Any advice on boat insurance companies

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I am pretty close to buying a new boat. May all happen over the weekend. Dont even want to remove it from the lot until its got good insurance coverage. Any advice is appreciated.

I think I should be more excited than I am. Ive been shopping for this boat for a couple of years. It worries me that the little devil inside my head is being so quite hes usually making a lot of noise. We both tossed the angel overboard years ago so at least I dont have to worry about that guy speaking up at the wrong time.

 

[tpenfield]

I always insure (i.e. bind coverage) the boats I buy on/before I hand over the money $$$$$ regardless of where the boat currently is located. If you have car/home insurance with a particular agent/carrier, see if you can get boat insurance through them, and if you can include the boat in any umbrella policy that you may have.

Also, make sure you have good limits and coverage for things like water sports, depending on your boating specifics. Not all insurance policies are created equal. I had to shop around to get an insurance policy that would cover water sports AND be included in the umbrella policy, in case something wicked bad happened.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have my boat policy and auto policies thru progressive, used to have state farm

I also have Tow boat US towing insurance for the boat as an additional policy

 

[briangcc]

IF you are financing you may/will be required to carry an insurance policy to cover the lender's assets.

That being said, I've always carried a separate policy on my boats. Have used Progressive in the past - my auto insurance at the time was through them as well. Currently with Travelers - bundled with homeowners and auto.

Only item I've come across with Travelers, and it may be related to my particular agent, is that they want to know the cost of the boat AND the separate cost for the trailer. I've always had package deals so I've had to look online to see what deducting the cost of the trailer from the package costs and use that number. Not sure that's right BUT I've yet to have an issue where it was debated.

 

[tpenfield]

Brings up a good point . . . there are 'agreed value' and 'fair value' policies. Agreed value policies are beneficial in the used market because the value of the boat will be stipulated in the coverage. Fair market value policies may cover your boat for physical loss/damage less and less as the boat ages.

 

[ezmobee]

I have agreed value policies on both my boats and RV from Progressive (brokered through them via USAA). Price is certainly fair. Haven't made a claim yet so I can't comment on that aspect.

 

[EchoNovember]

Make sure to ask WHAT it covers. I was thankful I did that, and discovered that my auto insurance DOES not cover the boat if it is rear ended while being towed. That was additional coverage on the boat. I now have full coverage, including glass, on my boat and trailer, so if anything happens to it I'm not suffering a total loss.

I have American Family for home, auto, motorcycle, and now boat. Having multiple policies gives me big discounts. I have renter's insurance, too, because spending $9/mo saves me $12/mo on my other policies. They are pretty much paying me $3/mo to have it.

Asking WHAT is covered is almost more important than asking HOW MUCH is covered. Values of the boat in the event of a total loss aside, in what situations will they pay out and in what situations will they deny your claim? If you hit a submerged rock or log? Rear ended on the highway? Damaged in a slip by another boater? By a storm? By a broken dock line? Motor fell off? Fire? Hull damge - will they fix just the hull or will they fix the interior/floor, etc? If you get swamped, does it cover retrieval and repair only? Or will they also replace personal items lost to sea/the lake? Make sure you know what they will cover, or you could be in for an unpleasant surprise later.

 

[jkust]

Underwriting and cost of capital, reinsurance costs, etc are different from insurance company to insurance company and from state to state. For some reason, no insurance company in my state 'gets' boats and other power sports except progressive. Their prices are way out in left field for the same coverage. It's not that I love Progressive, I just prefer to pay half as much for the exact same coverage. I have maybe five insurance companies for all of my properties, houses, rentals and also my vacation home plus cars and trailers and there is no bundling that can accommodate the boats, fourwheelers and sleds except progressive as maddening as that is.
As it turns out, I had total loss to an agreed value policy from a boat I owned for eight years and I got the new purchase price for it after using it for eight seasons from Progressive. I had progressive through an agent at one point and there was zero communication with that agent and ultimately went to progressive direct and saved a few bucks. Oddly enough, I can't use progressive here for any houses as they utilize a separate wind/hail deductible that other insurance companies don't use in this state which I think was something along the lines of 1% of the home value which is the cost of a roof give or take.