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Old 05-12-2009, 01:41   #1
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Insurance for Newbies - Help !

We are relatively new to the sailing community and are fulfilling our lifelong dream of buying a 42ft yacht. But we can seem to insure it.

We have a skipper who will be on the boat teaching us for 6 weeks - he has over 40 years in all manner of boat in all manner of waters.

We plan on doing up to Advanced Coastal skipper in those 6 weeks then doing the exams. Then getting another skipper for another 2 months or so.

Surely we should be able to insure the boat under the skipper's experience?!

Can anyone explain this to me or help me to find a way to insure our boat.

All suggestions gratefully received!!
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Old 05-12-2009, 03:55   #2
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Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Moements.

It’s sounds, to me, as though you are undertaking a prudent training regime.

If they don’t reply to this post, you might try a PM to our 2 CF insurance expert members:

TabbyCat (Susan) http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ycat-7368.html

Al Golden ➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...lden-1840.html
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Old 05-12-2009, 04:25   #3
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Thanks Gord!
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Old 05-12-2009, 05:11   #4
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Moments hi and welcome, you might want to complete your profile with some details including your approximate location.

Did the insurance companies give a reason for turning you down? I can understand if you asked for single handed cover off Somalia at the moment, but would have thought Coastal US wouldn't be a problem.

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Old 05-12-2009, 05:21   #5
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Hi Pete, thanks for your message. We're planning to go through the Caribbean - starting off in Florida then heading down to Bahamas. Given our lack of experience, perhaps they are thinking we may take a wrong turn and accidentally end up in Somalia..

Do you have any Salty Sea Dog suggestions on Insurance companies or ways of approaching getting insurance?

I guess one of my big questions is: If there is a very able bodied seaman on board who would no doubt get insurance for his own boat - why are we having a problem insuring our boat with said seaman skippering our boat???
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Old 14-12-2009, 07:24   #6
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My experience with boat insurance recently is that they'll insure the boat for it's purchase price (as long as the purchase price is below market value), which for old boats means that your insured value would be less than the replacement value of the boat if you paid less than market value....and of course they'll charge a high premium for the privilege.
Heaven forbid, however, that you spend thousands more refitting/upgrading the boat, as the value in the insurer's opinion doesn't change. All that they'll say in that regard is that you can submit receipts and they'll see about coming up with a higher insured value, i.e. 'reevaluating' their quote. (This was from US Boat).

In other words, when you purchase a boat selling for under market value, which most used boats are these days, that's the maximum that insurers seem willing to insure for, despite what the actual replacement value of the vessel may be.

Not surprising, really, after reading tales of how some of these insured boats end up on the bottom.
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Old 14-12-2009, 09:33   #7
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My experience is BoatUS insured our boat for the value listed by the surveyor which is about 35% more than we paid for it. I have not discussed changing the value with them after the work I have done.
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Old 15-12-2009, 05:03   #8
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Success!

Thanks for all your input, it has been very helpful and TabbyCat was quick to respond!

We have now secured our insurance and we have arrived in Florida from the UK and today will go down to see our new boat for the first time!

It's all very exciting, especially now that the insurance stress has passed!
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Old 23-12-2009, 19:47   #9
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Boat Insurance

My 2002 42' Cascade Custom Cutter is insured with Progressive. They insured it for a declared value equal to the survey amount. As far as I can remember (5 years ago) they did not ask about my sailing experience, but I may be wrong about that.
Two years after insuring, I suffered $14,000 in damage while the boat was anchored in a bayou during a hurricane threat. The hurricane was mild, but a power boat anchored nearby came down on my boat and severely damaged the port side.
Progressive promptly paid the claim, less the deductible, and renewed my policy the next year without any claim penalty.
The premium is less than half my next best quote. The major drawback is a 125 mile limit from U.S. territory.
By the way, I had quotes from $1,600 to $6,500 for the same coverage, so it pays to shop around.
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Old 13-01-2010, 11:42   #10
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Boat Insurance for Cuba

I recently purchased a yacht in the US and purchased insurance through a US company. I am a Canadian and want to sail to Cuba. The only problem is, it is against US law for insurance companies in the US to insure boats for Cuban waters. I have a quote from a UK company but they want an arm and a leg plus my first born. In addition if I cancel there is a hefty penalty. Does your insurance cover Cuba? If so can you recommend your insurance company.
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Old 13-01-2010, 13:57   #11
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We have gone through Atlass INsurance Group based in Cocoa, Florida.

We haven't checked whether they do Cuba but I doubt they do if it's illegal.

They seem reasonable and good but we haven't had any need to claim yet so I can't comment on the service.

I'm sorry but I don't know that I am being of much help! Perhaps some of the saltier sea dogs might be of aid.

Moe
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