Boat Insurance

[tracker]

I know we have asked this question many times but I have a different take on it. I think I am over insured as to the amounts. The Boat insurance I have, Allstate, does not have a replacement insurance. It is just not available. I got to thinking about this after my car burned up. For that I actually got more money back for the car than I paid for it. Replacement coverage. Great. So I asked if it would be the same for the boat? Nope, and no way to get it. I will only get what the boat is worth at that time. So the amount I have things insured for now is way too much. So my question to you all is what is my boat worth right now. I will be greatly thankful for replies so that I can adjust the amounts with the agent tomarrow or the next day. I know some of you have been looking and will be able to give me the answers quicker than I could find them on my own.

2003 2601 Striper WA.....................
2003 225 Yamaha 4 stroke..............


The boat and motor are covered separately as I think fishplay found out. The electronics I think I can come up with a figure for. So anybody see something like my boat for sale recently? Any help will be great!

[Mark Mc]

Allstate, does not have a replacement insurance. It is just not available.

Dave, maybe this is just not true with Allstate...?

You need to find a MARINE insurance company, that has "agreed upon hull value."

I'm gonna send you a pm with an idea. - Mark

[Chromaflage]

Mark, please send one to me too. I'm currently shopping rates and coverages for the Cobia. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

CrF

[fishboys]

Who are you insured by? I will call my bud who has sold it for the last 20 years for a living and talk to him about it and let you know what I find out.

[fishinlady97140]

We have Allstate and have an "agreed to value" -- maybe you need to check with a different agent. Also, for values, you might use nadaguides.com for a reference number.

[tracker]

Ok the agreed on value sounds like something I need to check into. That is a big help. I will call him back tomarrow and see what he says. That is what I was looking for. Thanks for all the help so far!

[CAPT KUJO]

We have Allstate and have an "agreed to value" -- maybe you need to check with a different agent. Also, for values, you might use nadaguides.com for a reference number.

I just swithched to Allstate and also got "agreed to value"

CAPT KUJO

[Magnum]

I have Allstate too and what my "agreed to value" is is the MSRP of my boat, main engine, & kicker; not what I actually paid, being that the MSRP was a lot higher & therefore, if my boat was destroyed, hopefully, I would be able to replace it with the amount paid by the insurance payout. I pay a little higher insurance premium, but that extra $30/year compared to the possible loss that I could have had is basically nothing. As for the electronics, they just estimated it to be $2K :tongue:

[Reel Creel]

Boat U.S.

[tomictime]

Agreed to value policy written by Farmers - well sold by them anyway, actual insurance is thru a subsidiary..I have chosen to increase the agreed to value, when I ditched the Ficht (say that fast four times)and when I upgraded electronics, plus who knew you would ALL (clearly an exzageration) would want Alu pilothouses...tub is worth more now than new...go figure ..????? (Kinda like my 7 year old Whaler was...another secret out of the bag)....

Another thing to consider IS offshore use covered ? make sure you check, ask how far offshore and WHERE. Tracker, you also have a trailer.

JD

[tracker]

100 miles offshore! I checked that. The agent is going to hear from me tomarrow and better have satisfactory answers or thirty years of allstate will be over. I just may have to find another agent. This guy just took over from the other agent. She was better than good and will be missed.

[Iwish]

I am an Allstate agent in case you haven't figured it out yet.


Tracker is right, within the US or Canada or within 100 Nautical Miles.

In regards to the "Agreed Value."

Allstate also offers a PREMIER PLUS policy type, BUT this policy is limited to certain watercraft. Under this policy type the watercraft MUST meet all 3 of the criteria below:
Ø 10 model years of age or newer
Ø 26 feet in length or longer
Ø Boat and motor(s) combined value must be $40,000 or more

· Loss settlement is on an Agreed Value basis at the time of loss);
· This policy type lasts for only three (3) years, at which time will become a Premier policy type and will have the ACV loss settlement;
· Emergency Service (ES) coverage of $1,000. is included with the policy;
· Repair Cost (RC) coverage is included with this policy type;
· Uninsured Watercraft (UW) coverage is included with this policy type up to the limit of Liability (AA) coverage on the policy.

