NC Insurance

sarbog

Member
Aug 22, 2008
135
Emerald Isle NC
Boat Info
'05 340 Sundancer
Garmin 7610xsv
1951 Penn Yan 9' Aerodinghy/2018 AB 9vl w/ 15 hp Evinrude 2-strk
Engines
Twin 8.1 Horizons v-drives
I have had my premiums increased both of the last 2 years. Now 30% more than it was with no claims. If I get an increase in my premiums again this spring I will be looking to change carriers. '05 340 Sundancer, anyone have any recommendations whom to start getting quotes from and what to expect in terms of annual premiums? Currently with Progressive due to some connection/requirements with my primary insurance carrier for everything else.
 
Progressive is really not a boat insurance company. When we first started boating we had progressive. We now use Global Marine and they have been so far.


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I use NBOA who placed my policy with AIG. I have not had any significant increases in the past few years. They were cheaper than the prior policy I had with Travelers. Great customer service with NBOA.
 
Progressive was my first provider, primarily because it's who insured my PWC through my Travelers home/auto rep....and because BoatUS hadn't told me a professional survey was required until the day I called to pay and already had transport lined up for the next day. Anyway, the Progressive premium was more than twice that of BoatUS, for the exact same coverage.

Eventually I switched to BoatUS for the boat, but my PWC premium would have more than doubled, even with the multi-vessel discount. My home/auto premiums weren't affected when I removed the boat. Can't guess the particulars of the "connection/requirements with [your] primary insurance carrier for everything else," but it's definitely worth shopping around and running the numbers every way you can. My home/auto are with Travelers, the PWC is still Progressive through my Travelers agent, and the boat is GEICO through BoatUS, but my total cost is lower than if I'd kept everything in one place.

Good luck finding a better match....and don't be shy about re-shopping every couple of years, either. If your agent is proactive, hopefully s/he is keeping an eye on things anyway, but a little due diligence never hurts.
 
I have used Cristi Marine Insurance out of New Jersey on my last 3 boats... they placed me with ACE boat insurance...Pam Ace or Eric McDowell should be able to help you...

Had my boat during sandy, it was totaled, got a check a few weeks later and bought a bigger boat :)

I trust both of them, and know they will do the right thing for you.. I have sent a bunch of friends to them too... good people

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Thanks for all the leads. The connection that is problematic is that all of my other insurance: home, auto, etc., is with USAA. I also have an umbrella policy which stipulates that USAA must be the provider of all policies. Progressive is owned(?) by USAA so switching may void the umbrella policy. We'll see. I am also pondering dropping my wind storm insurance from the NC pool. A few independents venturing back into the market and I have a quote that is a full $1000 less than the State run beach plan. We'll see what USAA says since they do not insure wind storm, i.e., hurricanes, or boats under their own "brand."
 
I have GEICO marine, but I also have GEICO for the cars. I have been happy so far. GEICO doesn't do homes (as far as I know) so that may not work for you.


Brown Eyed Girl - 2007 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer, 350 MAG MPI V-drive
 
I used NBOA when I got my boat in January. I just got my renewal notice and it's going up by about 30% with no claims. Time to shop around!
 
I was with NBOA, then BoatUS, now with Progressive. Progressive had the best rate for my small boat and SeaDoo we had at the time and have not raised my rates in 5yrs. Interesting on your umbrella, I have State Farm for everything else and they have no problem covering the boat under the umbrella, they just ask for the declarations page each year. I've been right up front with them in that I would put the boat with State Farm also but their rate is almost double Progressive. Problem with insurance is we all judge it by the premium, but you don't really know what you have until you file a claim. Never had a claim on any boat and only significant claim on homeowner's was a roof and State Farm handled that with no issues.
 
I have "The Good Hands People" & was dissatisfied a few years ago when I had to file a claim. I had basic coverage, not replacement value. They depreciated the heck out of my claim to the point that I only received a check for about 50% of the damage. I plan on shopping too, but for better coverage, not so much the better rate.

