Insurance Questions

hi spencer,
doing a random sampling on the internet for yacht insurance i found each company quoting exclusions for freezing when the vessel is located in a northern territory which experiences routine temperatures below 32 degrees. boat u s will issue a policy and grant coverage for loss due to freezing (for an additional premium) if a bubbler is in the water and is operating. no bubbler, no coverage. (for losses caused by freezing)
pat
ps: reading ones policy does not make an enjoyable afternoon. first you read the policy then you read all the endorsements which change the verbiage, meanings and definitions, that are found in the policy jacket. so, do you have the most recent updates, if not your probably shooting in the dark. now, agents are held accountable for their statements, so, ask your agent rather than telling me what is covered, tell me everything that is not! then if your ship sinks you'll be able to hold your agents feet to the fire.
thank the lawyers for any misunderstandings.
 
I moored a boat in a marina in downtown seattle and found that the yacht policies were significantly more expensive. I could have been covered by safeco or state farm for $500 to $600 per year but the yacht policy cost me about $1300. The yacht policy also required a new out of water survey. I probably wouldn't have gone there but the marina had that as a condition of moorage. The additional feeling of security was nice but came with a price. I bought a cheap policy at a boat show from allstate one time, too cheap to turn down, but it took them little more than a month to cancel me because I had one too many speeding tickets. Hate to think what would have happened if I had of had a claim.
 
We had a claim 5 years ago with State Farm - our boat was in a marina 100 miles away from our house when a nasty storm hit. Not sure it was a tornado, but it tore boats loose from the dock one direction, then tossed them back the other direction. Our boat was tied off and protected with large fenders... fine, until the wind blew one hull of the trimaran onto the dock. :shock: That boat was well built, but the rubber rub rail on the side of the dock came apart, and the screws holding it on stuck out... while my pretty trimaran crashed down on them repeatedly. To make matters worse, one of the pontoon boats that came loose whacked us on the other side.

This was in western South Dakota, and we had no one locally that was up to speed on the fiberglass/kevlar/gelcoat that needed fixing. State Farm allowed us to tow the boat to Texas to have a factory recommended guy do the repairs (I paid for the towing). They paid everything within 10 days of turning in the final claim. My rate did not go up the next year. Or the next.

Some things may have changed since that time, but we are still with State Farm on our boats (moved all the other vehicles to Progressive). No other claims, no complaints. We checked around when we bought the C-Dory, and a couple other companies would only sell coverage in specified parts of the country... and goodness knows, we wander around a bit. We stayed with State Farm.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Can anyone here tell me something about Markel Insurance? The broker I am going through tells me that they are the most liberal with navigation limits.

Thanks,
Warren
 
My agent handles Markel, and would have been the second insurance I would have considered, if I was going to the Bahamas frequently. It was considerably more expensive than Progressive.

Warren, you asked about Progressive coverage. I have coverage thru all of Canada, up to 75 miles offshore, and into SE Alaska with no extra premium. If I want to go to the Bahamas, it is an extra $125 for the season. I didn't inquire about Mexico.
 
thataway":2rj3m7q2 said:
My agent handles Markel, and would have been the second insurance I would have considered, if I was going to the Bahamas frequently. It was considerably more expensive than Progressive.

Warren, you asked about Progressive coverage. I have coverage thru all of Canada, up to 75 miles offshore, and into SE Alaska with no extra premium. If I want to go to the Bahamas, it is an extra $125 for the season. I didn't inquire about Mexico.
Click to expand...

Bob, the broker I am talking to had this to say about Progressive:

Progressive has a very liberal navigation wording but you have to qualify for the agreed value option and the price reflects that choice quite a lot. The miles out is usually reflective of the size of vessel and what companies underwriters feel is the "safe point" in going outside.
Click to expand...

It appears that all of these insurance companies consider the C-Dories to be pretty small boats and need to be convinced of the seaworthiness of a C-Dory compared to a lake cruiser.

It will be interesting to see how the Markel and Progressive quotes compare at the end in navigation, coverage and cost.

Warren
 
Warren,
I don't know how it shakes out currently, but when I purchased the Tom Cat, there was little choice in Florida. At one point it was almost impossiable to get any coverage on a "new" boat over 30 feet in length of more than $100,000 in value. Although there are a few more companies writing FL today, if we have another bad hurricane season, then we find zero insurance.

The bigest risks down here are the hurricanes, not the distance offshore.

In 1982 the only insurance we were quoted was 10% of the value of the boat a year, 4 crew on board at all times when underway, and many restrictions on where we could sail--including places where we wanted to go. We sailed without insurance for 41,000 miles in 4 years, and no problems--The insurance cost as much as all of our living costs had we gotten it.

Also some companies require both a trip and crew survey as well as a boat survey if the boat is going offshore. The paradox in the 75 miles is that the most dangerous part of going to the Bahamas is the first 60 miles across the Gulf Stream. You could cross without the rider, but not really cruise the Bahamas....
 
good morning warren,
the markel american insurance company underwrites the boat policies for markel corp. they have been in business since 1932 and are rated "a" excellent, by a m best. their toll free phone number is 1-800-236-2862. you can call direct for quotes or questions. the stock symbol for markel corp. is MKL. their 52 week stock range was 394.99 low and 554.95 high, currently trading at 456. per share.
i would have complete faith in this company.
hope this info helps.
good luck.
pat
 
The deal with Markel (maybe can get Progressive to agree to the same) is that the boat will not be in FL during hurricane months. That made them much happier. Apparently they will be willing to write a specific rider for specific months for me to go to the Bahamas or Mexico (further than 75 miles.) I have yet to see the complete quote, though.

Warren
 
as a property casualty agency, i place all of our boat business with progressive. not only because i think they're a very good company and deserving of the business but i do it as well, to protect my loss ratio with the other preferred carriers we represent. i've never had great success with boat policies, that is, i write plenty of them, but seldom make money doing it. agency bounces are based upon production and loss ratio. losses hurt more than just the insurance company, they also extend to my pocket. i'm kind of protective of my pocket. i don't mind giving money away, just as long as it's your money.
well, to finish up, i would have faith in progressive, they tend to be the leader in every field they're marketing product.
best regards
pat
 
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