[BigWaterBigFish]

IWISH ... thank you for posting! ... I am an adjuster for a commercial firm now but use to be with a large personal lines carrier, when it comes to boat insurance, it's apple and oranges ... a boat owner really needs to set down with an agent, not a rep over the phone, but an agent and go over the list of what you have and what it costs, where you go and what you do, and have a list of "what if...?" questions that they can put to each person, then be shown the wording in the policy for proof. The worst time to read the policy is after the loss.
The other portion of the policy that many boater's are underinsured in is liabiliy ... you take your best friend out and he falls on a fillet knife, conks his skull on the arch mounted rocket launcher, put a gaff through another passenger, catches a errant hook in the eye, puts his hand between the dock and the boat at exactly the wrong time (all real claims we've handled), or drown for any number of reasons and suddenly your policy limits look really small. If you have a boat, truck to pull it and house to park it next to, then a PLUP (personal liability umbrella policy) for $1,000,000.00 will cost you between $18 and $30 a month with most personal lines insurers ... so what I spend on Starbucks in a week gives me peace of mind for when the worst happens.
... Tracker ... if you aren't already, become a member of www.seastriper.com ... website for Striper Owners, which I am as well ... and from some movie I can't remember right now, "There is no such thing as too much insurance" ....

[tracker]

I think the umbrella policy requires a certain driving record and I am not sure I am there? Woukld that be true?

[Mark Mc]

Dave, for an umbrella policy to cover boat operation, they require that you operate the boat with your hands on the wheel & controls most of the time, not on the radio. Do you think you can accomplish this?

(of course)

On a serious note, my understanding of an umbrella policy, in order to have it apply (augment) your other policies (car, boat, home, etc) those other policies must be listed on the umbrella policy.

The insurance guy can elaborate on this.

[Iwish]

First off let me clarify that I am speaking in Oregon only. I am not licensed in any other state and cannot conduct business in any other state than Oregon. I did however find out from a Washington agent that Allstate does not offer coverage for "agreed value" as of yet. I do believe it will come and will be at the decision of the state of Washington for that. Oregon is what is called a "file and use" state where we tell them what we are going to do and we do it. Washington has to be submitted, approved and them implemented as far as I know. Much slower in Washington.

As far as the umbrella is concerned...

Although some companies will vary, most will require that you have your primary insurance lines with them in order to get the PUP. (personal umbrella policy) This is fairly obvious because it is an extension of your auto and homeowners liability as well as any other policies you may have with that company. Can't extend what you don't have. In some cases, as long as you have the minimum liability insurance with another company then the PUP would extend to cover that policy as well. This would most likely happen with a product that we could not offer coverage for but would still extend coverage for under the PUP.

One thing that is required of most companies is minimum liability limits on your auto, home, boat, motorcycle, etc. In Oregon the minimum liability limits for having an umbrella policy with Allstate are currently 250K/500K for auto and 300K for the homeowners. The boat policy requires 300K of liability. (Older policies used to only require 100K/300K for the auto.)

Driving record does factor in but can vary based on many different factors. Here is what will most likely apply to the majority of us.
Driving record - the total household incidents* cannot exceed the numbers below in the last 3 years. (*Incident is defined as the number of combined moving violations, at-fault, and not at fault accidents)

1 Driver = up to 2 incidents
2 Drivers = up to 3 incidents
3 Drivers = up tp 3 incidents
4 or more Drivers = up to 4 incidents

*Total number of incidents for any resident driver between the ages of 21 and 75 cannot exceed 2 in the past 3 years
*Total household incident count cannot exceed 4 in the past 3 years
*Resident drivers under the age of 21 or over the age of 75 may have up to 1 incident in the last 3 years

Our rates start out at $150.00 per year for 1MM of liability insurance. We can insure up to 5MM if the need arises with proper documentation.

Hopefully this will answer any questions from above and if any others arise, as always, feel free to contact me.

[Trex]

I was thinkin (and was able to stay awake) that it might be a good idea to have my boat surveyed to get a correct value. Ya'll know they are worth a lot LESS than what we think their worth. Why pay for the insurance if we're not going to get the cash? And we all do many "Trick" things that are not hull and power plant.

What does the insurance guy say about that?

[Trex]

You tellin me things happen slowly in Washington.

Slow next to never.

[Laguna29]

I have insurance with a company called Anchor Marine they cater to off shore type vessels and have good rates. They also cover you off shore in the areas where you will be venturing. If you are interested in their number PM me and I will send it to you. Went through the same thing years ago.

[fishtales]

If interested I found with the help of Nalu a company that seems to have the edge on everyone in terms of coverages,rates,off shore limitations etc.
I am under the impression that we are not to post direct information so if interested PM me and I will supply the information.
FT

[RubberFish]

I've evaluated boat insurance several times over the last couple years because of policy increases, old boat sold, new boat purchased, etc. I also am involved with the business and auto insurance for our contracting business.

I keep coming up with the same answer every time I check - BOAT U.S. best coverage, least premium. They do "Agreed Hull Value" which is obviously what you want, and also cover things like salvage and environmental damage in case your boat goes down and is a hazard to navigation or the environmnet (Fuel & oil on board.) BOAT U.S. provides these in a Yacht Policy which I have found to be slightly less than the other insurance which are Boat Policies and don't even carry the extra coverage. Just my

[Iwish]

As far as the value of the boat, if it is purchased new from a dealer and meets the requirements mentioned above then the invoice purchase price is the "agreed value." If it was not bought new then we would require a marine survey by a licensed surveyor within the last 12 months to determine the "agreed value."

