Boat Insurance Recommendations

midweste

Hey Guys,

Who do you recommend for boat insurance? Any good/bad experiences? 

Thanks!

MW 

Black_Diamond

I have mine through Freemont Insurance. (Yacht policy). They specialize in the midwest/great lakes area and very reasonable pricing.

midweste

Thanks BD. I'll give them a ring. 

midweste

Unfortunately they don't offer policies outside of Michigan. Im a little further south in Ohio. 

Black_Diamond

Sorry about that!  Try Boat US then, they seem to get decent reviews.

aero3113

You can try Ski Safe,they are very accommodating. http://www.skisafe.com/?rf=5024&gclid=CMqIl-DquL4CFTQQ7AodnmIAaQ

Cableguy Greg

I have BoatUS. They have treated me well. I also heard that Erie Insurance is good.

raybo3

I have One Beacon.......

EaglesNest

I have BoatUS.  And when my last 270 went up like the Hindenburg while in a brokers possession

( Long Story ), BoatUS really stepped it up and paid out 100% of my claim.  I wouldn't go with anyone

else. 

midweste

Thanks guys! 

Hey EaglesNest, we would love to hear the story! LOL 

TikiHut2

BoatUS for us too. Great on-water towing coverage and road warrior coverage too. If the boat is trailered in most coastal states your premiums will decrease dramatically becuse of the potential to flee from a pending storm/hurricane.

I'll 2nd the call for the Hindenburg tale. New thread worthy for sure. Especially if there is a lesson learned.
Hope nobody was hurt. Mike

Dream_Inn

Oh boy, it is a good story!    & we are coming up on a 2nd anniversary (Fri before Mem weekend).  Not like I have room to talk.  No claims in 14+ years, now two claims in 6 months or so. 

My insurance is ultimately through AIG (Global Marine).  & let me tell you, they have been great people to deal with, & I should know.  I have a check today that I've received from them to cover a new outdrive.

qwikwhip

I just insured with boatus today. They were less expensive and offered more than the others I compared with.

EaglesNest

well midweste,  Story goes like this: I had a Rinker270.  I do all my own Maintenance and winterizing, within reason of course.  With the help and direction of Dream_inn or I like to call him, Boat John.  My 270 ran great.  I loved the boat but kids got bigger, we stayed overnight more, so I decided to upgrade to a 342.  Boat John and I looked from the end of the 2011 Season until I found my beauty the spring of 12.  I bought it with the stipulation that I would let the broker sell my 270.  Seemed like a good idea being you can't fit 2 boats on 1 lift.

I drove my boat over to the brokers marina ( about an hour boat ride ). They pulled it out of the water.  I Jumped on mine and drove her home.  The broker sold my 270 4 days later. The sea trial was scheduled for Saturday at 2 PM.  I get a call Friday night on my way to coach my kids LL.  Call goes like this. " Hey Bill, just wondering, do you have insurance on the 270? " I'm thinking they are asking me b/c the surveyor wants to see it before he boards my boat.  I say yes, he says " Well good thing because it is currently on fire".  Well a few F-Bombs later, I pull off the highway and call Boatus.  No exaggeration here:  They had an inspector to my boat before the fire department showed up.  The marina is only 30 min. by car but on the Holiday weekend I couldn't get there in 2 hours.  I never made it to see what she looked like.  Boatus took the contract price that I had accepted and paid me 100% of it.  It took them about 2 weeks to cut me a check.  Very comforting, calming, and understanding. The fire inspector said it was caused by my fresh water pump not shutting off and having no water in the tank. It got hot, caused an engine fire, which ran into the cabin and caused a complete loss.  That's my story.  The short version. 

 

aero3113

WoW, good story EaglesNest!

raybo3

I dont agree with its a good story. I would have thought that there would have been a fail safe or fuse that would have blown before the boat burns down. What if someone was sleeping on the boat? Dont get me wrong glad the insurance paid %100 and that nobody was hurt but makes me wonder how that could happen.  

TikiHut2

.....and there's the lesson. As Raybro said, what the heck happened to the breaker and over current protection? I have to wonder if an automatic fire suppression system would have saved it, and what you'd have been left with anyway.

Otherwise a great example of an insurance company right on top of it rather than trying to evade the claim. Awesome service at a time when you don't need a run around. +1 for BoatUS.

Mike

Bruce

Nice to see a company step up and do the job like they all should,  but raley seem to.  A+ to BoatUs

Babyboomer

I've had BOAT US for 25 years only had one claim very prompt and no hastle 

JoeStang

I'm with BoatUS also, no claims yet (and hope I never do), but they were half the cost of AllState (whom I have auto & homeowners through) and the coverage was better.

