Insurance

[Ishmaehl]

I have an insurance question and am open to any answers or suggestions other Forum members care to express.

Situation:I am not a novice boater, however i am a novice when it comes to being a "Cruiser". I spent 7 years building a custom trawler on a 32 ft. Egg Harbor offshore fishing hull. Upon completion I had a professional survey completed and began the search for an insurance provider. to make a long story short, after several refusals and several providers did not want to even talk to me, my homeowners agent found a carrier who would underwrite a policy. About $1500.00 a year with a loss value of $25K ( even though i have receipts for over 75K). Anyway, i took the policy. I live in South East Ga.and do a lot of river cruising and weekend camping. My policy covers from Jacksonville, Fl. North all the way to Maine in coastal waters.

I recently contacted my agent and asked about me taking a cruise trip down the St. Johns river in Fl. That would be through Jacksonville and further South to Lake George. this is a couple of hundred miles roundtrip and i would make it last 2-3 weeks. My agent contacted the underwriter and the underwriter sent me 4 pages of questions they wanted answered. Almost all of the questions were irrelevant as they pertained to trailering and security from theft and other things not really related to cruising on a liveaboard trawler. I questioned the validity of the questionnaire so my agent pushed back a little but the underwriter still wanted them filled out even if the answer was N/A.(just for reference, my boat is not trailerable without a road escort and i will be living on board with 2 doggies for the entire time, which the agent knows and the underwriter does not appear to care)

So, after submitting the forms and waiting 3 weeks, i get a positive answer from my agent however, there will be a premium adjustment of $180.00 and another questionnaire as to EXACLY what date i am leaving, and what date i will return to my home dock. I am going to have a meeting with my agent later on this week and discuss this with him but i would like people with more ceruising experience than me to comment as to whether what i just described is normal or as screwed up as it seem to me?

Please advise......Thanks in advance

Ishmaehl.

[flyingfin]

Common practice when you are leaving your "covered" cruising area. I pay high premium for coverage in Florida, but when I go to Bahamas for a few weeks, I have to buy a rider that covers me for a month, usually around $150 bucks.

[9cx5q9cq]

well, a good post I think Almost all of the questions were irrelevant as they pertained to trailering and security from theft and other things not really related to cruising on a liveaboard trawler. I questioned the validity of the questionnaire so my agent pushed back a little but the underwriter still wanted them filled out even if the answer was N/A.(just for reference, my boat is not trailerable without a road escort and I will be living on board with 2 doggies for the entire time

[EUCaptain]

I haven't got a lot of experience with the situation you are talking about but I have many years in the insurance business and it seems to me your company has a standard requirement for this information. Overall it is probably not a bad thing as you never know what is going to happen and it is better to know what you are getting coverage for from the outset.


It seems that you are sort of out of choices for coverage based on what you said about your search and refusals. Personally I would like to have more than one option, but if the company is reputable the rider seems to be reasonable.



Best of luck and happy travels.

[LittleWing77]

Sorry in advance, Ishmael, but for all of you newbies out there - this is e-ZACTly the reason why you don't buy or build custom boats. This is one of the huge hurdles to be faced.

And $75K of receipts for improvements to a custom boat does NOT equal $75K in value, unfortunately, Ishmael. It's a false equivalency.

With insurance companies, it all comes down to assessment of risk. For every question you answered "not applicable" - the trailering, for example - it captures another parameter that is crossed off the Insurance company's coverage.

So, for instance, at some point during your trip to Florida, you suddenly decided you needed to trailer the boat for a portion of the route - because you have already checked off "N/A" on the trailering, you would NOT be covered in the event you chose to trailer the boat.

This is the Insurance Company's way of getting all elements and contingencies into their records, so they will know what claims down the road they will accept or decline.

Their reasoning around the precise dates is the same: hurricane season has start and end dates in Florida; they want your trip dates to be outside of hurricane season. Again, if you provide trip dates that fall outside of hurricane season, and then the dates you actually travel change, and happen to fall inside hurricane season, you would not be covered.

This is increasingly the case for all cruisers/sailors/boaters. Named storms are becoming more frequent and more violent. Many people are getting into boating with little training or understanding. This is the insurance industry's response. (Source: Association of Marine Industries Conference, January 2020)

Best of luck for your trip - and on getting your insurance,
Warmly,
LittleWing77

[9cx5q9cq]

Almost all of the questions were irrelevant as they pertained to trailering and security from theft and other things not really related to cruising on a liveaboard trawler ZEUS - MZFRZE-6000. I questioned the validity of the questionnaire so my agent pushed back a little but the underwriter still wanted them filled out even

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by 9cx5q9cq

Almost all of the questions were irrelevant

I questioned the validity of the questionnaire...

...my agent pushed back a little but the underwriter still wanted them filled out

You weren't paying attention.

Please go back and read my Post #5. The questions were NOT "irrelevant", no matter what you, the person seeking insurance, thinks.

Perhaps read this week's thread called Sailing Doodles Fire. Because he was sailing in waters outside those declared on his insurance, his $100K claim for repairs has been denied.

Every. Single. Question. on modern insurance questionnaires is designed to reduce the insurer's liability, cover the company's interests and strictly proscribe what you/your boat will be covered for and what it will not. That is why they insist you complete every question. Each response reflects your sign-off on what you are declaring to the insurer is unnecessary.

Every question to which you indicate "Not Applicable", it means just that: You will not be covered in the event there are circumstances that arise involving the items that you have dismissed as "irrelevant".

Proceed with caution.
LittleWing77

[goboatingnow]

If you want the insurance fill out the form , what’s your issue.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by 9cx5q9cq

Almost all of the questions were irrelevant as they pertained to trailering and security from theft and other things not really related to cruising on a liveaboard trawler ZEUS - MZFRZE-6000. I questioned the validity of the questionnaire so my agent pushed back a little but the underwriter still wanted them filled out even

The questions are not irrelevant to the underwriter, they’re determining what their risk is and what they will be covering. As a business they need to know what they’re betting on, irreverent to you because your the one who knows what you’re doing, very relevant to them because they have no idea who you are or what a trip to Florida means for their risk without clarification.

Spend the 30 minutes to complete the questionnaire or go without insurance. Seems like simple calculus to me.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Sorry in advance, Ishmael, but for all of you newbies out there - this is e-ZACTly the reason why you don't buy or build custom boats. This is one of the huge hurdles to be faced.

I have to disagree with you. I built my boat it was insured during the build and has changed underwriters several times since. I have been asked once for an out of water survey and valuation that in fact returned a value higher than that insured, increasing my premium.



If you are having trouble with insurance then you need to find a better broker.


As far as your other points go you are completely correct. Answer "all" the questions asked honestly and as completely as possible. Don't be put off from adding notes of explananation if the circumstances demand it. You should also "read" the policy document. Insurance that doesn't cover you is useless.

[longmt01]

I bought a 45 ft yacht June of 2020. Insurance was $7,500 a year because I am in very high risk area for hurricanes. Out of the hurricane zone which is anywhere north of NC VA state line would be 1,500 a year. So I headed for VA asap. Made is to Charleston, SC and called them back. They refunded $1,750 even though I wasn't completely out of the hurricane zone. So it's a sliding scale depending on the date and how deep you are into the hurricane zone. I am back in Miami now and headed to Maine April 1st. I will get another refund when I can claim Portland, ME as my home port.