"BIB" - Boat Insurance Blues -

[Stede]

Hello everyone. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a 1980 Mariner 36. She's a real beauty and appears to be in excellent shape.A survey will be performed on her next week.If all goes well, we will finalize the deal and move aboard her some time in Sept.Our home base will be the Savannah,GA area for now. That's most of the good news.

The bad news, or unsettling news is insurance rates. The average for the boat is around $2300 a year.That's only if you don't do this, or that.....and promise not to ever do the other......blah,blah,blah,blah. I'm curious. How do you guys handle this issue? On older boats it seems the most inexpensive way to go is to get liability only. Or cash value and liability. Any suggestions, or advice on this issue? Thanks!

[Tim R.]

Try Pantaenius.

[Stede]

Thanks for the info. Tim R. I'll check them out.

[Amnesia II]

You can also google "Topsail" insurance...in UK. I'm in Australia on coastal cover with them. They seem very easy to deal with by email and are more than competetive....BUT...I have'nt made a claim yet, so that remains to be seen!

[sailvayu]

You need to shop around a bit more. I suggest you find a good marine agent to work with you. I live aboard my 1981 40 foot boat and pay less than half of what you have been quoted. Get your survey in hand before getting anymore quotes, I am surprised you got any quotes without it. You are in NC so I would suggest Charter lakes or Adam at Wells insurance. I am sure you can do better, and do not waste your time on getting online quotes they will always be high.

[Cheechako]

Liability only. The other option is to add it on with your agent for auto/home insurance. Some of them cover coastal... which can mean 50-75 miles off the coast.

[Amapola]

We paid $2,600 this year through Boat/US for our, 48' trawler built in 1979. The rate includes cruising the US Gulf and Atlantic Coastal waters plus the Bahamas to Turk Island. We are Florida residents and register the documented boat here as well.

We've had several boats insured through Boat/US and have been very satisfied with the coverage. In 2004 our Tayana 37 suffered $17,000 in damages during Hurricane Charley. Boat/US promptly assessed the damage and paid without question.

[roverhi]

Insurance on my 1969 Pearson 35 is $709 for $35,000 coverage through Markel. Actually costs more than that as I have to have a survey every 5 years which adds about $100 a year. Do not have rig coverage with that policy though supposedly will be covered when I finish rerigging and have a surveyor sign off on it. It is restricted to Hawaiian waters and have to have someone on board 24/7 when anchored out other than the Bay at Kailua-Kona or the Kaanapali coast on Maui.

[Boatguy30]

Won't get those rates on the mainland. Doubt you could even get insurance on a 1969 Pearson in FL. The added complication is most cities now want to limit anchoring, BUT require insurance!

I have had luck with progressive, but they had been refusing most boats over 30' for a while in FL. I have a friend the boat a Searunner ply trimaran. He found an agent to write it up as a SeaRay; not sure what happens when he's in an accident. So I'd be a bit wary of certain agents that promise to insure any boat!

I would tend to agree if you can get covered on Homeowners for liability that is easiest. Again, in FL 26' is the max for homeowners. I have a friend from NY with a boat in FL that is 38' He tells me his NY renters insurance agreed to cover him as long as the boat was registered in NY.

Its all a screw job.

[capngeo]

I have Progressive on a CAL28 berthed in Key West.... $508/yr for $500k Liability, and $25k agreed hull value, no survey req'd

[SeaSloth]

Originally Posted by sailvayu

You need to shop around a bit more. I suggest you find a good marine agent to work with you. I live aboard my 1981 40 foot boat and pay less than half of what you have been quoted. Get your survey in hand before getting anymore quotes, I am surprised you got any quotes without it. You are in NC so I would suggest Charter lakes or Adam at Wells insurance. I am sure you can do better, and do not waste your time on getting online quotes they will always be high.

I second this. I just worked with Charter Lakes in Wilmington and was pleased with the service and price.

[dearmstr]

I live in Savannah and am also planning to buy and liveaboard. Did you inform the insurance company that you were going to live here? From what I was told insurance is cheaper if you do not live further south. Also could you PM me with the name of your surveyor? If you have any questions concerning Savannah do not hesitate to ask me. I will be glad to help up in any way that I can.

[Garrettw]

I used a broker and ended up with much better pricing than what I was getting from internet quotes. My Jeanneau is covered by a comprehensive $240k agreed replacement value for $1800 per year in Houston, TX (1% deductible and 10% named storm deductible). I am limited to the Gulf of Mexico (Naples to Padre Island) and no more than, I think, 240 miles offshore. BoatUS quoted $4300/yr for similar coverage using their online application. Paentanius was around $3800/yr with their online application. I suppose your quotes may vary, of course, depending on your boating history/experience, your region and your equipment and so forth but at least for me, using a broker was the right idea.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by Garrettw

I used a broker and ended up with much better pricing than what I was getting from internet quotes. My Jeanneau is covered by a comprehensive $240k agreed replacement value for $1800 per year in Houston, TX (1% deductible and 10% named storm deductible). I am limited to the Gulf of Mexico (Naples to Padre Island) and no more than, I think, 240 miles offshore. BoatUS quoted $4300/yr for similar coverage using their online application. Paentanius was around $3800/yr with their online application. I suppose your quotes may vary, of course, depending on your boating history/experience, your region and your equipment and so forth but at least for me, using a broker was the right idea.

What is the name of you insurance company that actually issued the policy. I have no vested interest in this thread, but that seems like a bogus rate. I'm not saying that's not what you're paying, but that company is going to lose its ass when the next storm hits.

[jeremiason]

Insurance is much cheaper if you are above 30.5 Degrees North during hurricane season.

We had a rude awaking when we decided to stop fulltime cruising and buy a house in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Our cruising insurance on $365k was $2600 a year through Pantaenius. Since we are keeping the boat here now, they raised our rates to $4800 per year citing the fact we were in a hurricane zone. They also raised our deductible from 2% to 10% for a named storm.

With that, they were still the cheapest policy around.

Shop around through a Masritime Insurance Broker... We use International Marine Insurance Services IMIS.

Also since you boat is relatively inexpensive and you are not planning on cruising, check to see if you can place it on your home owners policy.