Insurance Question

I'm a little late to the game on this whole thread but as a former insurance agent (and I stress former)... Here is my take on insurance.

First off, figure out what coverages you actually need. And this goes for those of you who have insurance now.. pull out your policy and see what you are covered for... Then figure out if this is too high too low whatever. Do you want the state min, is there a min you can have for your umbrella policy, what do you feel comfortable with ect.. and ask for limits that fit your needs.

Then go to every insurance company and ask for an apples to apples quote for what you want in your policy. ie you want the same coverages...

I mean really you have to look at what you need. You can screw around and go slightly lower in coverages and save a ton of money... However you also have to understand with saving money comes a cost on the other end if you were to get into an accident you likely don't have the same coverages.

I'm not trying to sell anything to anyone (I hate insurance sales but I'm good at screwing the insurance companies).. frankly I screw around with my policies to have lower premiums, but I also know the risks if I were to get into an accident...

Another idea (that i like better) is to go with a higher deductible. I mean a lot of people stray away from this but... you can really save some money.. and it's stupid how many people don't end up taking insurance money when it is lower amounts (the reason for having the low deductibles) because they are worried their insurance rates will go up...

(this is a really hard concept for many people to understand... but if you get in a crash, and have 1k in damage are you really going to claim the insurance if you have a 500 dollar deductible??? And remember the insurance agent will tell you that your insurance might go up which it might (but normally wont unless you have 2-3 claims but taking money gets you one step away pretty much from it going up)... So if you aren't gonna claim that and you are willing to take the 1k hit... why not have a 1k deductible? get quotes on all kinds of deductibles and do the math, ask yourself ok how much am I willing to eat if something happens honestly... and how much savings am I having and how long does it take to pay for itself... )

(I had a former client who demanded he have a low deductible... and had 3 or 4 accidents he could have used his insurance... 1-5k each time... but didn't for fear out of his premiums going up.. and his savings from having the higher deductible would have paid for those accidents and then some... ha but even this didn't change his mind...)

Let me know if you have any questions about terms or what different numbers mean... I'm no longer an agent but i have a pretty good understanding of the industry's shady games...

Good luck on your insurance...

Edit** one more thing... if you have your insurance now, and are like crap I just got and paid for this... I gotta wait a whole year now to change it... Don't... Insurance is based off what you use... If you only used 1 day out of 365 then you will be returned 364\365 of your policy (so if it was a 365 dollar policy you will get a check back for 364 bucks)... Always shop around... your agent will hate you... but you'll get a better deal... OH ya... your agent or broker and their company is likely making 15% about of what you pay... so don't feel bad for them having to get you a bunch of quotes or whatever... (which is even more of an incentive for your current agent to not get you the best deal where as another agent doesn't care they'd rather save you money and get you as a client but they too can become complacent)... Insurance rates are always changing based off of how much they have paid out... if you live in fl and the hurricane season goes by without too many huge storms get a new quote, same thing with wild fire season for out in CA, you would be shocked to see how much the prices change based off of these things.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone! It looks alot of people got something out of this thread. I did go with NBOA after a couple of comparisons. All of the advice was very helpful... it was really good to hear from those of you who also have or do use this company. I cannot wait to get on the water!!!:smt038


who'd you go with. :huh:
 
Sorry about the delayed response... work again!

NBOA MARINE INSURANCE- AMERICAN BANKERS

That is the company I went with. Apparently, Sea Ray dealers use them a lot. American Bankers is who the binder is through.
 
Just heard back from NBOA and they do not (According to the rep I spoke with) insure boats over 9 years old.

He recommended Progressive and he is working up numbers with them.

Hmmm, I just changed to NBOA last year, and my boat was 14 years old at that time...
 
Hmmm, I just changed to NBOA last year, and my boat was 14 years old at that time...

Just what this rep said--he quoted me Progressive--Maybe he is getting a new job with them. :huh:

All the quotes seem to be about the same $500ish so I guess it is just a question of whats covered and how their Customer Service is.

Anybody else using progressive and more importantly, did you ever have to file a claim? how were they?
 
Boat US is another good one. They are directly affiliated with Tow Boat US and they have no deductibles on towing. Tow Boat US is who usually tows in most locations. Last year I was stranded on a sand bar and they spent 3 plus hours getting me off and cost $1100. They paid it all! Plus, they cover you for replacement value of your boat verses book value. So, don't just go with the low bidder here like some cheap boaters do and find out later what a mistake you made.

Good luck!
 
now the real story, Im on the repair end, some of the major downfalls with insurance companies are the more well known they are the more problems you will have filing claims..the big four, all, pro, nation, state...they depreciate, they fix only what the eye sees. cheaper is not always the best route, upfront yes, most times an auto adjuster will show up and process your claim and they are restricted by company policy, labor rates, lets put it this way, a boat and auto are 2 different animals.
The companies I find are easist to work with and understand boats are BoatUs, Marine underwriters, and smaller companies based 10 states away. A couple of examples, a boat took a jet skier to the side, the estimate was 2800.00 to repair correctly, one of the big 4 came in and knocked it down to 700.00...I asked what about the numbers and tag? tape around them....
One other that sticks in mind, 44 Tiara, both transmissions stuck in forward, I asked what happened and he would not fess up, I said you pulled them into neutral on powering up...it was an accident wasnt it, he finally came clean and said yes, another boat was cutting in front of him. he was paying out of pocket at the time, I questioned him again, do you have insurance? yes, we contacted the off brand insurance company and explained what had happened and when the repairs were complete they fed-exed a check to me.
be careful about choosing your insurance companies, run low deductibles, stay away from the mainstream companies, they give a great line of BS until you need them.
I could post 50 stories of the problems with the big guys, and when i ask a customer "what insurance company?" if they say one of the four I cringe
 
I just got my Sea Ray Owners membership card over the weekend along with a flyer for NBOE for $1,000 of free towing coverage. As part of the enrollment they had me provide enough information to provide an insurance quote. I just got done talking with the NBOE agent and I will cancel my Progressive policy that had a $1,105 annual premium with one from Banker's Trust for $515 annual premium for the same coverage. Thank you to the folks that gave a thumps up to NBOE on this thread and of course Sea Ray Owners Club for offering such a good rate to members.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,946
Messages
1,422,785
Members
60,930
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top