Insurance Issues

importmonkey

Opinionated Member
Jul 9, 2015
1,056
Space Coast, FL
Boat Info
2005 260DA (sold)
2007 44DA (sold)
1989/2015 Hatteras 65c
Engines
12v92TA
Anyone else having issues getting insurance? Companies these days seem to be extremely picky and VERY expensive. Anything over 10 years old, over 64 feet, and especially down here in Florida gets you a $10k+ premium and a 1/3 coverage during named storms. WTF?

Anyone have any ideas or solutions?

Edit * And I mean the ONLY provider! No one will insure anymore and those who will give you very little.
 
Some navigation required for Florida insurance. Insured in fl at 60ft, a whole let better than the numbers you are throwing.

Pm me if you want discuss my experiences.
 
I got a quote back in May of just over $600 for the year. Went back and got a quote from the same company and not they have reduced the value, raised the deductible and now want a survey and another $600 a year. Oh and it had to be through the surveyor they chose and a cost of $850. This included the discounts and other stuff, what ever that was. Still not impressed with Geico through Boat US
 
Anyone else having issues getting insurance? Companies these days seem to be extremely picky and VERY expensive. Anything over 10 years old, over 64 feet, and especially down here in Florida gets you a $10k+ premium and a 1/3 coverage during named storms. WTF?

Anyone have any ideas or solutions?

Edit * And I mean the ONLY provider! No one will insure anymore and those who will give you very little.

You also have a big jump in size from your last boat. That is where at least some of that extra cost is coming from. I had the same issue, there have been other recent threads about this as well.
 
I had a horrible time when we bought our 18yr. old 32 ft. boat with the name brand bundle your insurance companies. I called NBOA and they found me a policy. The nice thing about using NBOA is that they make sure the policy you are paying for has no loop holes or surprises when you need it.
 
We have gotten NOs from: Travelers, Geico, State Farm, Progressive, NBOA, Boat US, Charter Lakes, et cetera. There's only been 1 (Concepts) that have said yes, and they have a ridiculous deductible. We are talking 15%/30% for normal/named storms.

They have reviewed our history for ownership and operation and that's not the problem. Seems the industry is going through a restructuring of sorts lately.

I predict THIS will be the reason the inflated market recorrects.
 
I have Chubb, it’s not cheap but a premium policy.
Travelers quote was half the price but reading the fine print shocked me. They cover the cost of a failed through hull fitting but not the damage it causes. If the boat was to sink they will buy you a new fitting but not cover the boat.
 
At some point it makes sense to self insure smaller boats. It does require the discipline to create a fund for losses.
 
Insuring anything in Florida was getting tougher. I had a $10,000 hurricane deductible on my home (required) and I wasn't on the coast. And yes, I had roof damage from Irma and I ended up covering $10,000 of my $18,000 repair. It doesn't surprise me to see boat insurance getting expensive and probably hard to even get in the future if Florida keeps getting hit.
 
At some point it makes sense to self insure smaller boats. It does require the discipline to create a fund for losses.
OMG, I can't believe you said that.

Forget about losses, what about liability?

Have an accident that isn't your fault and the other guy will own your boat, house, car and firstborn. It happened to a friend and he now lives in a ghetto apartment with a garnish on his wages for 30 years.
 
At some point it makes sense to self insure smaller boats. It does require the discipline to create a fund for losses.

Pretty sure I would not recommend this approach. Not about replacing the boat, it’s the liability.
 
Pretty sure I would not recommend this approach. Not about replacing the boat, it’s the liability.
you can buy liability insurance and an umbrella coverage for liabilities. Way more economical way to go than wasting money on insuring a small boat at a premium that is more than the boat is worth. If your premium is more than 10% per year of the boat’s value, it probably makes sense to drop insurance on the hull and place the savings into a savings account to pay for repairs caused by accidents. Most people don’t ever file claims on their boats, because they don’t have accidents. This approach does require the discipline to fund the potential loss. Umbrella policies for liability are cheap. You can buy $3 million for $390 if you have a basic general liability policy which could be through your homeowner policy or a liability only boat policy. Worth looking at if you own an old boat.
 
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you can buy liability insurance and an umbrella coverage for liabilities. Way more economical way to go than wasting money on insuring a small boat at a premium that is more than the boat is worth. If your premium is more than 10% per year of the boat’s value, it probably makes sense to drop insurance on the hull and place the savings into a savings account to pay for repairs caused by accidents. Most people don’t ever file claims on their boats, because they don’t have accidents. This approach does require the discipline to fund the potential loss. Umbrella policies for liability are cheap. You can buy $3 million for $390 if you have a basic general liability policy which could be through your homeowner policy or a liability only boat policy. Worth looking at if you own an old boat.

+1. We should all have umbrella policies. I learned from a slip neighbor (who had direct experience) that a boat fire with fuel spill can/will quickly exceed the yacht policy limits.
 
You can buy $3 million for $390 if you have a basic general liability policy which could be through your homeowner policy or a liability only boat policy. Worth looking at if you own an old boat.

I agree with the concept, but as a matter of clarification, Chubb is currently quoting $3M personal excess liability coverage (discounted via group policy) at ~$750/yr. Like nearly everything, prices are way up...still something to consider.
 
Also with Chubb. We renewed 6 months ago for $390 for 3 million. Will be interesting to see what they quote this spring. I wonder if area of the country drives quotes for liability insurance? I assume there is some experience rating component in their quotes.
 
Also with Chubb. We renewed 6 months ago for $390 for 3 million. Will be interesting to see what they quote this spring. I wonder if area of the country drives quotes for liability insurance? I assume there is some experience rating component in their quotes.

Interesting. I’m in the southeast US (inland, non-coastal, no hurricane territory) but the policy quote is a Fortune-500-employer-provided benefit (hence the purported group policy discount). There is no qualifying criteria (or even location awareness) other than the underlying policies must have requisite maximums for various liability coverages (homeowners, auto, watercraft).

The Chubb policy does still beat my Allstate umbrella by 30% (despite their multi-policy discounts) but the difference in your Chubb quote is curious…
 
We just got dropped today. We have been with NBOA for 30 years so I know they will figure it out....the last two underwriters each lasted 2 years.... Never a claim and we pay $800/yr if we stay in the great lakes
 

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