Need a New Boat Insurance Provider

[GA_Boater]

How many boats were involved in the 12 car pile up? I thought you were looking for boat insurance? Geico car and Geico boat insurance are not the same companies!

So Geico was accepting the coverage for all in this 12 car wreck? Why would Geico blame their insurance holders for all these wreck? That means they end up paying for claims that should be paid by another company. How can they stay in business?

 

[bruceb58]

Interesting. Mine(SunTracker Pontoon) renewed at beginning of December and stayed the same.

 

[bruceb58]

In many cases that might not have been bad, but my homeowner's is USAA, and their coverage for boats is ... lacking.

I still have my Wellcraft insurance with USAA since I was grandfathered in. All new policies are written through Progressive.

 

[poconojoe]

2003 Byliner 185 Bowrider (18 ft.) 4.3L Alpha 1 Gen 2.
Got my renewal from BoatUS and they also switched me to GEICO. My rate actually went down $19. The coverage is better in some areas too!
I live in northeastern PA. Last year my policy was $190, this year GEICO wants $171.
I think I'll shop around anyway since I have time before renewal.

 

[Arynden]

If anyone is interested, the finalists I looked into were Traveler's, Safeco, and Ace. (Ace was suggested by the Anchor Marine brokers.) I also passively looked at Progressive because USAA covers boats through them, but didn't really consider, since fees are higher even with the discounts and because of poor customer reviews.

All three offered better coverage (same agreed value for boat, boating liability, higher medical payments per person per accident, and higher commercial or on-water assistance coverage AND included coverage for my trailer) for less than my current BoatUS contract. BoatUS offers trailer protection too, but I opted out of it 2 years ago due to the extra cost. The only negatives against these companies vs BoatUS is that they don't have the same fuel/spill liability coverage and only Progressive also offers diminishing deductibles. Funny thing is, even with the greater coverage, ALL of them offered lower overall premiums than my current, less covered BoatUS insurance after deductibles.

Deductibles were slightly higher, but marginally so, especially when considering the two types of higher coverage. Agents were easy to reach and were able to talk shop and nuances without reciting a company spiel repeatedly. (My Q&A sessions with them, separate from giving them info, were usually 40 min to an hour.) At the end, I was able to lock in one of these contracts with SafeCo for about $100 less than the new Geico/BoatUS contract wanted. Ace was a decent second place. Travelers was comparable to Geico in price, but only because they offered more coverage protection and included my trailer. I will also point out that there was no waiting to talk to an agent for those 3, but I was on hold for over 15 minutes before I could even reach a Geico rep to tell them I would not be renewing my policy.

***I need to clarify deductibles being slightly higher. The deductibles I have to pay now are the same or less than the ones I originally had with BoatUS. The only reason BoatUS had lower deductibles NOW is because after 2 years of being claims free, I had gotten my deductible lowered by 50%.

Sorry my picture is not as beautiful as Spoils of War, but this was my mailer:

 

[Arynden]

I'm currently with State Farm but I'm having issues them "not properly" fixing damages incurred on my boat that was stolen.

Thanks, that's the first time I've heard of someone having issues with State Farm, but I admit I don't know anyone who uses State Farm for a boat policy. Damages being caused due to theft, vandalism, acts of nature, etc. being covered, as opposed to due to collisions, are always part of my questions with agents.

How many boats were involved in the 12 car pile up? I thought you were looking for boat insurance? Geico car and Geico boat insurance are not the same companies!

So Geico was accepting the coverage for all in this 12 car wreck? Why would Geico blame their insurance holders for all these wreck? That means they end up paying for claims that should be paid by another company. How can they stay in business?

Oh they weren't trying to pay for all the other cars. That was pretty much already being handled by the other insurance agents. They were trying to blame their client for the wreck to jack up his monthly payment astronomically. Even though he was eventually cleared by the other insurance agent and he was determined as "no fault", and they brought his monthly charge down from the over a thousand they said he now owed each month, his monthly bill still went up from what it had been before.

 

[drrpm]

USAA is my insurance carrier but they don't cover boats anymore so my boat insurance is handled by Progressive. The rates seem reasonable and the one claim I had was handled well so I've been satisfied.

 

[H20Rat]

1) diminishing deductibles

So there are two thoughts on this... Diminishing deductibles only works if you submit claims, especially small claims. And by works, I mean for the insurance company, not you. It is far better to have a claim free discount for not turning in a claim, at least there is a tangible value to that. Diminishing deductible does nothing for me unless I use the insurance.

