Insurance

[KenKrawford]

I just received my boat insurance renewal and like all the other things I pay to insure, the cost has gone up.
Currently I'm paying $989/yr for $80,000 hull coverage, liability and uninsured watercraft. The boat is on an inland lake if that matters.
I have no idea if this is a great or terrible rate for the coverage provided.
Any feedback is appreciated.

[Mark Sutherland]

Mine is only a little less than yours, which I think is a pretty competitive rate. With Safeco (bundled with several other policies), boat is in So. Cal.

While on the subject of insurance, I had a bad experience with GEICO, playing games with my deductible and premiums over the course of 3 years, after which I cancelled them because I can no longer trust them.

[tranquil]

I selected Geico/BUS when I purchased 2004 Tranquil in 2008. They are challenging to deal with. My fees decreased a little this year from $937 to $920 for a hull value of $79,200. Over the years I have been unsuccessful in increasing the hull value as I think it is undervalued.

My insurance fees decreased dramatically when I moved the boat from Chicago (due to crime) to Racine, WI. My understanding from Geico is that a great deal of the fees are in relationship to the state the boat is moored in. No matter where in IL or WI my fee would be the same. Ken I hope this helps.

Mark - did you have to get a survey in order to switch insurance providers?

Thanks
Teri

[KenKrawford]

Mark & Teri, thanks for the info. It looks like all 3 of us are in the same ballpark regarding premiums. FWIW my hull is insured for $80,000 - almost identical to Teri's. I forgot about surveys frequently being required when insuring an older boat. I really don't want to dip my toe in that water unless I can realize a significant premium drop.

[Monty]

Ken: I am in the Chesapeake Bay and have our 2007 boat covered by Progressive Boat. It is an agreed upon value policy at $113,000 with no depreciation clause. It has a disappearing deductible (4 yrs), hurricane hauling clause up to $2000, wreckage removal, and over a million on fuel/oil spillage. There is a 75 mile coastal limit which is not an issue with us. With some discounts for claim free renewal, homeowner, prompt payment, etc. the cost this year is $946. Cost has increased on average 9.6%/yr with most of that coming the last two years. Hope that level of detail helps. I access through an agent I use for this boat as well as a power boat we have, but the later is covered by Travelers. Steve

[Mark Sutherland]

I selected Geico/BUS when I purchased 2004 Tranquil in 2008. They are challenging to deal with. My fees decreased a little this year from $937 to $920 for a hull value of $79,200. Over the years I have been unsuccessful in increasing the hull value as I think it is undervalued.

My insurance fees decreased dramatically when I moved the boat from Chicago (due to crime) to Racine, WI. My understanding from Geico is that a great deal of the fees are in relationship to the state the boat is moored in. No matter where in IL or WI my fee would be the same. Ken I hope this helps.

Mark - did you have to get a survey in order to switch insurance providers?

Thanks
Teri

From Mark: I did not have to get a survey done when I switched carriers.

[KenKrawford]

Steve, it's interesting that your hull coverage is 40% higher than mine and a few more add on benefits that I don't have and your premium is almost the same as mine. I suspect much of the difference is a discount for having homeowners coverage too.
I forgot to mention in my initial post that I'm currently with Safeco, have no claims and have no other coverage with them.

[Mark Sutherland]

Ken: I am in the Chesapeake Bay and have our 2007 boat covered by Progressive Boat. It is an agreed upon value policy at $113,000 with no depreciation clause. It has a disappearing deductible (4 yrs), hurricane hauling clause up to $2000, wreckage removal, and over a million on fuel/oil spillage. There is a 75 mile coastal limit which is not an issue with us. With some discounts for claim free renewal, homeowner, prompt payment, etc. the cost this year is $946. Cost has increased on average 9.6%/yr with most of that coming the last two years. Hope that level of detail helps. I access through an agent I use for this boat as well as a power boat we have, but the later is covered by Travelers. Steve

Hi Monty, the "disappearing deductible" is one of the issues I had with GEICO. It goes like this: I initially chose a high deductible (I think it was around 5K), so as to save some money on the annual premium, which at the time was under $1K. I didn't choose, nor ask for, the "disappearing deductible", they just included it on my policy, like it was some free benefit.

