insurance

[R Socey]

I was wondering how to insure an old boat that has minimum value on paper, but would cost a great deal
to replace? A truck too!

 

[JimS123]

Re: insurance

You can never get replacement value on vehicles. You can get an agreed value policy that will insure it for an amount greater than book value, but the boat should at least be worth what you insure it for. Examples - a mint condition garage stored classic that is like new, or a restored woodie that is now worth 10 times what it cost new.

If you have a old junker and you're trying to insure it to buy a new one if damage occurs, forget it. What you DO need, though, is liability insurance, to protect the other guy should you have an accident, and protect you from a lawsuit.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: insurance

As far as the boat goes . . .

A marine survey and/or appraisal might do the trick as far as establishing fair market and replacement value.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: insurance

You can never get replacement value on vehicles. You can get an agreed value policy that will insure it for an amount greater than book value, but the boat should at least be worth what you insure it for. Examples - a mint condition garage stored classic that is like new, or a restored woodie that is now worth 10 times what it cost new.

If you have a old junker and you're trying to insure it to buy a new one if damage occurs, forget it. What you DO need, though, is liability insurance, to protect the other guy should you have an accident, and protect you from a lawsuit.

Also to cover a fuel spill and depending where you boat, towing coverage.

 

[dave11]

Re: insurance

Get real marine insurance, not a rider tacked on to your homeowner's insurance.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: insurance

Get a policy with a "Stated Value" not an "Actual Cash Value."

A 1931 Chris Craft has an ACV of about $25.
They will assume it is an 80 year old pile of firewood.
Insurance will be cheap!

Fully restored it is worth more like $30,000.
But it needs to actually have a market value of $30k.
You will not be able to to insure the fire wood for $30k, just because it is Teak.
Insurance will not be as cheap.
You will need to declare the value up front and pay the matching premium.
Avoiding any surprises if you ever make a claim.

This is a common issue with the Classic/Historic Car collectors.
Your insurance agent may have never written a policy like this, and will need some 'learnin'.

 

[JimS123]

Re: insurance

This is a common issue with the Classic/Historic Car collectors.
Your insurance agent may have never written a policy like this, and will need some 'learnin'.

Any "good" insurance agent (one that is an independant agent and has been around awhile) will know what to do. Your Allstate Nationwide guy probably won't because they rarely handle that kind of policy.

You'll also need an appraisal from a licenced, certified appraiser. My old car has a book value of about $500, but its insured for $7,500. An updated appraisal is required every 3 years, or they drop the coverage. Funny thing is that this car only gets about 100 miles put on each year, but the premium is higher than my 2011.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: insurance

As stated above, stated value policy. It's what I have on my boat. I have BoatUS insurance. Great coverage, great price. My boat is insured for $10,000 replacement. I have $834,000.00 spill coverage. Spill coverage is something a lot of people don't even think about. When I mentioned it to my State Farm agent, he didn't even know what I was talking about; and he has a serious bass boat.

 

[R Socey]

Re: insurance

Thanks for the info guys: I want to be able to replace my boat if something catastrophic happens. I'll have 5,
years ( part time ) labor, and a bunch of new stuff ( windless, trim tabs, electronics, etc. ) that I would not be
able to readily replace. I wanted to have my boat appraised before I purchased it but it was an obsurd price -
arond a thousand.

 

[jkust]

Re: insurance

Sounds like you are not concerned about the real exposure being your liability. If you have assets, but no liability insurance, they will take those from you in lieu of insurance when you get sued. Even if you have no assets they will put a judgement on you into perpetuity. I knew someone at fault in a bad accident and he had no insurance. It took him many, many years, and ultimately the charity of someone else to pay off his judgement. He lost his license that entire time as well.
As for the stated value, when I bought my sig boat, the insurance company simply asked me what the value of the boat is. I gave them a number for the boat and trailer and that is where it has stood. The great thing about boat insurance is that it will pay when you destroy your lower unit from hitting a submerged object. Who hasn't hit something submerged at some point? The difference is I've just been lucky and haven't done anything but prop damage but the piece of mind is nice.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: insurance

The great thing about boat insurance is that it will pay when you destroy your lower unit from hitting a submerged object. Who hasn't hit something submerged at some point? The difference is I've just been lucky and haven't done anything but prop damage but the piece of mind is nice.

except you are talking two (or three) entirely different products. Liability vs comp/collision. Liability covers you from a lawsuit if you hit someone. Collision covers damage to your own boat if you hit something, and comprehensive is pretty much everything else. You generally will never see any money from liability, it always goes to the other party. Comp/collision payouts will usually only go to you (or the lienholder)

Liability is always a good idea if you have any assets to protect. The other two coverages are highly dependent on the type of boat, where you boat, and value. In my case, I don't carry comp/collision. I boat on rivers/lakes I know well, I don't have a lower unit or exposed prop, and there generally aren't submerged rocks. My boat is also 10 years old, so the value isn't the same as someone who just pulled it off the showroom floor.