DO NOT INSURE YOUR BOAT WITH PROGRESSIVE

[GypsmJim]

You want mechanical and electrical failure with normal wear and tear coverage. Without that coverage, you have very little protection from loss.

OK, I'll re-cite the canvas deterioration from the sun kinda problem. I guess its my problem cause I left her out in the weather and of course, didn't properly waterproof her when needed. My bad. Now she needs to be replaced.

I have 4 marine policies on 4 different boats, an RV, 3 cars, a classic antique car on a separate policy, and of course a homeowner's policy on the house. Waaaay too much insurance.

I just spend a half hour and read every policy. Freaking "wear and tear" is an exclusion on every single one of them. OMG, I'm screwed. To make matters even worse, they also exclude war and nuclear attack!

Forget about the house and cars, but will you please tell me where I can get a marine policy that will pay me to replace a part that is used up because it's worn and torn?

(or, are we just arguing about semantics here?)

 

[bfernald0]

This is what I said in my post - they sell a bottom that replaces the plastic bowl- I was just trying to save you the effort of changing the whole thing by just unscrewing the plastic bowl and changing it. Oh well - you changed it already so point is mute. Good luck on the rest.

You know, I looked and couldn't find one. Oh well, it's not like the replacement was all that much.

 

[sbw1]

OK, I'll re-cite the canvas deterioration from the sun kinda problem. I guess its my problem cause I left her out in the weather and of course, didn't properly waterproof her when needed. My bad. Now she needs to be replaced.

I have 4 marine policies on 4 different boats, an RV, 3 cars, a classic antique car on a separate policy, and of course a homeowner's policy on the house. Waaaay too much insurance.

I just spend a half hour and read every policy. Freaking "wear and tear" is an exclusion on every single one of them. OMG, I'm screwed. To make matters even worse, they also exclude war and nuclear attack!

Forget about the house and cars, but will you please tell me where I can get a marine policy that will pay me to replace a part that is used up because it's worn and torn?

(or, are we just arguing about semantics here?)

When you have a covered loss, there is a depreciation schedule for items like canvas. Typically it will be fully covered at its original cost if the loss occurs in the first year. I believe many companies consider canvas to be fully depreciated at 7 years. Canvas is not worth debating. Losses due to mechanical and/or electrical failure is the important peril you want coverage for. Paying a premium for a policy that does not cover those perils is not a good decision.

 

[sbw1]

OK, I'll re-cite the canvas deterioration from the sun kinda problem. I guess its my problem cause I left her out in the weather and of course, didn't properly waterproof her when needed. My bad. Now she needs to be replaced.

I have 4 marine policies on 4 different boats, an RV, 3 cars, a classic antique car on a separate policy, and of course a homeowner's policy on the house. Waaaay too much insurance.

I just spend a half hour and read every policy. Freaking "wear and tear" is an exclusion on every single one of them. OMG, I'm screwed. To make matters even worse, they also exclude war and nuclear attack!

Forget about the house and cars, but will you please tell me where I can get a marine policy that will pay me to replace a part that is used up because it's worn and torn?

(or, are we just arguing about semantics here?)

I just looked at what boats you insure. I’m surprised you have separate policies for each. When we owned small Whalers for our kids, they were added to our home owner policies as riders. That gave us the coverage we needed in case there was an at fault accident. You likely need an umbrella policy for added protection as well. Insurance is not about getting canvas and rub rails insured. It is about coverage for important losses such as liability, costly repairs of equipment and coverage for a total loss. Most losses related to small Whaler like boats should be self insured so you avoid expensive premiums.

 

[b_arrington]

Currently shopping for boat insurance. Chubb about 3k and Travelers is $2,900. Higher than I was expecting but I guess thats the going rate.

Sounds about right. I looked at a number of policies back in November, and they were all in the $2700 to $3500 range. Travelers was right around $2900-$3000 for my boat.

 

[dvx216]

Anyone looking for insurance you would be silly not to give NBOA a call. I'm not saying they can find you the cheapest but they have quite a lot of different Insurance Companies to choose from. In the end it's just a phone call. I'm with AIG Marine thru them and I couldn't be happier.

 

[cod]

I have Progressive and I have to say I am surprised by your experience. I had two claims last year (within 2 months of each other) and Progressive was a pleasure to deal with. Response and approval time was quick and adjuster regularly contacted me. The whole process was extremely easy.
The reason I switched to Progressive was the premium was almost half of what I was paying at the time. I even received my renewal recently and expected a huge increase and it was a minimal increase.