Most policies come with 10% of the value of the boat and motors towards accessories. So if you have a $20K boat with a $10K main and $2K kicker then you would automatically have $3200 worth of "boating equipment."

Boating equipment - Refers to portable boating equipment and accessories owned by an insured and used with the watercraft. (Anchors, boat covers, cushions, life jackets,
oars, portable seats, etc...)

You can increase this coverage and many of you will need to based on the value of the electronics most of your boats are equipped with.

Bottom line, no reason to pay for more coverage than you will benefit from. If in question, get a survey done. Allstate will not fit everybodies need but they do have a very good product for it's intended use. If liability is a concern and you want an PUP to go along with it then it may have a chance of fitting. If you are running a charter, have a boat with a value of over $500,000 or many other possibilities that we wouldn't insure, there are many other fine insurance companies out there to help you out. Just please make sure you know what you have before something happens. As BigWaterFish mentioned before, if you can, sit down with an agent and go over your policy and know what it is that you have. Doing things over the phone can be a game of he said she said and that can lead to big problems. For those of you who have toll free numbers, there are a few agents who are willing to spend the time and help you go over your policy, even though they are not a rep for the company just trying to help out a potential future customer. If you can find one of these to look over your policies and point out any gaps they may see it could benefit you loads in the future and the price is usually right.

[WaterDog]

As BigWaterFish mentioned before, if you can, sit down with an agent and go over your policy and know what it is that you have.

It's worth taking the time to sit down with your agent. Do this and you'll know what is covered and where you need to make adjustments. I did this about 3 months ago due to the new boat. We went over all of our policies and added an umbrella policy as well. The umbrella is cheap protection of your assets.

[Iwish]

In regards to BoatUS.

I went online and did a quote with them for the exact same coverage limits I currently have with Allstate.

***Keep in mind their policy includes "Agreed value" where my policy doesn't.

My current premium with Allstate is $128.80

Proposed quote from BoatUS is $419 if not a member.

Again, my policy doesn't have the "agreed value" and so I would have to ask myself it the "agreed value" is worth the extra $290.20 per year. Since my boat is much smaller and older than most of the boats on here I don't think I would want to pay that much for the coverage. If I had a $50,000 boat or more then I would probably opt for it. My deductible is also $100 where BoatUS showed it to be a $170 deductible.

Like I said earlier, we are NOT the best policy for everybody but in many cases we can offer a great product at a great rate. There are obviously a few on this board that have Allstate and seem to be happy with it. There are probably a few on here that have had bad experiences with Allstate and will have nothing to do with them anylonger. To make a general assumption that "BoatUS best coverage, least premium" is a little broad. Each boatowner on this board that has insurance, hopefully most of us, will find the best policy for him/her. Some will want to sacrifice coverage for cost as I have shown here. Others would rather have the coverage at a higher cost. Just make sure you have some coverage.

[tracker]

Ok I started this thing so here is some input as to allstate and their response to my recent car burning up. I had a check sent to my loan holder within two weeks with very little input from me. Then the icing on the cake was the check I got that ended up giving me more for the car than I paid for it. Wow! I was impressed. The jury is still out on the stuff in the car, I had been using the car as a lockable storage unit while I moved stuff over to the new garage I built from the old one, and painted and otherwise cleaned it up for the High Commander. (Wife)
I am sure Allstate has some concerns as to why so much stuff was in the car. Also it is very hard to prove I owned a drill that I bought many years ago. There was/is (in an altered state) stuff in there that I have no way to prove ownership. We will see how it comes out in the wash.

[Mark Mc]

When you call a smaller company, that only does marine insurance (Charter Lakes, Northern Marine, etc) you talk to an agent who is very experienced in marine matters...who knows about boats, ocean fishing, offshore coverage, commercial / charter boats, etc. When you call certain other large insurance companies, you might get someone who is at the very bottom of the totem pole. If you insist enough, you can eventually talk to a "supervisor" and then you might have a better discussion.

Regarding a survey:
Most insurance companies will, at the most, require that the surveyor is a member of NAMS http://www.nams-cms.org/ or SAMS http://www.marinesurvey.org/index2.html Be wary if the company will only accept a survey from its own "approved list" of surveyors.

The last thought I'll leave you with....all the stuff discussed (coverage, rates) is important. However the one thing that rarely gets discussed up front, is - what happens when you file a claim? I would urge anyone to do some homework on the insurance firm, and find out what their track record is for actually paying the claim, and how are they to work with after the incident. After all that is what you are paying for, isn't it?