The BEST way to make the most of your money is generally to go with the highest deductibles possible, and then self insure for the small stuff. Every month, just stash a little extra into a savings account, and use that instead of turning in a claim. The end result is that you will pay far less for insurance, and if you have a policy with claim free discount, your premium will continue to drop.

Keep in mind insurance is a for-profit business. If you are taking out more money than you are giving them, you WILL get dropped at some point. If you minimize what you give them, they also minimize what they give you, but you are still protected for things you can't afford to cover.

I carry liability only on all power toys, $1000 deductible comp/collision on only my newest vehicles (liability only on the older vehicle), and 1% of value deductible for comp on the house. Haven't had a claim on anything in 20 years.

(used to work in insurance for quite a few years)

 

[thumpar]

I have been with Safeco for years. There have been no claims but the rates are good and it comes with agreed upon value and tow insurance.

 

[LSU]

I've got my house, cars, rent houses and boat with State Farm. I also have a huge Umbrella (excess liability policy) which cover all of these properties on top of the general limits.

Don't over look having an Umbrella policy to cover an excess claims. Most folks are looking for comprehensive cover (the stuff that pays if your boat is sunk) but if you have a "pot or a window" you really need some decent liability insurance in case you get sued over an injury.

I have $2 million of excess on my boat. (And my boat is about a $20K model - tops).

Just something else to think about but I'd ask your agent about an Umbrella policy.

 

[bruceb58]

I have $2 million of excess on my boat. (And my boat is about a $20K model - tops).

Umbrella is an extra liability policy and has nothing to do with the value of the boat.

I have a large umbrella policy as well.

 

[LSU]

Umbrella is an extra liability policy and has nothing to do with the value of the boat.

I have a large umbrella policy as well.

Right. Umbrella covers liability.

I've got my boat's replacement valued at $10,000.00 on my comprehensive policy.

I've got $2 million in liability if I crash and hurt someone or you slip and fall but if boat is stolen I only get up to $10K.

State Farm writes boat insurance if your house and cars are with them.

 

[bruceb58]

Not a fan of State Farm. A friend is currently having major issues with them getting a fire damaged house repaired...super slow and being a pain in the butt. Another is having an issue with an auto claim. Glad I have USAA for most of my insurance. Too bad they still don't write boat insurance though. I am keeping my USAA boat policy on my Wellcraft and not giving it up.

 

[LSU]

Not a fan of State Farm. A friend is currently having major issues with them getting a fire damaged house repaired...super slow and being a pain in the butt. Another is having an issue with an auto claim. Glad I have USAA for most of my insurance. Too bad they still don't write boat insurance though. I am keeping my USAA boat policy on my Wellcraft and not giving it up.

I guess you've had different personal experience with SF than I have had. They insured me 40 years since I got off Active Duty. Couple of claims, never an issue.

 

[bruceb58]

I guess you've had different personal experience with SF than I have had. They insured me 40 years since I got off Active Duty. Couple of claims, never an issue.

If you were in the service, why didn't you go with USAA? Every person I know that was in the service has USAA.

 

[LSU]

If you were in the service, why didn't you go with USAA? Every person I know that was in the service has USAA.

"If you were in the service . . . " ??

actually I was in the Army and I've got my DD214 and Honorable Discharge to prove it.

SF was cheaper than USAA in my state.

 

[bruceb58]

SF was cheaper than USAA in my state.

USAA beats everyone in CA for auto insurance and they give back a rebate check at the end of the year depending on how claims were(auto only). They beat everyone with homeowners too.

Of course for many years, you needed to be an officer to get into USAA or be a family member. Now you don't need to be an officer.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Insurance here in Ontario is like night and day compared to some states. I bought my boat used for 15K, it is covered under my homeowners policy. If I have a total loss I will get 15K plus any new electronics etc. that I have receipts for that are less than 3 years old. As well there is a 2 million dollar 3rd party liability coverage. My home owners insurance went up $110.00 per year. Unlike auto insurance, boaters here are not required to be insured for liability by law, ridiculous.

 

[LSU]

Unlike auto insurance, boaters here are not required to be insured for liability by law, ridiculous.

In my state we are not required to have liability insurance on our boats but it is a smart thing to have. The cost of defending a lawsuit costs more than a nice new boat.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

In my state we are not required to have liability insurance on our boats but it is a smart thing to have. The cost of defending a lawsuit costs more than a nice new boat.

I hear you loud and clear. Boating accidents don't usually have good outcomes