 

[Stee6043]

I have Progressive and I have to say I am surprised by your experience. I had two claims last year (within 2 months of each other) and Progressive was a pleasure to deal with. Response and approval time was quick and adjuster regularly contacted me. The whole process was extremely easy.
The reason I switched to Progressive was the premium was almost half of what I was paying at the time. I even received my renewal recently and expected a huge increase and it was a minimal increase.

You must own one of the nicest, biggest yachts ever insured by Progressive. There's a reason it costs half of....just about everyone else

 

[sb in gp]

Progressive offers propulsion plus coverage. $60 a year and all in water mechanicals are covered even if wear and tear. Eliminates the argument.

This post makes a great point. In my experience it is common for insurers to offer a low cost policy upgrade that significantly improves mechanical coverage. Chubb is my insurer and the “mechanical” coverage is only $50 per year. With diesel motors that cost $50k to replace its a no brainer. You just have to ask.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Where is GFC? He taught me this years ago here. LOL

First off what does the review say? Best for small boat owners. Is the OP's vessel a small boat? No it is not.

If you have your "yacht certified" insured as a boat, no matter the company, you are doing it WRONG! Get yourself insured with a yacht policy ASAP. There is an enormous difference between boat and yacht policies.

What? Did I hear my name called?

What Mike is referring to is an accident where my boat (with me and another couple on board) was drifting on the Columbia about 10:00 p.m. We were hit by a BUI boater and, while we didn't sink, all 3 of us sustained some injuries and my boat was eventually totaled.

That was the start of a month's long battle with Allstate over what they would pay. They sent out an auto and home "surveyor" who had never been aboard ANY boat. His survey said the repairs should cost $15,000. MY surveyor's estimate was over $80K and he said the boat should be totaled.

Long story short, Allstate paid the full replacement value of my boat, 9 day's cost of a rental boat at $3500 per day (that 9 days was from the date of the accident until they settled the claim on the boat), two trips back to Michigan to search the Great Lakes for a similar fresh water boat, and $24,000 in incidental costs associated with the accident.

F U Allstate. I got in your shorts big time because of your drunken boater.

 

[Pirate Lady]

What? Did I hear my name called?

What Mike is referring to is an accident where my boat (with me and another couple on board) was drifting on the Columbia about 10:00 p.m. We were hit by a BUI boater and, while we didn't sink, all 3 of us sustained some injuries and my boat was eventually totaled. View attachment 101709 View attachment 101710 View attachment 101711

That was the start of a month's long battle with Allstate over what they would pay. They sent out an auto and home "surveyor" who had never been aboard ANY boat. His survey said the repairs should cost $15,000. MY surveyor's estimate was over $80K and he said the boat should be totaled.

Long story short, Allstate paid the full replacement value of my boat, 9 day's cost of a rental boat at $3500 per day (that 9 days was from the date of the accident until they settled the claim on the boat), two trips back to Michigan to search the Great Lakes for a similar fresh water boat, and $24,000 in incidental costs associated with the accident.

F U Allstate. I got in your shorts big time because of your drunken boater.

Dammm, no wonder you moved onto a land RV. Long ago when I was a young puppy my grandpa had an issue with Allstate and said to me, swear this true “Boy don’t ever get Allstate”. I never forgot that.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Now, until I just sold the 550, I had a Yacht policy on it. Over the 10 years of owning Beachcomber Travelers paid several claims. Among those was the cost ($15,000) to repair damage from a runaway starter motor, almost $20K to replace electronics damaged by a lightening strike (including two guys from Portland to come here to do the work including their hotel bills, meals, mileage, etc.), over $15,000 to replace a new Westerbeke 15KW generator. I could go on, but you get my drift.

If you have a boat, get in touch with an insurance broker to find you a policy. I used Bristol Marine Insurance in Seattle and could not be happier with the service Robin gave me over the years. She also gave us free tickets to the Seattle boat show every year.

Now THAT is what insurance companies service should be like.

 

[Pirate Lady]

What’s a runaway starter motor, serious.

 

[bone354]

I have Progressive and I have to say I am surprised by your experience. I had two claims last year (within 2 months of each other) and Progressive was a pleasure to deal with. Response and approval time was quick and adjuster regularly contacted me. The whole process was extremely easy.
The reason I switched to Progressive was the premium was almost half of what I was paying at the time. I even received my renewal recently and expected a huge increase and it was a minimal increase.

What type of claims did you have if you don't mind me asking. I have progressive

 

[GypsmJim]

Insurance is not about getting canvas and rub rails insured.