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Thanks for all the leads. The connection that is problematic is that all of my other insurance: home, auto, etc., is with USAA. I also have an umbrella policy which stipulates that USAA must be the provider of all policies. Progressive is owned(?) by USAA so switching may void the umbrella policy. We'll see. I am also pondering dropping my wind storm insurance from the NC pool. A few independents venturing back into the market and I have a quote that is a full $1000 less than the State run beach plan. We'll see what USAA says since they do not insure wind storm, i.e., hurricanes, or boats under their own "brand."

Progressive is not owned by USAA. I too have USAA with everything. The umbrella stays intact if they cannot offer insurance on a product, in my case it was a 55 pickup. If the progressive policy can not offer what another carrier offers, you may be able to communicate that to them and they may allow the exception. Worth a try.


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Thanks for all the leads. The connection that is problematic is that all of my other insurance: home, auto, etc., is with USAA. I also have an umbrella policy which stipulates that USAA must be the provider of all policies. Progressive is owned(?) by USAA so switching may void the umbrella policy. We'll see. I am also pondering dropping my wind storm insurance from the NC pool. A few independents venturing back into the market and I have a quote that is a full $1000 less than the State run beach plan. We'll see what USAA says since they do not insure wind storm, i.e., hurricanes, or boats under their own "brand."

USAA got out of boat insurance a decade plus ago. I had one of their last policies. When I bought the Sea Ray, they sent me a Progressive Policy. My service in NC was terrible and I too had too many rate escalations. YMMV. I went to NBOA and was pleased until I had a major grounding. They sent me a check and I had to fight the battle to get the boat fixed myself. I now insure through Erie.

BOATUS is a broker, not an insurance company.

If I may offer one suggestion..... You want a company on your side through the thick and thin. One that will hold the repair facility to the wall for NMMA etc... compliance. I don't know of any in any type of insurance coverage and if you find one, let us know. My brother was VP of the largest WCI companies in the world. To paraphrase him; 'The crap you see in insurance advertising is just that...crap. We don't give a sh!t about you. We give a sh!t about making money. You may not like that David, but those are the cold hard facts. It was a tough pill for me to swallow and I do it for a living. Why would I lie to you. You're my brother?"
 
I've had NBOA for seven years across two boats. Policy is on an agreed upon value.
Rates have stayed flat year to year. I've never seen a big increase. I'm maybe $25-30 more today than I was five years ago when I got my 350.

I've never had a claim. Service has always been good.

I'm not a huge fan of BoatUS (even though I'm a member). I find they treat boaters as a number.
 
I have Progressive and house, cars, etc with USAA. I had my only claim in 4 years with Progressive and they were excellent to deal with. I am waiting to see what happens with my premium when I need to renew in May.

Bennett
 
I've had good results with NBOA the last 10 years. Great service. No claims, but I have seen a $50 increase each of the last two years. Everything else is with USAA - when I called them 10 years ago for the Waverunner, they sent me to Progressive. No claims, premium goes down each year - last year was $95. For my USAA Umbrella Policy, they listed both boats on it and there might have been a $10 increase...
 
I use Jack Martin and Associates in Annapolis as my broker and I know they will provide service for other states. There are other similar brokers out there. I think that finding a good broker that will provide personalized service is key. They will deal directly with the insurance companies for you and will step in in the event of claim problems. At renewal time they will review the policy and find a better rate or enhanced coverage. Even though they obviously get a cut, I think I end up with lower rates than if I deal with the insurer directly.
In the middle of the very cold winter two seasons ago I discovered to my horror that my policy did not cover damage due to freezing unless the boat had been winterized by a "professional". My fault for not reading the fine print. A quick call to the broker fixed the problem with a new policy from a different insurer at more or less the same rate.
 
Got a quote through NBOA (AIG the actual insurer). It is SUBSTANTIALLY better than my current Progressive policy. The old policy renews March 14, I'll see what my renewal premium is the end of next month. They will have to cut my premiums by quite a bit to keep me. Thanks for all the help and advice.
 

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