Cruising without insurance, how tough?

[sluissa]

I'm only paying $100 a year for 300k liability insurance through progressive. Yes, I was going to get insurance anyway, but not that much. A smaller policy would only have been about 70 dollars a year.

I got that much because the marina, the cheapest one around, required it.

[ssullivan]

Ditto on cost. I had agreed value hull insurance, similar liability to Sluissa above, and it only cost $500 per year.

It's actually pretty nice to have a safety net like that in case you lose the whole boat or something - or if you end up with a "liability" from bashing into some expensive yacht.

[Fishspearit]

Originally Posted by sluissa

I'm only paying $100 a year for 300k liability insurance through progressive. Yes, I was going to get insurance anyway, but not that much. A smaller policy would only have been about 70 dollars a year.

I got that much because the marina, the cheapest one around, required it.

$100 a year is reasonable, I've always heard that it's usually around $1000.
I have to laugh though, because it's hard to imagine the scenario where a 20 foot sailboat causes $300,000 in damages.
I only wish Tristan Jones were still around to chime in and give his opinion on why he can't haul his leaky 30' wooden boat out of the water, because he doesn't have a half million dollar liability policy to protect the boats around him.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Never been a big one on insurance, but it can be quite "interesting" to manouver an uninsured boat within a Marina when you know what a bump or two could cost

Sailing the world uninsured? Quite happy with the concept of self insuring for the boat, but would go for 3rd party liability cover - both for the comfort of being able to ram boats in a Marina , and not being barred from harbours / Marinas.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

$100 a year is reasonable, I've always heard that it's usually around $1000.
I have to laugh though, because it's hard to imagine the scenario where a 20 foot sailboat causes $300,000 in damages.
I only wish Tristan Jones were still around to chime in and give his opinion on why he can't haul his leaky 30' wooden boat out of the water, because he doesn't have a half million dollar liability policy to protect the boats around him.

Your boat catches fire and burns several boats around you in a marina is pretty easy to imagine.

Fire ravages marina on North Lake Union

The $1000 dollar premium people told you about, was that for comprehensive or liability? Seems way high for liability.

John

[Ex-Calif]

Liability only. $1m smooth = $200/yr

I just read a case of a boat hitting a pick up truck on the loading ramp. The boat owner said he wasn't going to pay. Under maritime law a lien was placed on the boat the same as if the boat hit a bridge.

It's worth it to protect your home.

There are lot's of things that can go wrong.

Comprehensive insurance is a rip off in most cases. Liability insurance is not.

[JohnnyB]

?? Inquiring Florida Mindswant to Know??

[minisailor]

Originally Posted by Vasco

That's why you should have insurance, for the "extremely unlikely" things that might happen! Like a short in your wiring that starts a fire and destroys neighbouring boats. By all means don't have your hull insured but you should have liability insurance. It's not your risk to take, you are risking others if you don't have liability. Just one mistake and it won't be just a $1000, it might be $100,000. How are you going to pay for that? Going without liability is just foolish selfishness. Any good yard or marina should require proof of liability insurance.

I would love to be able to buy a liability policy for my boat and other toys as well, but have you ever tried buying one. The insurance companies do not want to sell you a liability policy unless you insure the hull. When I tried to buy a liability policy with out insuring the hull I was told the premium would not be enough to cover the brokers expenses and they could not be bothered. I don't want to insure the hull I can afford to fix the boat or even loose my entire investment in the boat but I may not be able to pay damages to others life and property. If someone has lead on a company that is willing to sell liability only, please pass the information along

[svHyLyte]

Contact Al or Gary Golden at IMIS in Maryland!

[viking69]

Well i just had a boat scrape down the side of my boat in the storm here in Airlie when it dragged its mooring. the quotes have come to close to 10 grand So i know he is glad he has insurance to cover it. I wonder how many of you with NO insurance could cover that sort of bill out of your cruising kitty. Even if you do not value your boat some of us do so at least get coverage for other peoples sake.

[Ramona]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Never been a big one on insurance, but it can be quite "interesting" to manouver an uninsured boat within a Marina when you know what a bump or two could cost

.

Its amazing how good you can though compared to those morons that because they do have full cover, park like idiots. Same on the road, you can see the difference easily. Defensive driving compared to a very cavalier attitude of the smug fully insured.
I tried to get public liability cover for my commercial fishing vessel but had no takers.
Would like to have public liability cover for my yacht, I worry about some yobbo jamming his fingers on the gunwale while he is stealing gear.
Any suggestions from Australian readers?

[Boracay]

I checked out going liability only on Boracay and there was very little difference between that and comprehensive with a low (real?) insured value.

[minisailor]

[quote=svHyLyte;136517]Contact Al or Gary Golden at IMIS in Maryland![/quote


Yes, I did contact Al Golden and they were the least helpful of every one I spoke with. They tried a hard sell to have me give them and exclusive on all my insurance before quoting a price which I thought was strange. I only want to buy liability insurance to protect me in the event I cause property damage or personal injury to some one else. I leave my boat where every I am at the end of my winter cruising season. Insurance companies will not cover me for named storms even though the boat is on the hard with jack stands welded together, hull strapped to heavy rings secured in concrete and mast unstepped. So if you store your boat in what they call the hurricane belt you are only insured for 6 months of the year but you pay for 12 months, not a good deal.

[sluissa]

Like I said, try giving progressive a call. They did MENTION that it would be cheaper if we had all our insurance under them, and offered to give us a quote, but they didn't push it when we told them all we needed was liability on the boat. I think after we stopped shopping around trying to find the best price it was less than an hour on the phone with them and we had insurance.

Sorry for those of you not in the US. I don't know if you have progressive in those places or not. If you do, might as well give them a call if you havn't already. Really, I had wanted to go without insurance myself at first, but it was relatively painless and I feel better about it now.

[windsweptms]

Most all marinas on the east coast will reguire liablity insurance while docked or on the hard. What if your boat should catch on fire, any boat close will receive damage, if not destroyed. What if you injury a guest on board. People love to sue for any reason. Most people have insurance for the worst that may happen. I would rethink the insuranse option if I were you, regards