Boat Insurance

[dingbat]

If you want a good laugh, or cry as it be, read your policy in full. If push comes to shove, there are more holes and disclaimers in your policy than a window screen.

"No fault" is a legalized insurance scam.

 

[WaterDR]

I think it's important to note how complicated your life is. For me, two houses, cars, boats, life, umbrella...it's much cleaner to stick with one company.

As some have pointed out, I using USAA and Progressive for boats is two companies but they work together. With a major claim I can imagine challenges when not being with one company. Other rate shoping is personal. For example, you have to compare like to like plans and also know how a policy may affect other policies.

For example. My boat rates jumped substantially adding teen drivers. Also, those with USAA should know that they do not cover drivers under 18 on personal water craft anymore. Progressive does. So, keep this in mind if you have an umbrella policy from USAA. As such, I have increased my liability with progressive for that very reason.

 

[BigDfromTN]

I saved 1000 year on one boat, and got twice the coverage when i move away from progressive thru usaa and while i love usaa for many things, a large claim in the million dollar range when one does not have that much coverage is not a pleasant experience. Cost us about 12k on our own people to defend.


that said, lesson learned is buy high amounts of covereage. The adjuster even specifically told me if i had a million dollar limit they'd be all over it. Only had 100k, he in essence told me we were on our own. This was a vehicle, but same concept. I also fault them for not making me think thru gettting higher coverage when i added the boy.

​Like others here... I highly suggest liability on everything you have that moves.

​Always buy high limits if you have any assets or future earnings to protect. As was stated above by Joe, The insurance company only has to provide defense for you until they pay the policy limits. What that means in a nut shell is: IF you have a liability claim that you are obviously at fault and they have no chance of defending and settling the claim for under your limit. They have the option to post the policy limit with the court and walk away. That leaves you to defend yourself out of your pocket. I buy 500K primary limit and an umbrella above that for all my vehicles both land and water. I even have 500K + on my golf cart we use to drive to and from the dock and around the neighborhood. I am also glad I did, and also have "Medical Payments" coverage. Had a claim for that where I was driving my cart with wife and another couple on board (cart has 4 forward facing seats and bed on back) and had an accident. One of passengers needed medical attention for a cut on her nose. Progressive reimbursed her for the visit and other supplies needed for her care. Me on the other hand took the brunt of the blow and have an ugly scar on my knee to show for it and remind me to be more careful. They also reimbursed me for ER visit, drugs, and med supplies.

​Back to Progressive. If you have multiple policies with them you get a discount on both policies. On boat policies, the more boats you have on there the larger the discount. SO, if Progressive is competitive in your state/region and you have boats, RVs, motorcycle, ATV/UTV or golf cart, you may do well to insure them all with Progressive to get the best pricing. If you are in TN and would like a quote, let me know.

 

[WaterDR]

Your friend didn't opt for an 'agreed value' policy. No matter how many years pass, Geico will, in the event of a total loss, pay the amount we agreed the boat is worth when I bought the policy.

It's an important point to know, no matter which insurance company you go with. It costs a bit more to do it that way, but both BoatUS and Geico were willing to insure my boat for $22,000. In my case Geico's rate was lower.

My .02

It's a 40k boat. This wasn't an issue of te value of the boat, but them depreciating the lower end unit.

 

[WaterDR]

I saved 1000 year on one boat, and got twice the coverage when i move away from progressive thru usaa and while i love usaa for many things, a large claim in the million dollar range when one does not have that much coverage is not a pleasant experience. Cost us about 12k on our own people to defend.


that said, lesson learned is buy high amounts of covereage. The adjuster even specifically told me if i had a million dollar limit they'd be all over it. Only had 100k, he in essence told me we were on our own. This was a vehicle, but same concept. I also fault them for not making me think thru gettting higher coverage when i added the boy.

This happens to a lot of people....they price shop and forgot to really look at the liability limits.