I did have to use the tow service last year and it was flawless and free.

midweste

Thanks for the great recommendations guys! 

UPDATE: I ended up going with BoatUS. $341 a year with on water towing, roadside assistance for tow vehicle and boat, $300K liability and a few other goodies. I chose BoatUS over the other comparable quotes primarily because of the roadside assistance and towing. I've had AAA for years but they will only tow your vehicle. BoatUS will tow your vehicle AND boat. 

Very Happy! 

MW

Speedracer

Boat US and Encompass via homeowners as a backup

midweste

Hey SpeedR, what does the homeowners insurance cover as a backup?

Cableguy Greg

Your homeowners will cover personal content on the boat and in a dockbox. When the marina that I docked at floated away during Hurricane Ivan, my homeowners covered everything in my dockbox minus the deductible. I was surprised at how fast everything adds up.

rasbury

boat us here as well and tow boat US

rasbury

you can get the RV plus (i think it's called) with AAA to cover on the road hazzards....I think tow boat us also covers anywhere your boat is- I know I am covered inter coastal as well as lakes/river. if you get the gold, covers if your in someone else's boat as well....someone at the dock told me with the gold he was also covered in the Bahamas as he broke down there and they towed him back...

MarkB

raybo3 said:

I dont agree with its a good story. I would have thought that there would have been a fail safe or fuse that would have blown before the boat burns down. What if someone was sleeping on the boat? Dont get me wrong glad the insurance paid %100 and that nobody was hurt but makes me wonder how that could happen.  

Raybo/Tiki - when the line is empty the pump actually draws low amps.  So the fuses or breakers won't work.  The only way you can protect from this situation (assuming the instruments are working), is to have a level switch on the tank that trips the pump, or a low flow switch on the pump discharge that trips the pump, or a high temp switch on the pump motor that trips the pump.

 

The situation goes like this. Pump turns on due to low pressure, tank is empty so line can't fill, pressure doesn't come up so pump continues to run until it gets hot enough (as there's no cooling via fresh water) and burns. 

 

I don't think any of the boats I've seen have a level switch or flow switch on the fresh water system. Not sure of the motors, I think they can come with thermal protection, but given the small size of the inexpensive fresh water pumps that are used, I doubt that safety is incorporated.

So I'm sure most of our boats are exposed to this hazard. This is why I always switch everything off, except for the fridge and battery charger when I'm not on my boat. The fail safes just aren't there. If they were, our boats would cost us a lot more money.  Not justifying it, but that is fact.

raybo3

Mark when the pump is running dry at first I agree about the lower amps however the pump will start to melt and break down and because of this the motor should  be working a little harder causing the current to go up and blow the breaker. I just think that in that condition the fuse or breaker should trip.

MarkB

I guess, but it might be too late then. Some other part of the pump might set alight, rather than the motor itself, where the resistance is needed to draw amps.

brianluck

i have erie. have yet to require it so i can not speak for how well they treat you when it comes to claim time.

nhsd

I have Progressive and have had it for a number of years. I have had twp claims:

1. My first boat  I had just bought it less than a month before when Hurricane Ivan decided to drop craploads of water on Pittsburgh. The resulting flood washed the marina out and sent my boat about 40 to 50 miles downriver over several locks and dams. Total loss. Progressive gave me no hassles in paying the full insured value and in promptly arranging for and paying someone to salvage the thing off of a remote wooded embankment on the Ohio River. Not an expensive boat (insured for $4,500) and the removal cost them considerably more than the boat itself, but the service was good. They even let me keep the trailer even though it was part of the total loss value that they paid me. Sold it for well more than my deductible.

2. Second boat hit a submerged log and completely ripped the outdrive off. It was literally hanging by the trim hoses and the cables. Boat had a bunch of water in the engine compartment by the time I rowed it to shore and friends brought up my truck and trailer to pull it out. Again Progressive didn't give me any hassle in getting the drive repaired, replacing the starter and control cables. Not exactly how I would recommend getting all of your drive boots replaced, but ... In any case, Progressive took care of it. My only complaint was that they didn't let me know the cost before giving the shop that I took the boat to the OK to proceed. Had I known, I would have taken the money and sold the boat and trailer for whatever I could get. They paid out $6,500. A few years later I sold the boat for $5,000.

Now I know that these numbers that I am talking about are chump change to you cruiser drivers, but I assume that if they treat their small time customers decent, then they would do the same for larger (higher $) customers.