Shawn for using him as an example and would gladly answer questions via email or phone. I am NOT soliciting for any business here. I wish you all the best and hope everyone has a great summer and stays safe. I hope to see you on the water soon.

Rick
916-428-1309

Rick,

No worries, thanks for the info! I am willing to pay a few bucks for coverage of the vessel, so a few extra bucks for liability would not be an issue. You posed a lot of questions, many of which I did not think of. Now, being in the biz, what would you recommend as an ideal, yet realistic policy regarding coverages?

I went with Western since that is who I had with my last boat. I had one claim with my trialer and they were great to work with, no hassle and took care of me quickly. I have heard the horror stories of other insurance claims, so the service was a factor in my decision.

Thanks!

Shawn

Rick, thank you... I totally forgot I wanted to get umbrella insurance. I will take the time to double check my limits on my boat also....(wow I hate old age)...

Up here is the Toronto area I have full coverage including underwater and no depreciation for 5 years..

$3million liability, $300 deductable on underwater and $500 for theft and above water damage. It is also insuranced while on a traler or moored.

Paying $700 per year for coverage of $65k...

Shawn thanks for not being pissed I used you as an example. Your Westmar policy is honestly tops, keep it. I too have my personal boat insured with them. Service there is #1 and I know most of the underwriters, managers and claim reps. Just increase your limits to max offered. I bet it costs you less than $50 to increase to 500/500 limits. Look at it as self insuring not buying boat insurance.

Protection & Indemnity policies are far better in my veiw than the split limits auto policies.
If you guys want a good umbrella find an agnet that has Navigators. It has the uninsured/underinsured clause in it so you can collect form your own policy if you need to. Yes it will cost an extra $100 to get but thats cheap IMO. Mine runs $356 annually. This is HUGELY important if you live in a No Fault State like Florida, Utah, Nevada etc... where you must collect form your own carrier regardless of fault.

Everyone here post their premiums & comapnies but not the actual form of coverage they have. Many of these companies offer both forms and the auto following form is much cheaper for a reason.

Please take a few minutes and read your policy now, in the winter. Make certain you dont have a lay up clause you mistakenly break in March accidently because you use your boat because the weather is nice. See if it replacement cost, actual cash value or agreeed value? See if have max medical limits of 5-10K. If not get them its pennies. See if there is an underwater damage exclusion, if so change companies. See if you have roadside coverage for trailer failure? See if you have pollution coverage? See if have added the 5K stereo to the hull coverage so in event of loss an adjuster doesnt tell you its not covered. See if it is a named driver policy? Now is a great time to call our company before the season rush.

Rick

Whoops Son signed on and I didnt see it. My bad.

Rick

Rick,

In your opinion, which is better - split limits i.e 250/500/100 or 500 CSL (combined single limit). I have Progressive and they do not offer 500/500 for BI. I checked the rest of my policy and I'm good to go...no layup period, maxed out medical, agreed value, fuel spill liab, 5k on personal effects, roadside on trailer & on-water towing for boat, no named driver exclusions and no underwater exclusions. The 500 CSL is about 100 bucks more and the 250/500/100 is only 20 bucks more. I'm assuming that the 500 CSL is better b/c it will pay up to 500k to one person instead of the 250k for the split-limit coverages...is this correct? BTW, those $ amounts are for Liab and UM...

500 CSL is broader and costs slightly more.

Example #1
If you crash into me and have 250/500/100 You only have $250Kto defend & indemnify you. Now If you have 500K CSL Progressive has to pay up to $500k to defend & indemnify you.

Example #2
If I crash into you and have 250/500 limits you could only collect $250K from my carrier. If you were really messed up, wouldnt you like to be able to collect and extra $250K from your own policy under the uninsured/Underinsured motorist?

Is it worth an extra $100 yr or $8.34 a month to buy this coverage? Remember its $250K of self insurance and leagal defense. Seems like no brainer to me.

