Boat/Tow insurance

I'm planning a trip north on the ICW from Fl to NY. Anybody have an opinion which towing insurance provider is best, Sea Tow or Tow Boat US?

I haven't had any luck finding an insurance carrier for the boat because I am told my address is Florida and the boat will be kept in NY for winter storage. In the meantime I will be cruising other states as well as Canada. I don't recall having this problem four years ago when I insured a 30' sail boat. Any comments?

Neither is better...one captain/franchise to the next has it's strong points over the other.

If in a particular area for awhile...best to check both out and see which one you feel more comfortable with.

Either one provides national coverage. I have had TowBoatUS since I started boating. You get a magazine and discounts at many marinas. Also a rebate at West Marine. Other than that they provide pretty much the same service. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other. The yellow boats look a little "cooler".

Hurricane Sandy and other named storms changed a lot of things!!

Edelweiss said:

Hurricane Sandy and other named storms changed a lot of things!!

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Not really for towing assistance insurance.... but hull/liability...it sure did....even if your policy hasn't shown it yet.

hohee said:

I'm planning a trip north on the ICW from Fl to NY. Anybody have an opinion which towing insurance provider is best, Sea Tow or Tow Boat US?

I haven't had any luck finding an insurance carrier for the boat because I am told my address is Florida and the boat will be kept in NY for winter storage. In the meantime I will be cruising other states as well as Canada. I don't recall having this problem four years ago when I insured a 30' sail boat. Any comments?

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They both have good east coast coverage. For other areas it's best to look at both maps as there are areas one or the other has less coverage. One thing as a reminder, don't be reluctant to use them in advance. There is no better source of current, local knowledge than tow captains.

Now to the insurance question, I don't know what size boat you're buying or have bought but just talk to more insurers. There are some excellent brokers and I've found Pantaenius to be very flexible. Where are you keeping the boat in Florida? What size boat? Registering it in FL or documenting it or what?

We're insured in South Florida, no limits on where or when. Not cheap but coverage is available out there.

Sea Tow has the higher out of area coverage with a $5000 limit, I think Boat US has a $2500/$3000 limit.