Liability only for insurance

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Bud

Bud

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Messages
374
Location
United States
Vessel Name
Izzy Rose
Vessel Make
Grand Banks 49
Hi folks,
I am looking for liability only insurance coverage. Has anybody gone that route and if so what company?
Thanks in advance
Bud
 
Bud said:
Hi folks,
I am looking for liability only insurance coverage. Has anybody gone that route and if so what company?
Thanks in advance
Bud
Click to expand...

Seatow and BoatUS both offer liability policies. They also cover oil spills. I have a slow trawler so I self insure hull. I close my seacocks when docked :)
 
I have liability only insurance with Progressive. It includes towing.
 
Just make sure the liability includes oil spill remediation and salvage...unless you self insure for potentially tens of thousands in costs.
 
psneeld said:
Just make sure the liability includes oil spill remediation and salvage...unless you self insure for potentially tens of thousands in costs.
Click to expand...

Exactly correct.

Further, ensure that the pollution coverage is a stand-alone component of the polivy, and not included in the liability.
 
Progressive said no boats over 35ft. I think Booat Us is Geico which I tried online and did not see an option for liability only, so I will call on Monday.
Thanks for the heads up on "oil spill coverage" seperate from the liability. I was also wondering if I could get an umbrella policy that would work.
thanks,
Bud
 
Bud said:
Progressive said no boats over 35ft. I think Booat Us is Geico which I tried online and did not see an option for liability only, so I will call on Monday.
Thanks for the heads up on "oil spill coverage" seperate from the liability. I was also wondering if I could get an umbrella policy that would work.
thanks,
Bud
Click to expand...

Boat US/Geico Marine will require a recent survey for either liability only or hull coverage.

With regards to umbrella coverage- most umbrellas will not cover unique marine liability issues including pollution, salvage, and wreck removal.

With pollution liability being $939,800, its best to get the proper coverage Vice the cheapest coverage.
 
From one GB owner to another lacking hull insurance is a potentially serious error. Even a minor damage can cost many times what the insurance would have cost.
 
It all depends on the policy language.

Example- a boat with a $500k liab only policy has a severe allision with a dock, which partially sinks the vessel and spills 100 gallons of fuel. Damage is estimated at $350k property damage, and $300k fuel related damage (cleanup, mitigation, environmental assessment, etc).

If the pollution is stand-alone coverage per the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 with limits of $939,800, both the liability damage and the pollution damage in my example would be well covered.

On the other hand, if pollution is included as part of the liab coverage, once the policy limits of $500k are exhausted, the vessel owner becomes responsible for anything above the liab limit.
 
I hear you guys. I will say my freinds boat sank at the dock last year here in the Florida keys and we got a boom around it and pluged the fuel tank vents. There was no pollution violations or fines issued. It took us a couple of days to raise it and tow it to a haul out. The problem with hull coverage on an older (1980) vessel like mine is they want a lot of money for a little bit of coverage. I would rather just be covered for liability and I am in good health and very expeirenced also pretty capable of fixing just about any damage that would occur or able to get it done reasonably. The big deductables and the depreciation the insurance companies have it would be mostly out of my pocket anyways inless it was a total loss. The only scarey situation would be the liability of a fuel spill, extreme property damage, or God forbid a loss of life which liability coverage hopefully should cover.
Thanks
Bud
 
Bud said:
I hear you guys. I will say my freinds boat sank at the dock last year here in the Florida keys and we got a boom around it and pluged the fuel tank vents. There was no pollution violations or fines issued. It took us a couple of days to raise it and tow it to a haul out. The problem with hull coverage on an older (1980) vessel like mine is they want a lot of money for a little bit of coverage. I would rather just be covered for liability and I am in good health and very expeirenced also pretty capable of fixing just about any damage that would occur or able to get it done reasonably. The big deductables and the depreciation the insurance companies have it would be mostly out of my pocket anyways inless it was a total loss. The only scarey situation would be the liability of a fuel spill, extreme property damage, or God forbid a loss of life which liability coverage hopefully should cover.
Thanks
Bud
Click to expand...

Get the vessel hauled and surveyed, the get quotes for agreed value hull coverage with higher deductibles. This will lower your premium.

If you feel comfortable self insuring for the hull, personal property, and such, the. Liab only may be a good choice for you.
 
Pau Hana said:
It all depends on the policy language.

Example- a boat with a $500k liab only policy has a severe allision with a dock, which partially sinks the vessel and spills 100 gallons of fuel. Damage is estimated at $350k property damage, and $300k fuel related damage (cleanup, mitigation, environmental assessment, etc).

If the pollution is stand-alone coverage per the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 with limits of $939,800, both the liability damage and the pollution damage in my example would be well covered.

On the other hand, if pollution is included as part of the liab coverage, once the policy limits of $500k are exhausted, the vessel owner becomes responsible for anything above the liab limit.
Click to expand...


I see, I think. So there are statutory limits on "polution coverage", where as general liability the coverage is limited by the policy.
 
Correct. The OPA of 1990 came about as a result of the Exxon Valdez disaster, and set statutory limits of $800k for private pleasure vessels (later remanded to $854,400, the 939,800).

