Insurance is a dicey subject after Irma and Maria. Many insurers are now insisting that written "hurricane plans" for dry
haul out be included as part of the insurance
contract. The problem is that specifying the (forecast) sustained
wind speeds at which we agree to have our vessels hauled onto the hard limits our decision making as owners. NOAA routinely forecasts higher winds than are ultimately experienced (that's my observation as a Gulf resident and sailor, you don't have to agree). What point of a storm's approach, temporally or distance-wise, will be the
legal definition of "forecast sustained winds" for a given location? As a hurricane moves north, it tends to be diminished by intermittent landfalls, so I'm just asking at what point in time do we define what the "official
forecast sustained winds" for a given area are? Also, topographic features of
mooring sites vary greatly. Land-sheltered moorings, for example, can sustain higher winds without damage than those protected by a mere coastal sea wall; should the same
wind speeds apply to both policy locations? Lastly, if Irma's destruction of St. Maarten taught us anything, it's that you can do all the right things, land-anchoring your vessel
on the hard, and still lose it.
If I agree to dry haul my vessel at some arbitrary (predicted) wind speed and nebulous point of storm approach, I am rendering myself uninsured if my experience at the moment tells me to choose another course, or if for some reason I am unable to HAVE my vessel hauled (marina demand/capacity, etc.). Insurers seem to want hear that you'll dry haul your vessel if
forecast sustained winds are 70 mph or above; but no one I know here on the
Gulf Coast of
Florida hauls out for this. In fact, local opinion holds that any storm with forecast winds of below 100 mph is cause for a hurricane party and doubling up of
dock lines, not an evacuation or haul-out. Judge that if you will, but that's the local wisdom, born of many years of experience. I really don't want to be put in a position of hauling out one or two times a year for the sake of minimizing the insurers' claims experience. I'm gravitating more toward
buying a policy that won't restrict my options, even if the premiums are higher. The market may be changing as a result of recent claims experience to where all insurers will require a stated haul-out plan at a given sustained wind speed. What are your thoughts?