Cost of Insurance

[Dan1]

Hello All,

Still trying to gather info for that big sail away purchase. Does anyone have a "gut" feel for how much insurance will cost for a 45' Island Packet?

Thanks

Oh I almost forgot - For a neophite like myself - Do I need a special cruising rider on a policy or do I just buy a single policy and then blow and go? (So to Speak)

[Roy M]

What do you want covered?
Where will you be using the boat?
When will you be departing over the horizon?

[hellosailor]

Dan, you need to call a broker and get some quotes. Your price will be based on the cruising areas you want to be in, when you want to be there (hurricane exclusions, etc.), how long you have been sailing in this type of boat, previous boat ownership, possibly other insurance claims, and other factors. Not to mention, the type and amount of coverages you want.

Call the usual suspects (like BOATUS and your car/home insurer) and when you are actually ready to buy a policy, call one of Al Golden's folks at IMIS 1-800-541-4647. They are not always the cheapest, they cannot always get the coverage you want, but they are an old fashioned professional company that tries to make sure you will have real insurance, without any omissions, and that you'll understand what you've bought and why you paid for it. You'll hear the same thing said about them on mnay forums.

Also expect that any insurer may ask for a current survey of the boat, and once this hurricane season wraps up, rates may change again.

[maxingout]

Your cost of insurance will be contingent upon many factors.

We used Al Golden at IMIS on the east coast, and our insurance was contingent on a satisfactory survey, rigging less than ten years old, and location, location, location. Boat condition determined whether they would insure us, and location and season of the year determined how much it would cost.

In hurricane season, it cost us $1200 more if we were in Florida south of Brunswick, Georgia. So we paid basic insurance based on hull value, plus a rider for hurricane coverage depending on the location of the yacht.

[Dan1]

I tried to go to some of the "free" quote sites but the proceedure is that one of the first questions the computer asks is your zip code. I give it. Then it starts assuming that I wll be sailing in Missouri. (ie - I live in Missouri but I will be sailing in Carib and Gulf - but how is a computer to know?)

I guess your right. I will just call an agent.

I probably am being too sceintific about this but what I am doing is building a spread sheet with all my costs of buying and closing on the boat. Sail away cost so to speak. That way I won't run into too many surprises.

For instance - I was talking to a broker yesterday. He was friendly and helpful. We went over all the costs I could expect. He told me - yep - that's all of them. Well I got home and was reading this forum and just happened to have a brain cell pop open when I saw the word "insurance"

Then it dawned on me I had not chased that little rabbit to hole. And sure enough. From what I can tell it will be about $1000.

So my spreadsheet is now carrying another $1000 for costs due at closing.

I once saw a cartoon that showed a boat owner carrying a bucket of money to the boat dock and dumping it into the ocean and then jumping back into his car and returning to work to get another bucket of money to come back and dump it into the ocean.

I didn't know just how true that little cartoon was!

[hellosailor]

Nothing wrong with a spreadsheet, Dan. I'm sure there's been more than one published and shared on forums or in articles by now, because some folks have tracked real versus anticipated expenses.

If you are keeping expenses as a single column...you can do it that way, or expand that into three columns, since the "plus or minus" numbers may vary for each item, more so than for the whole. Like bottom paint, if you can get away with it every other year, or hauling and how often. Or adding in a "surprises" section, figuring you might need an extra haul during the year for repairs, etc.

There's always SOMEthing that comes up as an annual surprise. And items to be pro-rated for routine wear and replacement, i.e. engine oil and filters, batteries, sails, bottom paint, all have finite lifetimes. You might check out www.ssca.org for their forum section on insurance matters too. $1000 for a 45' boat sounds minimal.

[Hud3]

Dan,

I have a policy through Besso, Ltd in London. TL Dallas is the underwriter. The premium is about 1.9% of the agreed hull value, and covers me for sailing in the Caribbean, including laying the boat up here for four months during hurricane season. I have used IMIS in the past, and they are a very good company with a good product.

[Gashmore]

Side question: If you have coverage for the Caribbean but not a hurricane rider and you are late leaving the zone and have a loss that does not involve a named storm is it still covered?

[bmartinsen]

For what its worth:
I live in Grand Cayman. The last quote I got( couple of yrs ago) was about $2000/yr.
$5000deductanble (doubles if in named storm) for a 25yr old 39ft boat. I'm going to check HUD's agent maybe better than mine. I've been self insured now for 7yrs Spent a few dollars on good ground tackle and alot of energy tiring up for storms. I was here for Ivan and seen what a real blow can do! You might also ask the agent about "a rider" for Cuba. One thing I would like is liablity only coverage.
Good Luck

[camaraderie]

Gashmore...generally yes. The exclusion applies to named storms. Always check the specific policy though.

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by Hud3

Dan,

I have a policy through Besso, Ltd in London. TL Dallas is the underwriter. The premium is about 1.9% of the agreed hull value, and covers me for sailing in the Caribbean, including laying the boat up here for four months during hurricane season. I have used IMIS in the past, and they are a very good company with a good product.

Hud you must have an expencive boat I just got an email from them stating that.
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']"many thanks for your enquiry, unfortunately due to a raft of new legislation here in the UK with regards to the insurance of private vessels combined with the current economic climate it is no longer viable for us to broker yachts under GBP 1,000,000 in value. "[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']My cat ant worth that so still shoping[/FONT]

[Joli]

Figure 1.5 to 2% of "agreed upon value" plus passage insurance. (ie Norfolk to Sopers Hole~$500. Ditto the return.

So, a $200k boat will cost $3-4k plus the passage insurance annually.

Of course a clean bill of health is required.

[Chantyabc]

Hey you can try my insurance Guy his name is Charlie 410-499-5670 he is really great. Tell him Chanty sent ya!

[funsailthekeys]

I'm new to this site so please bear with me. I just went through the insurance rodeo and the best quote I received was from Blue water insurance. It covered all risks and I was good along the east coast of the US and Bahamas for less than $2500. It covered my personal property and dingy with motor. My boat is a 1985 and 45' long. Hope this helps.

[henryk]

I had Blue Water last year ,but switch to IMIS this year because the first one has a really bad reputation . I'm paying around thousand bucks more from what the Blue Water quote me . Go only with good, reputable insurance, or just simply don't bother with it.
Reagrds, Henryk