I have a million on everything and actually need to raise it. It's not only a sound approach to protect your financial future but when a large claim is made against you, umbrella policies cover legal defense costs which standard liability coverage does not.

We had a dog bite a child my daughter was baby sitting. It was a mess....trust me. However, USAA paid all legal claims and I never had to worry about a settlement which was in the 20k range only. All legal council fees paid 100%.

Anyone with a house, a family, etc...should have an umbrella policy. They can be very reasonably priced but do increase in costs as your life becomes more complicated...which is understandable. It's only a few hundred bucks a year.

 

[jkust]

I think it's important to note how complicated your life is. For me, two houses, cars, boats, life, umbrella...it's much cleaner to stick with one company.

As some have pointed out, I using USAA and Progressive for boats is two companies but they work together. With a major claim I can imagine challenges when not being with one company. Other rate shoping is personal. For example, you have to compare like to like plans and also know how a policy may affect other policies.

For example. My boat rates jumped substantially adding teen drivers. Also, those with USAA should know that they do not cover drivers under 18 on personal water craft anymore. Progressive does. So, keep this in mind if you have an umbrella policy from USAA. As such, I have increased my liability with progressive for that very reason.

On the Agreed Value comment above, I had my boat eight years and got my full purchase price less the deductible so eight years of use and agreed value allowed me every penny back plus the 4k trailer as well.

On the comment above using one insurance company, man I wish that was remotely possible for us. We have many homes and properties and lots of vehicles, and toys/4 wheelers/snowmobiles/trailers and boats, life insurances and on and on. It is simply not possible for one single carrier to fulfill our needs for various reasons. Our insurance situation can be cumbersome to handle as we have so many policies I can't even tell you. I don't know why but what Progressive will charge a hundred bucks for, others will charge 300. My wife once rolled her new SUV on the highway several times and we had progressive and they had a check in our hands that same week for more than I paid for the truck which resulted in a 10% rate increase when the renewal came along.

 

[redneck joe]

This happens to a lot of people....they price shop and forgot to really look at the liability limits.

I have a million on everything and actually need to raise it. It's not only a sound approach to protect your financial future but when a large claim is made against you, umbrella policies cover legal defense costs which standard liability coverage does not.

We had a dog bite a child my daughter was baby sitting. It was a mess....trust me. However, USAA paid all legal claims and I never had to worry about a settlement which was in the 20k range only. All legal council fees paid 100%.

Anyone with a house, a family, etc...should have an umbrella policy. They can be very reasonably priced but do increase in costs as your life becomes more complicated...which is understandable. It's only a few hundred bucks a year.

note; i didn't price shop. Been with USAA since my divorce 10 years ago and never questioned cost. But they will not proactively ask you to raise limits, at least in my experience. The cost between 100k and 1 million is a few relative bucks a year.


So - to keep thread on track, read policy, ask questions and don't skimp on liability.

 

[bajaunderground]

Agree on almost all previous posters. Where I live I have USAA, Progressive, and California Causality "call centers" I've shopped all on a regular basis and I believe you should do the same?! Even if you're happy with your current insurance, it's always advised to verify cost due to premium creep (basically, the longer you're insured, the odds of you making a claim increase exponentially!)

We use American National and have them on cars, house, camper, life and boat. They have been awesome on all claims (not a lot, average, mostly hail).
With our policy, Seatow is included (I'm sure there are limits, but where we boat, not a huge concern?) what we do carry above and beyond comprehensive (at agreed value), ecological impact from a potential sinking. Apparently there's a huge environmental fee IF your boat sinks (oil, fuel, etc)....make sure your policy covers this, however, unlikely?

We pay $353.00/yr

We have a good premium rebate after 3 years claim free...we get back 25% of our premium of all our "policies" usually $700-$800 annually. We had 3 claims in the past 10 years (hail), so we're not eligible until 2019.

Insurance is legalized gambling...you're betting you will...they're betting you won't!!!