Boat Insurers: Cartel or not? Time to leave BoatUS?

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

After a bit of wrangling, BoatUS/Geico treated me well in the wake of damage from Hurricane Michael. My premiums remain reasonable IMHO.

[Apollo366]

BTW, Boat US, and AARP, are just shills for the insurance companies they represent. I won't so business with them at any time.

[sailorboy1]

This whole "have to raise rates because there were claims last year" is just BS. That is the whole reason they and us do the insurance. They act like it is a surprise to them that once in a while a hurricane acturally comes along and destroys boats. You know, that weather event for which they have been telling us is the reason we have been paying so much all along.

[Montanan]

Geez, prices for goods, services and yes, for risk transference contracts fluctuate, but when was the last time someone complained when their cost went down by 20%. A 20% up or down is modest, particularly when one realizes the premium value to coverage ratio. It is a simple enough matter to obtain comparative quotes and shop for coverage. Just be sure that one knows the details of each policy quote as to not be comparing pears to apples.

[tomrealest]

Since when has Warren Buffett not been interested in profits? Geico is one of his companies.
The policy this year is a re written on "Geico paper" versus "Boatus paper". There are differences but the ones i read did not concern me.

IMHO, BoatUS and the Boatus Foundation have done a lot of GOOD lobbying, etc. for boat owners with their Government Affairs Division. They have helped quite a bilt preventing some very stupid legislation.

There has always been a business side of BOATUS. The guy who started it named Schwartz started with the store and catalog sales, then insurance etc.

I have been insured with them since 1986 and no one has beat them when I got other quotes. BUT that was me. You have to shop to save money just like anything else.

[wannacat]

"Self Insure"? Don't think that will work when you want to haul out or even list your boat for sale with a broker. They want to see your insurance policy, what are you going to do then? They won't haul me without seeing the policy also for a out of water survey. The only place I ever hauled with out being asked to show my policy was both times in the Bahamas. When I asked if he wanted to see my policy he just laughed and said, why if something happens your on your own anyways and don't even think of suing a marina in the Bahamas unless you have very very deep pockets and connected to someone there!Good luck with your quotes.

[rhirwin]

My BoatUS policy increased by 18% from 2019 to 2020. In reading the coverage they also reduced the replacement value of the hull by $40K. All of this with no claims ever. I called them and they said costs have increased and that the non covered deductible limit was zero. I pointed out to them that I had not decreased the non deductible amount rather they did each year based on my no claim record. After discussing some major reductions in coverage they recalculated the premium cost by $100, so $1852 vs the $1952 cost for 2020. I found my BoatUS Policy from 2015 and the total cost was $850 so it had more than doubled from 2015 to 2019. As to the claims that Insurance companies have paid out Billions in the last few years- my policy coverage was very limited for "named storms". I have found an alternative and saved $600+ with very limited shopping. Happy shopping!

[Bill Youmans]

I’m in non hurricane area and can afford loss, ie self insure, of a New car 45,000$
Which will be pretty worthless after 10 yrs, so have liability only for $90 per year.
Self insurance makes sense for used sailboats of lesser value.

[GWilly]

I’ve been with BoatUS/Geico for4 years now and have had no issues. Nominal annual increases but nothing out of the ordinary. Living in the Pac Northwest means no hurricane issues, so I’d bet my insurance is cheaper than, say, if my boat was operating in FL. My only gripe is the requirement by my marina for special coverage listing the Port as an “additional insured” via an endorsement. While that doesn’t seem like a big deal, and may be typical, the local insurance company I initially used couldn’t provide that, so I had to drop them and go with BoatUS, a national company. A bit miffed at that but it is what it is.

I feel a need to also add that I believe many folks have had their auto premiums drop the past few months because we’re all not driving to work any more. This appeared to be initiated by the insurance companies, for which I’m grateful. Mine went down 15%.

[Training Wheels]

Here’s what I have found with BoatUS. The policy has the decreasing deductible if no claims. When Geico took over, they kept the decreasing deductible, but as your deductible goes down, they raise your rates. I called them and had them reset my deductible, and it lowered my premium substantially.

[sailorboy1]

Self insurance = no insurance

Call stuff by real terms

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Self insurance = no insurance

Call stuff by real terms

Not quite. True self insurance would involve having the money set aside to cover the cost of an incident, particularly if you're self-insuring for liability.

[ohdrinkboy]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Not quite. True self insurance would involve having the money set aside to cover the cost of an incident, particularly if you're self-insuring for liability.

so, for a $2 million liability policy, having $2 million in funds set aside. Doubt that many people who are self insured really have the funds set aside.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by ohdrinkboy

so, for a $2 million liability policy, having $2 million in funds set aside. Doubt that many people who are self insured really have the funds set aside.

Probably not. That's why some still carry liability insurance and only self insure for hull loss. Outside of a business situation, full, proper self insurance is fairly rare.

[Baba Buoy]

6. Liability insurance only.