While my deductibles went DOWN each year, my premiums went UP, a LOT! By the time my deductible had gone down to zero, my premium had nearly doubled. I suspected something wasn't right, and on a hunch I called GEICO, as if I were a new customer, and asked for a quote using the same exact values/coverages that were on my current policy, except that I told them I wanted a 5K deductible. They quoted me a price that was almost half of my recent (no-deductible) renewal price. So, what they were doing was lowering my deductible (without me ever asking them to), and re-rating my policy every year at the new/lower deductible, which obviously generated much higher premiums.

After hammering out a resolution with a manager there, they re-wrote my policy at the original 5K deductible, cancelling the recently issued no-deductible renewal, and sent me a huge refund for the premium difference, after which I cancelled the policy and moved to Safeco. No way I was going to do business with a company like that, and see how they treated me if and when I ever had a claim.

[ElizabethG]

Hi Mark,

I just got back home from doing some maintenance on my boat and spotted this thread.

My 350 is a 2004 based in Charleston, SC.

I'm also with GEICO with a hull value of $90K. My rate is currently $1,084/yr with the "disappearing deductible" that I was not aware I had. Also, no claims.

I'm going to call them and ask for a $5K deductible and see what they come back with.

My only concern is if they require a haul out for an "insurance inspection". Haul outs in my area are $500. I have no idea what the inspection runs. If I have to get an inspection, maybe I can work it in with new bottom paint when the time comes...

I thank Ken and the others for bringing this topic up. It's one of those items where I just stroke a yearly check and don't really dig into fine the print....lesson learned.

Bill

[Mark Sutherland]

Hi Mark,

I just got back home from doing some maintenance on my boat and spotted this thread.

My 350 is a 2004 based in Charleston, SC.

I'm also with GEICO with a hull value of $90K. My rate is currently $1,084/yr with the "disappearing deductible" that I was not aware I had. Also, no claims.

I'm going to call them and ask for a $5K deductible and see what they come back with.

My only concern is if they require a haul out for an "insurance inspection". Haul outs in my area are $500. I have no idea what the inspection runs. If I have to get an inspection, maybe I can work it in with new bottom paint when the time comes...

I thank Ken and the others for bringing this topic up. It's one of those items where I just stroke a yearly check and don't really dig into fine the print....lesson learned.

Bill

Hi Elizabeth, If I were you, I'd first call anonymously, and ask for the quote on the 5K deductible. Be sure to give the exact same spec's that are on your current policy (value, coverages, etc), except for the 5K deductible. With that quote in hand, call (as yourself) asking for a revised price based on switching your policy to the 5K deductible. Don't be shocked if they don't give you the same price as what you were quoted during the first call. Let us know how it goes.

[Olivia Mae]

So I'll be the one with the cheap policy here. Location, location, location. We're on the Great Lakes and boat spends the winter in Port Huron. I've insured it with Boat US/Geico since we bought it in 2018. Policy cost actually went down this year (first time that's ever happened with any of our insurance policies). Agreed value is 110k. 500k liability and uninsured boater. Fuel spill 1.076 M. Deductible is now 0 due to the disappearing deductible thing. I believe it was initially set to 1k. Includes towboat us coverage. Cost this year is $626.

Interesting note. When we moved the boat from Erie, Pa (lake Erie) a couple of years ago to Port Huron (lake Huron) the policy cost went up. Historically, it's been in the $700-$800 range.

[belladonna]

I've enjoyed reading this 'trail' of boat insurance situations. I have a 2005 C350 sailing mostly in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters. I've been through the traditional carriers; BoatUS, BoatUS/GEICO, Progressive, etc. My hull value is $95,000 and the other coverage is what most of us have. I pay $563/year but my C350 insurance is bundled with a Carolina Skiff outboard, 2 vehicles, homeowners, personal liability and personal articles policies. This bundling my contribute to my C350 lower premium amount with State Farm.
If anyone would like specifics, please contact me.
Thanx,
Jim

[dcmason@masoncci.com]

Ours is $970 for $125k 2007 Catalina 350 with GEICO/BUS.
We are in the Chesapeake Bay area.