Boat insurance survey

[SFS]

Mike, just one opinion here, but I'd rather see a large dataset than have the results quickly. The more responses the better for something like this.

[jdazey]

Originally Posted by SFS

Mike, just one opinion here, but I'd rather see a large dataset than have the results quickly. The more responses the better for something like this.

+1 understanding, of course, that you don't want to make a career out of this.

Cheers,

[Sailormantx]

Mike, it would be interesting to compile a list of insurer's that offer stand alone third party insurance and their cost, and maybe what flags they offer cover to. This would be hugely helpful to cruisers!

[Mike OReilly]

Thanks for the encouragement SFS & jdazey. I do want to report the data as soon as I can, but the more responses the better (for everyone). I’ll let it run for at least another day or two, and keep the gentle prodding here. Once the responses have stopped I’ll compile and report.

Originally Posted by Sailormantx

Mike, it would be interesting to compile a list of insurer's that offer stand alone third party insurance and their cost, and maybe what flags they offer cover to. This would be hugely helpful to cruisers!

I think I’ll be able to provide some sort of list of insurers and brokers. Not sure if I can correlate directly to 3rd-party providers, but I’ll do my best Sailormantx. Stay tuned .

[belizesailor]

Thanks for doing this Mike.

Im coming up for a renewal soon, boat is 16 y.o. now so I may go for liability only too.

Under my current policy repairs are prorated so repair/replace on a 16 yo mast for example wouldnt be much...only a total loss would be worthwhile.

Will complete survey soon.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

Done.
I am interested in knowing how often people are forced to resurvey for insurance. And who insures them without a survey. I have friends who buy boats that are smaller and at that price point where a survey may be worth skipping ($5-$20k range) but want full coverage.

About once every 5 years on my policy I think. Due for a survey this year. After 16 years of ownership, I know the boat better than any surveyor possibly can so pointless for me really except to keep insurer happy.

May go liability only this year. So assume they will drop the survey requirement.

[DumnMad]

Done Mike. No inspection required for our 3rd part policy. Good no claims discounts.

3rd Party makes much more sense;
1 You take more care or pay the price.
2 No need for legal wrangles over fault and value.
3 If they don't pay up marinas or authorities will black list them.

[slowpoker]

Boat insurance premiums, surveys, coverage etc. depend on many things: Size of boat, location, whether at a marina or home dock, if you are a homeowner also or have more than one boat or if you have any other insurance with that company and even how long you have been with same company.
Usually over 30' LOA, some companies don't cover. Some do not need other than an owner's own survey. Some that have had continuous coverage with same carrier, do not require another survey for many years, they may nor require a survey every 5 years for instance.
Where you operate the boat is another stipulation, coastal or offshore, east of this or west of that. Boat US was great for many years, now has become a chameleon type of reptile.
The proof is in the pudding at the end of the meal; how will they treat you at claim time. They may try to deny you for anything...LED bulbs on navigation lights if not CG approved, rigging that is over 5 years old, faulty wiring, they may invent something to try to minimize their payment, we will never know.
Good luck to all of us trying to make sense of all these variables although this type of premium survey will be helpful anyway. Thank you for putting it together. We will all learn from the information gathered.

[sailorcherry]

Hey Mike, how about another survey to liability only boat owners, a poll of how many wished they had full coverage?

[Mike OReilly]

Thanks folks. The numbers are still going up, so I’ll keep it live for a few more days. The more responses the better the info, so encourage any boat owner you know to fill it in.

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

Hey Mike, how about another survey to liability only boat owners, a poll of how many wished they had full coverage?

Sure. Sounds like another interesting question sailorcherry. Once this one has run its course I’ll post the results and we can discuss what to probe next.

[Mike OReilly]

I’m going to give this thread one more bump to see if we can get the numbers a bit higher. Responses are down to a trickle on the survey now, but there’s still time.

Survey is anonymous, short, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you don’t know something, skip it. I promise to bring the info back here once I sort it all out (hopefully tomorrow). The hope is to shine a bit of light on a topic that always seems like such a black box of information.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C82SBJP

[Privleoplag]

I'm real curious about the number of surveys you've gotten. Looking forward to the results. It lacked a lot of questions it should have had but then it would have been more like trying to read the insurance contracts, but the way it was, it should give a bit of an idea what's going on out there.

[bcboomer]

Thanks for this Mike.

Something that has bugged me is that my policy states that "Only UL or CSA approved heaters will be used aboard the watercraft"

Espar and the like are not CSA or UL approved and I can't get a straight answer from my insurer about coverage with one installed.

Has anyone else come up against this?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

Thanks for this Mike.

Something that has bugged me is that my policy states that "Only UL or CSA approved heaters will be used aboard the watercraft"

Espar and the like are not CSA or UL approved and I can't get a straight answer from my insurer about coverage with one installed.

Has anyone else come up against this?

That’s a good question BC. Love to see some answers on it. Maybe you should start a new thread asking this question. I suspect many people will have already decided to skip this one .

Originally Posted by Privleoplag

I'm real curious about the number of surveys you've gotten. Looking forward to the results. It lacked a lot of questions it should have had but then it would have been more like trying to read the insurance contracts, but the way it was, it should give a bit of an idea what's going on out there.

There are tons of questions that could and probably should be asked Privleoplag. I tried to strike a balance between useful data and simplicity/length of the survey so as to maximize uptake. But perhaps once this survey has run its course we can try another one. I’m all for collecting as much info as possible on this topic.

[Jason Flare]

Took the survey and looking foreword to the results. Thanks Mike!