I Can't Get Boat Insurance

[Jebtrois]

If your folks are still willing to provide some lift and you are open to it, I would recommend using their Home Owners agent.
JEB

[billgewater]

You may hear a string of complaints and opinions but Edward William Marine are still accepting premiums. The company had a chequered past so you may need to see if it acceptable at your local marinas. The company is based in Spain and i believe it is basically an agent for another larger company.

They had a practice of accepting premiums without a survey requirement, but I can't vouch for that now. They are still approachable from the internet.

Insurance is a vast money making business for the brokers, the companies and the repair places. Often the repair places have two prices - one if you are insured - the second price for non insured. And the difference can be staggering.
From experience.

[rodgoult]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

When I first got my boat, I had it titled under both myself and my father so she could be added to my family's BoatUS policy, which already had other boats on it, and because I didn't have my own insurance for anything at the moment (I was 20 at the time). But now, my boat's specific policy within my family's policy was accidentally allowed to lapse, so I need new boat insurance and was planning on just getting my own at this point.

The trouble is: no one will insure my boat. Apparently, after the original policy lapsed, BoatUS changed their policies and will no longer cover boats over 40 years old. And every other company I have called won't insure her for any variety of reasons: she's old, I'm young, the boat is steel, what have you. I have asked about just getting liability insurance and crossing my fingers, but no company I have spoken with will even do that. I have managed to get one quote for over $1000/month, which I simply can't afford.

For anyone out there who has a "classic" boat (what the insurance companies are calling her) and/or a steel boat, any tips?? Any specific companies I should call?

TRY WWW.SKISAFE.COM
My CAL 31 is around $250 a year.

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by pbaran

Try Progressive. They will insure for liability only to meet marina $300+ rules.

Unfortunately they want nothing to do with steel hulls

[Mike OReilly]

We encountered a similar problem a couple of seasons ago. Our existing underwriter basically dropped us due to age of vessel. No other reason. No claims, good survey, but our boat was 40+ years old.

I changed to a good marine broker, and after much effort they found me an underwriter that would take us. We're now covered by a specialty-risk underwriter. As near as I can figure they are underwriters that insure more unique events or assets. Apparently there are plenty of them out there, but they are outside the normal marine network.

Maybe you can find a broker who can tap into this specialty underwriter market.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

We encountered a similar problem a couple of seasons ago. Our existing underwriter basically dropped us due to age of vessel. No other reason. No claims, good survey, but our boat was 40+ years old.

I changed to a good marine broker, and after much effort they found me an underwriter that would take us. We're now covered by a specialty-risk underwriter. As near as I can figure they are underwriters that insure more unique events or assets. Apparently there are plenty of them out there, but they are outside the normal marine network.

Maybe you can find a broker who can tap into this specialty underwriter market.

Super idea, Mike!


Beware Edwin Williams, word in the fleet is that they do not pay out; but I suspect it is in their contracts, and people haven't read them carefully...all that tiny little print. However ask CF member Tamicatana about them.

[hpeer]

3 suggestions

1-search poster tabbycat on this forum. She is a knowledgeable broker and I found her a good source.
2- Markel provides my insurance, purchased through the Gowrie group
3- As a last resort try Edwards - Williams. Many folks will warn you off of them for various reasons. BUT if nothing else you will get a piece of paper saying you are insured.

I find many/most surveyors dont really know how to do a ultrasonic hull inspection. Insurance companies do not know either. You could ASK if you can do a self survey. If the want plate soundings you can buy the tool and do it yourself. It is really not hard and the tool is a few hundred. But you can use it to test areas where there is some question.

[KelseyB]

I've just reached out to these three places: does anyone have any specific experience with any of them?

https://www.grundy.com/classic-boat-insurance/

https://www.heritagemarineinsurance.com

https://jjbestinsurance.com

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by pbaran

Try Progressive. They will insure for liability only to meet marina $300+ rules.

Buddy of mine had had progressive for 16 years. He had a claim on his boat ins policy and will not be renewed. Progressive says they no longer do liability only

[pjShap]

Allstate insures my 30 year old steel boat. They required a survey. I use them for car and house insurance also, so maybe that helped. Tarn Kelsey has surveyed my boat a couple of times, including ultrasound hull survey, in the upper Chesapeake near Baltimore. Not sure how far he would travel.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Ooof. you really may not be able to get insurance then. This is unexpected that you don’t have any other type of insurance.

I would say that the only way to finagle this situation and have a hope, would be to transfer that boat ownership to your partner‘s name and let them go through their current auto insurance. Or maybe put it back in your family‘s name. Possibly not something you want to do. However, that’s the only way I could see that working.

Sorry to be bearing some bad news, but I really think after all of my decades dealing with this kind of stuff, this is probably the only way to actually do it. Things are getting more difficult all the time. I definitely give you some credit for seeing this all through. Between that Marina thread and this insurance thread, I would be pretty fed up at this point.

Later, after you have other insurance policies in life, then you could add a boat. But it might be just not the time yet.

I hate to see the changes that have happened. I’m going to sound like a really old man here, but when I was your age and had a boat, I didn’t have all the hassles that you are running into. Yes, it was always very difficult to find somewhere to put it. A lot of the time I was able to use a mooring because my friend worked at the local yacht club. He figured out which one was not going to be used for the season and let me put my boat on it without the harbormaster's knowledge. It was a huge mooring field. That really made things a lot easier because I would have to trailer launch it each time otherwise. It was a trailer sailer.

I never had any insurance on the thing. No one asked about it and no one required it back then. The complexities that have been layered on boating are painful to see herein your threads. it just shouldn’t be this hard. it’s supposed to be about freedom. Sometimes it seems the exact opposite.

do you have any friends you can draw on? You have an extensive history around boats. Can you get the word out that you need a place to put it? I’m just really thinking outside the box here too get around the problems. Maybe you know somebody that has a mooring? That’s not getting used for the season? Maybe somebody has a slip at a house? maybe there’s a yacht club facility you can talk to? The whole thing seems to be precipitated by that original marina kicking everyone out and then now you have to go to the one with the difficult policies. If only you could find a different fit for the boat, maybe it would alleviate some of these issues.

Another possibility is putting it somewhere more remote. And then just dealing with having to drive to it. If I remember correctly there are a lot of little tributaries and nooks and crannies in the Chesapeake area that are in some really small towns. Towns were they may have a few less boats in a little bit more leeway.

Chotu has some good and creative ideas.

[Polski Gus]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Seems if you have a boat too old for insurance that is too valuable to lose it is time to sell it and get a new boat

Seriously? Maybe technically correct but not much help considering the seriousness of the issue for the boating industry and community.

[BluePeter]

My agency, Smithwick Maine Insurance insures my wooden classic gaff cutter:
Some insurers do not require a survey.

https://www.smithwick-ins.com
Ask for Jennifer Twombly who is very knowledgeable about the subject.

They use MAPFRE Insurance company: Customer service 1-844-627-3733

Best of luck, Pete

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sail sfbay

KelseyB.......find a marine insurance broker to source a competitive insurance quote.

Highlighted for emphasis.

Gowrie is one name that comes to mind.

Novamar (Peter Ricks, for example) is another. Peter may be a member here, and at least I know he's on trawlerforum.com (sister site) as username Pau Hana.

There are others...

-Chris

[SV Coronado]

If you're interested in just liability insurance, have you looked into getting an umbrella policy? I have one and it provides liability coverage for my house, car and boat. (I still have a standard marine insurance policy on my boat.)