Insuring a custom restored vintage Sea Ray

L

lucky enuff

Member
Sep 14, 2009
72
Lake Ontario
Boat Info
1976 customized 240 SRV
Engines
2008 Mercury 250 Optimax Outboard
Hi, I have a 76 Sea Ray I'm almost finished building. I'll be done in a month and need to up the insurance. Right now its insured through State Farm with everything else I own, but only for like 10g on the boat and they don't want to up my coverage without an appraisal.

I use the boat a lot between projects, and really need to have her insured much higher before our trip from Pa to Key West in December.

Any suggestions on where I should start? I was thinking I should look up a local surveyor to get it valued for insurance purposes ?

Any suggestions would be helpful, Thanks !!

Here's the boat.....only one month and she'll be done !!

lucky enuff - one month to go.jpg
 
Suggest you contact a Marine Underwriting specialist like NBOA who I think is an advertiser on CSR. You should be looking for an agreed value policy where you specify the amount of coverage you want.

The challenge is that just about any underwriter is going to require a professional marine survey for a 40 year old boat where, in essence you are proving that your boat is worth what you are asking the insurance company to cover.
 
Gotcha, thanks and I don't blame them for wanting that. It only makes sense to minimize fraud. I'll start looking up local surveyors.
 
I just contacted a local survey company about a Condition and Value Survey. I'll await to hear from them about the cost and process.
 
I was at 10k coverage with progressive and they didn’t want to up my coverage without survey. Switched to boat us (geico) for 15k agreed upon value with no questions asked other than having to send in some photos.

I’ve added enough that she is well worth 15k and could not be replaced for that.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I will check with those companies this week. The surveyor says $400 to do it. I guess it's a crap shoot, depending on the value. Guess I'd be sour if it came back as 15g lol.

I do know I put 11 grand into the boat two seasons ago just with the outboard conversion alone, and that's not even close to what I've actually invested so while I don't expect the boat to be worth my investment, 10 grand is just ridiculous.
 
After showing my receipts for all my additions StateFarmdid allow me to increase mine.

Have you gone in and talked with you agent?
 
We did speak with them, fairly extensively. I had it increased by State Farm to 20K, but they were having issues with the underwriters as I recall and wanted me the get it appraised. I didn't, and they reduced the coverage back to 10K. I got side tracked and just dropped it. Now that I'm ready to get this done, I'll see what they will do as well as contacting the other companies suggested.
 
While it looks like a nice job, don't freak when you get the value. You still have a 76 sea ray. I'll bet the value will be a lot less than what you have invested in it. I would secon boat us. Good luck.
 
Yeah, I do realize that Golfman. I'm sure I won't be thrilled but I always sorta knew that. Nothing on this boat is from 76 except the hull, but the hull still says its a 76 so I will be content if I can just get it to a more realistic number. Just not 10k lol I'm sure it will all work out fine.
 
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Mind starting a thread showing your restoration? I would love to see some more pics of that baby. Maybe a few write ups on some of the things you have done it? Or just pictures I love pictures
 
Golfman25 said:
While it looks like a nice job, don't freak when you get the value. You still have a 76 sea ray. I'll bet the value will be a lot less than what you have invested in it. I would secon boat us. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I try to convince myself that the money I spend on my boat is additional "investment" too. I must not be that good an investor since the value is not going up the more I "invest".
 
chris5635 said:
Mind starting a thread showing your restoration? I would love to see some more pics of that baby. Maybe a few write ups on some of the things you have done it? Or just pictures I love pictures
Click to expand...

I will be doing that within a month or so. It's been a long, rewarding process as she's given us 10 good years of hard use on Lake Ontario.

Here is my favorite "action" shot taken two years ago taking off from a shotgun start during a Pro Am fishing tournament on Lake Ontario in some very rough seas.

lucky enuff shotgun start oswego.jpg
 
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Wylie_Tunes said:
Check with Hagerty. They do custom/classic stuff.
Click to expand...

Plus 1 on Hagerty Marine, it is who I used on my 1978 Starcraft and now on my 1994 Sea Ray. Agreed value policy with minimal fuss. When I wanted to raise coverage this year for upgrades to boat and trailer, they asked for pictures of the new stuff to validate the increase and away I went. They also have a program for restorations in progress where you have the survey and pictures done now, and as you put money/man hours into it they raise your agreed value. That way you're not under or over insuring during the process.
 
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