insurance

[MIRELOS]

found out my insurance won't insure me going south of Georgia.....WHAT!
I live aboard and sail to Florida and beyond, upon researching this is not so uncommon, and the rates wow.......what a racket

[rslifkin]

Ask them for more detail. It's not uncommon for insurance to want you north of a certain point during hurricane season (or charge extra or have much higher deductibles if you want to be further south). But outside of hurricane season it's usually not too hard to get them to allow you further south.

[MIRELOS]

I'm in the Northeast during hurricane season and go south in the winter

[S/V Illusion]

Need some clarity - did you not know what you bought when you first obtained your insurance? Did they change coverage limits after you purchased? What does the policy say specifically?

Insurance is always called a “racket” right up to the time you need it

[MIRELOS]

long story-short...had Pantaenius for a number of years then they dropped insuring the east coast (I was happy with them), my agent then offered the presently (unnamed) one and to my fault I thought it would be the same coverage...not so, but it is hard to find the companies that will allow you to go south (winter time) at reasonable rates, so I'm looking

[SailingHarmonie]

We have never seen policies that restricted ALL travel Florida for ALL year. What is VERY common is a line (frequently 31 deg N) that you have to be north of for defined Hurricane season.

Of course everybody seems to have their own definition of what a "reasonable rate" might be. If you spend a significant proportion of your time in Florida, you might try talking with a broker there.

All migrant boaters need to be REALLY careful with how your policy handles a "homeport" and any associated "storm plan." If you are not in your home port, and you are damaged in a storm you might find your coverage invalid because you were not following the storm plan you had on file.

We don't have anything resembling a homeport, since we are always on the move. This was a real challenge for insurers because they use geography as a primary input to their risk assessment.

[MIRELOS]

Im a full time cruisers also

[Fatbob]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Need some clarity - did you not know what you bought when you first obtained your insurance? Did they change coverage limits after you purchased? What does the policy say specifically?

Insurance is always called a “racket” right up to the time you need it

Yep....and then they don't pay the claim anyway. Still fighting with home owners after Hurricane Ian. OP is correct, insurance is a racket.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Fatbob

Yep....and then they don't pay the claim anyway. Still fighting with home owners after Hurricane Ian. OP is correct, insurance is a racket.

I'm unaware of any underwriter forcing people to buy insurance. If that's how you feel, don't buy it.

[Fatbob]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

I'm unaware of any underwriter forcing people to buy insurance. If that's how you feel, don't buy it.

Unfortunately, insurance (health, home, boat, etc...) is a necessary evil to some degree. I can't help but notice often it is an insurance company's name in lights on top of the tallest buildings in most cities.

Just saying I agree with the OP...it is a racket.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

I'm unaware of any underwriter forcing people to buy insurance. If that's how you feel, don't buy it.

It is increasingly necessary to have insurance to stay in a marina or arrange for haulout, and is required for larger boats in some states (but not, as I understand it, Florida).

[SailingHarmonie]

One of the things that seems to be forbidden to discuss in polite company that will make it virtually impossible to get insurance on a boat is: a bad credit score.

Many times you hear people rant and rave about insurance companies not talking to them, and it turns out they have been deadbeats for years.

You might think that is not “fair” but it makes perfect sense from the standpoint of the underwriters. If you can not afford to pay your regular bills, how on earth can you afford to take proper care of a boat?

Just something to think about…

[MIRELOS]

well, my boat is insured for $1.2 million so I don't see my credit score as an issue

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by MIRELOS

well, my boat is insured for $1.2 million so I don't see my credit score as an issue

There are other things...

I am not saying any of these apply to you, but a bad driving record, especially a DUI, will have the underwriters falling over themselves to NOT return your calls. A collection of speeding tickets, auto accidents or a history of litigation are also huge red flags. Again, none of this might be you. All these things matter more than actual skill at driving a boat because, unlike boat handling, bad judgement of that sort typically doesn't get better with time.

When people come here and are desperate because they can't get insurance of any kind, ever, they typically do not volunteer this kind of background information.

I will point out there are lots of boats in Florida with insurance, included large expensive cats. I was just in Fort Lauderdale this past week, and there are many boats similar to yours, and ones that make yours look like a bathtub toy. They all have insurance.

So what's the issue with you and your boat? The insurance industry is not all out to get you personally, and I can assure you they do not make a dime if they do NOT write you a policy.

If you have the money to buy a million dollar boat, you should be able to pay somebody to sort this out or have the business chops to sort it out yourself. Certainly there are many sources of information that are WAY better than here...

If you are looking to buy a DECENT hull coverage policy you can expect to look at about 3 to 5% of valuation. Just so you have a range of expectation. A rider for storm coverage in the hurricane belt during the summer might bump another 10 or 20% on that.

[MIRELOS]

read the post from the beginning, I had Pantaenius for a good number of years and then they dropped the eastern US due to hurricane claims, nothing that I had done but it affected me...ok got another insurance and they don't insure going south of Georgia, ok so I'm getting another one that will allow me freedom of cruising where ever I wish...just wish they were more permanent.