Any true marine policy will have this limit outlined in the policy’s dec page, or the policy language will have wording that states “pollution coverage is in addition to the liability coverage on the declarations page”.
 
Bud said:
I hear you guys. I will say my freinds boat sank at the dock last year here in the Florida keys and we got a boom around it and pluged the fuel tank vents. There was no pollution violations or fines issued. It took us a couple of days to raise it and tow it to a haul out. The problem with hull coverage on an older (1980) vessel like mine is they want a lot of money for a little bit of coverage. I would rather just be covered for liability and I am in good health and very expeirenced also pretty capable of fixing just about any damage that would occur or able to get it done reasonably. The big deductables and the depreciation the insurance companies have it would be mostly out of my pocket anyways inless it was a total loss. The only scarey situation would be the liability of a fuel spill, extreme property damage, or God forbid a loss of life which liability coverage hopefully should cover.
Thanks
Bud
Click to expand...
I was operational for nearly 20 years in the USCG and towing/salvage business for 15.


Best laid plans, good intentions, being careful, etc...etc....sometimes things still bite you in the butt.


Not insuring for liability, pollution and salvage can really hurt unless you have deep pockets.


I am overly trained (as my bosses continually reminded me) andpretty astute in these matters, but I know I am not perfect, and that is why insurance exists.
 
My present policy is with a carrier that is a non admitted carrier which I think means they don't have to abide by florida state law. My deductable is $5200 and it doubles in a named storm. Depreciation applies so on an older boat like mine they will pay a small percentage of replacement cost on anything damaged. For a total loss they will pay $60K. I really don' see the value in that.
 
Not carrying hull insurance is one thing and I can understand...but an old boat or a brand, new $1M boat needs the same liability, salvage, and pollution coverage in my mind....because they can easily eat into your ocket more than you might think..as to hull which a an easy number to guess.
 
Bud said:
My present policy is with a carrier that is a non admitted carrier which I think means they don't have to abide by florida state law. My deductable is $5200 and it doubles in a named storm. Depreciation applies so on an older boat like mine they will pay a small percentage of replacement cost on anything damaged. For a total loss they will pay $60K. I really don' see the value in that.
Click to expand...

What is your insured value- $60k?
 
The Forum is fortunate to have Peter as a member. His insurance advice is priceless.
Thank you Peter for that which you offer.:thumb:
 
The insurance carrier is Great Lakes Insurance. I renewed it but only because I could not find any insurance company that would write a liability only and pollution policy for my size boat. Basically when you figure in there depreciation schedule I would only get 20% of replacement cost on any work replacements or repairs. For example: If there was $40k of damage to the hull and boat they would pay $3k which is $8k (20%) minus my deductable of $5k = $3k. If it was a named storm my deductable would be double so they would pay nothing.
Bud
 
Yes, I went liability only on one of my boats. 300,000 to go under my existing umbrella policy. Very inexpensive $110. with Progressive
 
Liability Only.

I have liability only through BoatUS/Geico. Policy has liability (500K), med pay (5K), spill liability 939K), and salvage liability (if I sink it in a navigable waterway and it is a danger, they remove the boat, up to the value of the boat). I have about a 20 year history with BoatUS with no claims ever. Just paid this year's premium: $88.00 for my 1986 35ft trawler. I made sure the family understood, if it sinks, it is gone.
 
sascudder said:
I have liability only through BoatUS/Geico. Policy has liability (500K), med pay (5K), spill liability 939K), and salvage liability (if I sink it in a navigable waterway and it is a danger, they remove the boat, up to the value of the boat). I have about a 20 year history with BoatUS with no claims ever. Just paid this year's premium: $88.00 for my 1986 35ft trawler. I made sure the family understood, if it sinks, it is gone.
Click to expand...


If it sinks at a dock....you could be on the hooks for 10's of thousands?
 
I have liability only on my 26 glacier bay and its $115 a year with progressive. But no carriers that I could find will write those policies for my 49 GB boat. They say nothing over over 35ft.
 
Liability insurance only

I al I'm also insured with a liability policy only with progressive thru a broker in Saint Pete Florida it's very reasonable it does cover all the mentioned hazards,the cost to insure is very high and the deduction make it almost not worth it unless its totaled
 
I'd not be comfortable with liability coverage of only 500k. We had a fire in our marina this winter caused by some electrical fault on a 45' Bayliner. It completely destroyed the Bayliner and totaled a 57' Carver next to it. Our boat was next to the Carver and suffered no damage as the Carver shielded us from the radiation heat and the wind blew away from our boat. There was substantial damage to the dock as well. I hope the Bayliner's owner had sufficient liability insurance.

With today's boat prices, the boat next to you can easily exceed $1+M and fires typically damage several boats.
 

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Liability only

I have used Ski Safe (Part of Geico Insurance Agency, Inc) since 2013 for liability only for my 1988 Albin 34. No increases in premium over this period of time; however, no claims either. Covers salvage and spills. Phone for Ski Safe is 1-800-225-6560
 
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