All of the coverage comparisons aside, here's a company comparison......


I have been with BoatUS for 5 years and have never had a claim. On the new boat we bought two years ago, our premium has been $490 each year for a stated value policy of $37K. I won't bore you with coverage levels etc. After seeing this thread I decided to do some shopping around before renewing my BoatUS policy in a couple weeks.

I called USAA, with whom we have our home owners and auto policies. USAA offers boat insurance, but they do it through Progressive, or should I say Progressive offers boat insurance through USAA? Anyway, long story short, I got the exact same coverages except I added another $200K to my liabilty coverage and my policy was only $377 with BoatUS.

So I ended up with a better policy and saved $113 by switching to Progressive. No too shabby!

I have to chime in here and give a plug for Rick and his team. I insured my boat with Rick and was impressed with how his team works and their straight up no BS. I switched from state farm (who i have been with for 20 years) and I got a better rate with a well known company. Pay the extra money. That's why they call it insurance. It ensures that you can continue to maintain your standard of living if something bad should happen

Richard: Did you really save $113? You shopped but did you ask the right questions? you went from a true Marine form (Boat US)that had Protection & Indemnity(liability) coverage to Progressive which offers split limit auto form following. Coverages ARE NOT the same. In my opinion you made bad choice, but hey you did save $113.

Shawn was cool when I used him as an example I only hope you will be also. Look buying insurance onliine or from direct writer is risky. If you are going to do this, at least ask for a sample copy of the insuring agreement and actually read it. If you dont understand it have someone else read it to you who does or call an agent and ask.

COVERAGE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PREMIUM PAID IF YOU HAVE A LOSS.

Rick

Ok on my policy the bulk of my premium is coming from my comprehensive and collision coverage. They are as follows

COMPREHENSIVE $1,000 DED TOTAL LOSS REPLACEMENT -- $380.00
RATING BASE $39,765

COLLISION $1,000 DED TOTAL LOSS REPLACEMENT --$281.00
RATING BASE $39,765

My question is what is the difference in the two and is the above coverage good? I am a newbie to this whole insurance thing.

rick- thanks for the post - I posted early in this thread about how every body seems only concerned with the lowest cost. I went with Boat U.S. yacht policy and got the highest limits they would give and looking into a umbrella. IMO insurance is not the place to be cheap, most of us will never use it but that one time if we do will be worth ever penny.

Who can you get a umbrella through?
Current home/car insurance carrier?
I live in VA.

I read your article on the site before calling around and it helped alot with which questions to ask - Thanks

I like the Navigators Umbrella. Ck with Mypersonalumbrella.com if your an internet buyer or go to Navigators Insurance web site and find a local agent. There are many good carriers just ask if they include the uninsured, underinsured motorist clause you want.

Jeremy:
Collision is hitting or colliding with any object.
Comprehensive is theft, vandalism, hurricane blows it away, crushed by ice in winter, animal or varmit damage,tree limb crushes it, pretty much any loss besides striking another object?

Not one of you has mentioned a freeze exclsuion. have you read your policies. Were having a heck of a freeze storm about now in the mid west. I can tell you All State does not exclude freeze damage when most carriers do. Are you just not worried because you winterized?

Anyone considering boat insurance CALL RICK H.

Shawn K,

I don't know if anyone addressed this (I got tired of reading).

$600 deductible - 25% = $475 deductible.
$475 deductible - 25% = $356.25 deductible
$356.25 deductible - 25% = $267.19 deductible
$267.19 deductible - 25% = $200.39 deductible

.... An example. 50% a $100 item is $50. Taking an additional 50% off (Some sales are "Take an additional 50% off") leaves you paying $25. .. Or 75% off the original price.

My renewal just came up. I was with SkiSafe. After reading Richards SSV post I increased my coverage and am paying $255 less. Went form $756 to $501, and no I have not had any claims on the boat.