I cited canvas merely as a simple-to-understand example of wear and tear. It would not be wise to file a claim in that regard. No argument there.

Nevertheless, you didn't answer my question. Where can you get insurance that covers wear and tear? Or, stated in another way, is there a specific grade or description of such a policy?

So what's the low end boat $ value that such a policy type makes sense?

 

[Gofirstclass]

What’s a runaway starter motor, serious.

Pirate, in a nutshell it's when a starter motor won't stop when you release the key or starter switch.

With our mess, we were waiting on the upstream side of Ice Harbor lock, drifting with the engines shut off. We got the green light to enter the lock, fired up the engines and pulled into the lock. We got tied up and, as I always did, I left both motors idling.

My wife was handling the line to the bollard and I was on the flybridge. She called up to me that she could smell something that was VERY hot. I scrambled down the ladder from up above and opened the hatch to the engine room. I also could smell it and when I opened the hatch smoke came rolling out. I could hear one of the starter motors running at full speed.

I shut off both engines and the motor kept running. I got on the radio to the lock master and told him we had something burning on the boat and declared an emergency. Since we were at the top of the lock (hadn't been lowered yet) he said he would hold the lock there for us in case we needed fire dept help.

I shut off both engines and also the 24VDC power to the motors. That stopped the starter motor. I gave things a few minutes to let some of the smoke roll out of the engine room then, with a rag over my mouth, went down to see what I could see.

I could feel the heat from the starboard motor and it was so hot I couldn't even slap my fingers against it to feel it. I called the lock master and told him the emergency was over so everyone could relax. I left the hatch and salon door open so the smoke could clear out. Then I turned on the 24VDC power to the port engine and restarted it.

We made the trip back to the slip on the port engine and only after we were back in the slip did my pucker factor come back down.

 

[sbw1]

I cited canvas merely as a simple-to-understand example of wear and tear. It would not be wise to file a claim in that regard. No argument there.

Nevertheless, you didn't answer my question. Where can you get insurance that covers wear and tear? Or, stated in another way, is there a specific grade or description of such a policy?

So what's the low end boat $ value that such a policy type makes sense?

You need to find a trustworthy insurance agent to help you out with what is best for your situation. The types of boats you own probably belong on a homeowner policy as riders. Most of the folks discussing insurance in this thread are wondering about insuring big boats that require a completely different type of insurance than you need. I can’t help you and it is pointless to argue about insurance with you.

 

[Golfman25]

I cited canvas merely as a simple-to-understand example of wear and tear. It would not be wise to file a claim in that regard. No argument there.

Nevertheless, you didn't answer my question. Where can you get insurance that covers wear and tear? Or, stated in another way, is there a specific grade or description of such a policy?

So what's the low end boat $ value that such a policy type makes sense?

I think you have to distinguish between "coverage" for wear and tear, and replacement cost for older items. In general, insurance polices will only cover sudden and accidental events -- so the prop striking a log, for example. They won't cover items that just wear out or fail due to lack of maintenance. The question then becomes, after your prop strike takes out your 20 year old transmission, will the insurance company pony up replacement cost to to give you a new transmission, or give you the scrap value that it's worth being 20 years old. I think most of us want a new transmission and a boat that works.

 

[GypsmJim]

You need to find a trustworthy insurance agent to help you out with what is best for your situation. The types of boats you own probably belong on a homeowner policy as riders. Most of the folks discussing insurance in this thread are wondering about insuring big boats that require a completely different type of insurance than you need. I can’t help you and it is pointless to argue about insurance with you.

I DO trust my independent agent and have a number of policies with him. One of my boats is on the HO insurance, but the others are not eligible. Liability only covers motors of 25 HP or less. Over the last 50 years of home ownership I have had several different HO policies and ALL of them excluded larger boats.

 

[Eluther3]

Have to share my experience with Geico. They were my initial insurer when I bought my 92 400EC back in 2019. Rates seemed reasonable and I had no claims or incidents. Was time for renewal and I was inspecting the renewal paperwork and I noticed the term "port risk ashore" on the policy. I asked about it and was told that it means the boat is insured as long as it is not placed in the water (??!!!). Apparently they were concerned about some issues during the survey, but I can find no correspondence from them that said these items needed to be corrected prior to coverage. For a 40 foot boat in a full time slip, Port Risk Ashore coverage is totally worthless. I essentially paid for a year of non-coverage!

Switched to Progressive. I guess bad coverage is better than none!