Tow insurance

BoatUS vs Seatow



If you have BoatUS general insurance is the tow included


If on the east coast of FL primarily.

No you have to pay extra, but get (gold plan) it on your hull insurance. Wouldn't go anywhere without it.

fgarriso said:

No you have to pay extra, but get (gold plan) it on your hull insurance. Wouldn't go anywhere without it.

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Don't follow "but get (gold plan) it on your hull insurance"

I have boat US. I can’t remember if unlimited towing is included or not, I think it is. If it isn’t, it’s cheap.

I’ve used it twice in less than a year already in FL works great! Embarrassing thing was it was the same dude both times and he recognized me.

The unlimited isn’t included with the insurance policy if I remember correctly. But it is the only way to go. One tow and you will pay for many many years of the membership.

Steve91T said:

I have boat US. I can’t remember if unlimited towing is included or not, I think it is. If it isn’t, it’s cheap.

I’ve used it twice in less than a year already in FL works great! Embarrassing thing was it was the same dude both times and he recognized me.

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That's bad when the tow captains know you

Why not read the policy and find out? Or give them a call?
Many insurance policies reimburse you for certain towing scenarios, but you have to pay the tower and make a claim. The nice thing about having a separate towing plan is that you don't have to do that.

We have unlimited towing gold. Plus get app from BoatUS. If you call tow using app it automatically gives them location. Better than saying " I've run around behind little island just off Calibogue Sound".

It is good to check around your local cruising area.

Sometimes the local franchise of one company is clearly the more professional operation.
Most of the time it may not matter or if cruising and passing through many areas.
Some cruisers buy both so they can get the quickest response.

One thing to consider. If you get Boat US towing through your geico policy it covers ONLY that vessel. If you buy the towing separately it covers all your vessels plus those you rent. As I own a trawler and an 18 foot runabout it makes sense to do it that way. FYI

Must be nice to boat in a location with available towing. Here the closest towing franchise is 40-45 sea miles away. Once or twice a season someone calls them and they trailer their boat over here, launch and do the tow, if they are willing to come at all. It is about 50 road miles (almost a ninety minute drive) and if they arrive at less than 1/3 tide they have to wait for the tide to launch, so the wait time for a tow is on the order of 2.5 hours minimum (load boat on trailer, drive here, launch, tow) and can be as long as 5-6 hours. Consequently, most boats that get towed around here get towed by a lobster boat, or now and then by the Coast Guard. Consequently it pays to know a few lobster fishers, particularly since they mostly won't take money for towing you in.


Because of the towing situation here it pays to be able to handle simple tow situations yourself. For example about 15 years ago the exhaust connection to my manifold sheared off. I wired the exhaust back on, but it was extremely leaky and only good for a short "emergency" run. To get home I hip towed the boat with my dinghy. It was slow, but I got home. Once I was back home I fired up the engine for 2 minutes to get into my slip.

The towing companies do provide reimbursement in areas they do not serve.


So using a local resource is possible, but if a Iong term situation, best to discuss the pros and cons with the closest towing franchise.

newbernbuck said:

One thing to consider. If you get Boat US towing through your geico policy it covers ONLY that vessel. If you buy the towing separately it covers all your vessels plus those you rent. As I own a trawler and an 18 foot runabout it makes sense to do it that way. FYI

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When I raised this with Geico I was told that the coverage included the main boat and the tender. If that is correct then is not as broad as buying the coverage separately, but a bit better than "only" the primary vessel.