Big insurance increase from Geico/Boat US

[psneeld]

Try messaging Pau Hana (Peter) who is a member here...should be in this thread. We have discussed liability only and he made it sound possible for a lot of difficult situations.

 

[BuoyCall]

My strong guess is rates are going up since they underpriced the risk of hurricane losses. Dorian cost them billions. Same thing with insurance for homes at risk from fire on the west coast.

Same analogy for roofs here in Florida a couple years ago. Big hail storm came thru and everyone dug out a ladder from the garage, climbed atop thier roof with a ball peen hammer and played wack-a-mole until they got approved for a new roof and gutters. We have been paying huge increasses the last couple yrs with no end in sight.

Told my friend today his home ins went up 92% to almost $4k, he freaked out, needless to say we wont be going back to that carrier anytime soon.

 

[SteveK]

Does anyone know of a source for liability only insurance for a 1977 trawler. To use in Alaska and BC?

Asked before and the answer was none. But a solution is to get an agreed value for the hull which then has liability. You choose the value. Since you don't want coverage just tell them you want an agreed value of $25,000 for instance.
They will probably want a survey in any event.

 

[greg_c]

First time owner here in PNW. Ranger R27OB... Kept under cover but not a boathouse. Roughly $1200/year... $500k liability and agreed upon value (roughly $200k). $1k deductible on physical damage.

Through Pemco, bundling home and auto in there.

 

[Mark Room]

Geico/BoatUS

We're looking at Camanos for weekend cruising and I got a pre-purchase quote from Geico/BoatUS. It was a lot less than I expected, around $1,200/yr for full coverage, agreed hull value (with survey), 2% deductible. Liability limit seems rather low at 100k and the medical is only 1k but the fuel/oil spill liability is almost a million. We have home and auto with Geico which helps. Are these typical medical and liability limits for coastal cruising?

 

[Group9]

We have $300,000 on our Geico policy. It's hard to figure out how much to carry really.

Some people say carry enough to pay for the most expensive boat you are likely to damage. My response to that was, we had a really nice (and huge) Sportfish in our marina for a while that the owner had paid $7,000,000 for. Who here has $7,000,000 of liability insurance? Not many, I bet.

That's not counting the four or five boats that had been in our marina at one time or another, that are over $2,000,000 in value (based on interviews with the crew or what they were listed for sale for).

 

[rslifkin]

We have $300,000 on our Geico policy. It's hard to figure out how much to carry really.

Some people say carry enough to pay for the most expensive boat you are likely to damage. My response to that was, we had a really nice (and huge) Sportfish in our marina for a while that the owner had paid $7,000,000 for. Who here has $7,000,000 of liability insurance? Not many, I bet.

That's not counting the four or five boats that had been in our marina at one time or another, that are over $2,000,000 in value (based on interviews with the crew or what they were listed for sale for).

In those kind of situations, you want at least enough liability to protect your assets (your boat, house, money in the bank, etc.). Most boat policies won't go beyond $500k or $1 million, so beyond that you'd need an umbrella policy for additional liability coverage.

 

[Group9]

In those kind of situations, you want at least enough liability to protect your assets (your boat, house, money in the bank, etc.). Most boat policies won't go beyond $500k or $1 million, so beyond that you'd need an umbrella policy for additional liability coverage.

Exactly.

 

[BandB]

We're looking at Camanos for weekend cruising and I got a pre-purchase quote from Geico/BoatUS. It was a lot less than I expected, around $1,200/yr for full coverage, agreed hull value (with survey), 2% deductible. Liability limit seems rather low at 100k and the medical is only 1k but the fuel/oil spill liability is almost a million. We have home and auto with Geico which helps. Are these typical medical and liability limits for coastal cruising?

Some marinas will require more liability. Most policies are at $300k to $1 million. However, most boat owners have enough assets to justify having umbrella policies which I strongly recommend to all. Far less expensive for far more coverage than you'd guess. They might cover liability above your policy to much higher levels.

 

[Mark Room]

Umbrella is a good recommendation, thanks.

 

[BruceK]

Standard liability cover in Australia seems to be $10M. Mine is, and it`s the standard policy issued by a major boat underwriter. $300K to 1M seems inadequate, and your society is reputedly more litigious than ours.

 

[SteveK]

Bruce, the more insurance you have the greater the lawsuits $ IMO.
So are we with a $2mil supporting your $10mil claims system. Underwriters are global.

 

[O C Diver]

Bruce, the more insurance you have the greater the lawsuits $ IMO.
So are we with a $2mil supporting your $10mil claims system. Underwriters are global.

There's another way to look at it. When the policy numbers are smaller, insurance companies find it more economical to settle than fight. When the numbers get larger, the insurance companies seem more interested in protecting their reserves.

From past experience, when you increase your policy limit, the cost per million diminishes, significantly. The umbrella for my wife and I to cover 2 homes, 2 vehicles, and my boats is still under $1,000 dollars for $4M. In my boating costs, that's pretty minor.

Ted

 

[JD5652]

Just got a very surprising renewal with Geico based upon what I've been reading here over the last several months.

Boat is a 1976 Hatteras 58LRC. Insured cruising area is anywhere coastal US in the eastern US.... anytime of year. Changing home port from Mystic, CT to Bradenton, FL.

Policy went DOWN 10%..... same coverage.... go figure...

 

[magna 6882]

insurance covers two things basically.
Your boat which is easy to get a handle on. Can you take the hit of a total loss? How much of a hit do you want to take?
The bigger issue is liability.What assets are you sitting on? A guy i know just got a judgment against him for 150m
Have you been able to reduce the exposure of some of your assets? Can you afford a big hit at your current age.
Its all about risk and really has nothing to do with premiums.
My annual boat registration cost more then my insurance.