First sailboat - looking for insurance coverage - what is reasonable?

[miraculix]

Hi all,

We made an offer on a 10-Year-old 38f sailboat. This will be our first big boat. Currently, we do have a Caledonia Yawl 20f.
So this will be our first real boat insurance. I worked with an insurance agent to find companies that would provide coverage for this specific boat and a crew that does not have a whole lot of sailing experience.
Attached is one of the quotes we were provided.
As I said we don't have experience with that so I would like to get some input on the provided coverage, does that sound reasonable? Sure, one can always go higher and paying a higher premium.

Thanks
Christoph

[psk125]

The coverage looks OK, but you don’t say what the quote was for. If you’re paying $50, it’s a great deal. If you’re paying $5,000.00, maybe it isn’t so hot. It also depends a bit on what the boat is worth. Did you pay $280,000 for a ten year-old 38’ sailboat? Sounds high - like they’re anticipating fraud or never expecting to have to pay out the limit -- perhaps only a percentage of it (like 50%?) Do deductibles for a trailer and boathouse make sense in your situation?

I just paid our yearly insurance bill: $1500. It covers the agreed value of the boat: $30k (it’s almost 40 years old, so we pay an extra $357 to waive depreciation), $10k in personal effects, $2k for towing, $500k for liability, $939k for pollution, $25k for medical, and $500k for uninsured boaters. More than 50 years of experience including about 30 with this boat also go into the equation. Hope this is helpful.

[miraculix]

Thank you for your comprehensive replay, which was very helpful.

I kept the quote out of the question because I wanted to hear from others how they see the offered coverage, regardless of the premium.

The premium is 1269$, which somehow reflects our not so extensive experience as a crew. The boat will be kept in the Chesapeake Bay and is supposed to be on the hard between November 15 and April 15.
To the boat price, the boat is a Southerly 38, the average selling price over the last two years of the same boat type and age was about 270K, so I hope we are not too far off.

I saw 2000 for towing, I think having coverage for towing is never a bad idea, how about membership with BoatUS or something like that?

Thanks
Christoph

[mottseng]

Insurance really depends on where you are and where you plan on sailing. Why not ask others in your marina/club what they are paying. That way you have a benchmark. I sail fresh waters 6 months of the year. I pay less than $500 per year for $2million coverage and a $500 deductable. Ask around and then go shopping around.