Insurance increases?

[karenmccraw]

I just got our yachtsman policy in the mail from Ace Recreational Marine - the increase year-to-year is large - 2013 bill was $1866 2014 bill is $2596 with no changes in coverage.

Are other folks seeing this increase? I have shopped around before and never found better/less expensive coverage.

[sabray]

Yep,
I tried to negotiate but they said that they had increased loss and blahhhhh.
Even though I have 30 plus years without a claim they needed to up my premium by 20 something percent.

[boatman61]

Lotsa expensive abandonments in the last 12mths..??
Someones gotta pay the owners..

[boatpoker]

BoatUS says 65,000 claims from Hurricane Sandy. Somebody's gotta pay.

[Cheechako]

So if they charge extra for boats in the hurricane zone...why does everyone have to pay? They seem to want it both ways.... Typically my auto and home insurance go up alot every year. No real explanaion, but "higher costs".

During the overblown (?) Obamacare crisis, they had a self employed couple on tv who were all pissed off because now their health insurance was going up 17% and didnt cover as much as it used to!... I've got news for them, before I went on Medicare 3 years ago, my private insurance went up 20% often... and the last year it went up and became far higher deductible and eliminated any drug coverage at all! (went from real insurance to mostly catastrophic coverage) They didnt even offer better coverage.
I dont know the answer....

[sabray]

Good question cheechacko. Especially sense they dictate how and where we can be while covered. You have to haul and not be in this area etc. wonder if they are taking some responsibility for where things failed. Can we cut their pay because they have not such good advice.

[BandB]

Ironic too that they have the hurricane zones and yet Sandy wasn't in one. One thing I noticed long ago about insurance is that they say it's statistically based and actuarial and based on history but then the moment there is a single large incident that is inconsistent with history there is an overreaction. This is when you find insurers with very large increases but also not upset if they lose some customers and reduce their exposure. South Florida got labeled after Andrew and still is being penalized as a "hurricane zone" when outside of Andrew, history doesn't support the level of penalty.

This is also where you find the less capitalized insurer and the one who didn't protect themselves as well by placing some of their risk elsewhere with exceptionally large increases. We once faced a 300% increase in Jamaica accompanied by a ten fold increase in deductible on a manufacturing facility. But we switched carriers and had no increase. The smaller insurers typically react the most in these situations.

[Vasco]

Yes. Big increase and deductible in named storm up to 25K.

[Boatguy30]

I haven't carried boat insurance since 2003 except liability. A bit stressful at times, but it does cause you to be careful and store your boat in a prudent location.

Certainly would never abandon ship like so many seem to do these days unless was on fire or was seriously physically injured.

[Tayana42]

Just got our BoatUS policy renewal notice. Last year there was a 17percent increase. This year, no increase, same coverage. I am surprised but I'm not complaining.

[Dulcesuenos]

We dropped them. Shopped around got a great price and coverage from novamar

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[Navicula]

Insurance company's are great if you own the company..... It's the only organization that can lose 3 billion dollars in a year .... Then it's allowed to increase there customers premiums so they can make 6 billion the following year..... It's all legal....I am in the wrong business

[onestepcsy37]

true insurance story.

i live in a townhouse community with 184 units. property insurance for the grounds and exteriors of all the townhouses are paid for by the hoa (from our fees, of course). the hoa paid an insurance company $50,000 per year for many years, and had no claims.

then in 2004 (the year of the hurricanes) we were hit by three small hurricanes within two months of each other. we suffered some damage, mostly to some roofs, and were given $300,000 to make repairs.

the following year our insurance premium was doubled, to $100,000. the year after that our premium was raised to $150,000. the next year our premium was raised to $200,000. so, within three years the insurance company had recovered every dollar they had given us.

they then graciously reduced our premium to $150,000 - only three times what it had been in 2004. the next year it was again reduced to $100,000 - twice our 2004 premium - where it has remained ever since.

there are those, usually insurance brokers, who like to tell us that insurance companies 'spread the risk'. but in fact, at least in our case, all they did was lend us some money for a few years, and are now being repaid at rates that even a loan shark couldn't get....

[kentobin]

I put my boat on the hard last year for a refit. The storage yard I'm using is 50 miles north of the marina I was staying at. My insurance premium went up because of the geographic area my boat is in and then I got a 20% reduction for being on the hard.

One would think the risk of my causing a boating accident or blocking a waterway is quite less on the hard no matter where it is. If so many people didn't sue for no good reason I'd drop the coverage.

I hope I don't get a rate increase as well this year but when a hamburger, fries, and coke cost $11.50 I wouldn't be surprised.

[karenmccraw]

Good news, I guess....after a call to my broker (Hartge Insurance) I got a reduction of $400 for same coverage. Not really sure why, but I'll take it.