Boat Insurance

[Rustic-Fisher]

Hey guys,

Any recommended companies??? Or if anyone is in the Insurance game send me a PM.

Thanks.

My company quoted 300$ a year for a the basics (88 - 16'Lund, 1998 40 hp).

Seemed a bit steep.

R

[Billy Bob]

I don't think it makes sense insuring a boat that old....I haven't had insurance on my 1985 for over 15 years...

[lookinforwalleye]

Ditto!

 

Spend the money on gear!!!

[DRIFTER_016]

Ask your broker to see how much The Dominion of Canada Ins Co. wants to insure it.

I was paying a little over $300 for total replacement ins. when I lived in Ontario.

The boat was an 18' Fisher with 90hp OB.

[morieris]

I pay just under $500 for my 16' smoker w/Merc 75 efi, financed so that's the works, from the Personal I believe.

 

Joe

[Old Man]

Shopped around last year and the cheapest I found was Marine Experts. I have a 2008 16ft Crestliner Fish Hawk side console with a 2008 60 HP Merc 4 stroke. Complete coverage with taxes was $396.

[spincast]

16 ft and under you should be able to include on your homeowners if you have full replacement. Call your broker to check. This will cover it for the big stuff (fire, theft etc), which is all you really need on a boat that age. Do the math on the other options - annual premium, taxes and deductible if something happens. Just put that away in a savings account and see what happens after 5 years.

[Rustic-Fisher]

Thanks for all the advice,!!!

[bigbuck]

What about just insuring it for Liability, you should be able to add it as a rider on your homeowner's policy.

[craigdritchie]

Keep the boat off your homeowner's policy. They will promise you otherwise, but any claims (like a trashed lower unit) will ultimately register as a claim on the house, putting you in line for a rate increase.

[Raf]

the rate is based on what you deem the replacement value to be.

 

I pay just over 300 for a 2000 14.5 and a 2010 yamaha 40 4-stroke.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Raf

[spincast]

Keep the boat off your homeowner's policy. They will promise you otherwise, but any claims (like a trashed lower unit) will ultimately register as a claim on the house, putting you in line for a rate increase.

 

 

What you say is correct Craig - but the fact is almost any claim on any policy will result in a rate increase, so if you claim on your homeowners or claim on your separate boat policy, either way you will likely get an increase - the amount will depend on a lot of other factors (years with the insurance company, quality of your brokler, claim free years, loss ratios on all your policies, your credit score).

Most insurers target 25% of premium as an overall payout rate. If you insure a boat for $300 / year and have a couple grand claim, you will have a longer and higher increase (loss ratios used in calculating claims go back a minimum of 4 years). If you have a couple grand claim on a $900 household policy, it represents a smaller % of payout of the premium. You will likely eliminate the "loss" to the underwriter in a shorter period of time, but likely pay the same amount back over the term of the increase.

If you are paying out $300 year for separate insurance, and only have 1 claim during the life expectancy of the boat, you would finance the couple grand claim in about 5 years. If you don't think you will have 5 years of claim free boat operating, then your premiums, be they separate or rolled into your household policy will be brutal, and the example above changes significantly.

Really, an insurance claim should only be made when the cost is beyond your means. It's not designed to be a savings account for an unfortunate situation. Its designed to insure you don't loose your shirt when the crap hits the fan. Fire, theft or a damage equal to the value or near vlaue of the boat - or in the case of personal injury to you or a third party. Almost everything else you want to pay out of pocket.

Just my $0.02 from over 20 years of buying commercial policies for highway trucking operations where the stakes are significant.