They are a difficult risk due to no large boat experience plus leaving boat unattended for long periods of time. So, when you get this message regarding insurance, what do you do? We plan to have a captain until we are proficient, and we plan to store the boat at River Forest in LaBelle or Stewart, FL.
Insurance Wanted!
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O C Diver
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While I think the boat plan is a good one, expecting an insurance company to cover your boat before you attain proficiency is tough. Insurance companies are suffering lots of claims from new boaters buying big boats as opposed to traveling out of the country during the pandemic. I expect the industry is going to get tougher in this area going forward.
Ted
Ted
What I had to do in a similar situation is to have a named captain to be insured under his/her record. Then when the captain signs you off, you submit to get yourself insured to captain the boat. This is a fairly typical process. As for an unattended boat, is there a service that will check on it weekly when you are not available or can you if close?
bowball:We have forwarded the information/resume of the captain to the insurance broker. We have also explained that we intend to have the boat hauled out and stored in a climate controlled (can handle high winds) environment. There have been so many issues to work out, and this is supposed to be what we want to do in our retirement!
I know what you mean about stress! What’s the right size, could You handle it, where to keep it, can you get it insured, what’s the inspection mean, hiring the training captain , etc etc. Trust me, it gets better!
It sounds though that you have it under control as to your steps you are taking.
I think it’s all worth it.
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Ditto to all of that. Every time we get a question answered, it brings up 7 more questions. We are so close-children on their own, house sold, boat under contract, survey lined up, but INSURANCE.... We chartered almost every year for spring break with our children and had such fun times-memories. Now, we aren't experienced enough. So sad.
I’d use an experienced marine insurance broker if you aren’t. It will make the prices easier and won’t add to the cost. I was lucky as I had decades of insurance through AIG which has good boat policies; nonetheless, I still was concerned until I got the binder!
FF
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River Forrest is a very high end yard.
I am sure they could check the boat while floating as often as you desire .
The inside climate controlled storage is done so they take the hurricane risk, rather than the owner.
I am sure they could check the boat while floating as often as you desire .
The inside climate controlled storage is done so they take the hurricane risk, rather than the owner.
this insurance thing is really getting crazy. i was informed by the company processing my documentation that in washington state, on a vessel more than 40 years old, you have to have an insurance binder before the state will transfer ownership. these new rules, and the more stringent requirements by the insurance companies is making it really difficult for someone to get into the boating lifestyle.
SteveK
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Why just over 40 years old. If gov wants to dictate, why not any boat sale. After all it is not just the boat, the operator also has to pass insurance means test.
i think it has more to do with derelict vessels. maybe the state figures a 40 year old boat is more likely to become derelict.
SteveK
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Point exactly, a 39 year old boat? Bureaucrats!
Any boat that needs a new engine could become a derelict overnight.
agreed. it's just more hoops to jump through. there must be fees collected in this requirement too. the gov't loves it's fees.
twistedtree
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I agree, so liability, salvage, and cleanup insurance should be mandatory in ALL boats regardless of age.
i agree to a point. there are many boats on the hard, or undergoing restoration that no insurance company will touch. in washington you can't transfer ownership to someone who would undertake the project. perfectly good boats will be scrapped.
Maybe the solution is similar to autos. They can’t be legally registered for use until insurance is put on them. So ownership can transfer. But not licensed until insured.
that would be a good solution in my mind. i should call the state and ask for them to do just that.
I don't search for insurance. I search for insurance brokers. Many excellent ones have been mentioned on this forum and one is a regular here. Other boaters in your area should know them. But find a good broker and let them do the work for you.
twistedtree
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Increasingly marinas won’t allow boats that are not insured. So that will force project boats to be insured, similar to construction insurance while a house is being built. Project boats are probably the most likely to get abandoned or to end up in flames or otherwise create a mess or damage other boats.
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valid points. but finding coverage while you do the work is the problem. it's tough enough to find coverage on a perfectly good boat anymore, finding it for a reasonable project will be near impossible. i don't know of any insurance that will do that, do you?
Portage_Bay
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For coverage on a project boat that won't be getting underway ask your broker about port risk coverage https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/port-risk
There are more unknowns in that paragraph than imaginable-the nature of the boat, the specifics of the project, the findings of a survey, the location, water or land. Most anything is insurable with limitations. It may be that it can't leave the dock until a further survey or can't be launched, must stay on land, until it passes a survey. Talk in generalities won't get a good answer, but present a good broker with specifics of the circumstances, and they can find something. May not be at a price you like, but that's part of the cost of a project. You're asking an insurer to take substantial risk.
I'd say this too. Sometimes the only ones protecting you from yourself are insurers. if they're reluctant or costly, it tells you that people with more experience than you have deemed the undertaking to be very risky. Might be good to listen before jumping in.
i haven't heard of this before, thanks for pointing it out.
twistedtree
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I've never tried, so I don't know. But it's surely "new" for boating, so will take an open minded insurance carrier to actually evaluate it. Now "open minded insurance carrier" may be like "army intelligence", or "the Long Island Expressway", but it's all part forcing people to be responsible for their actions. On a bright note, I think it would bring an end to the many, many unrealistic boat projects that people start, but never finish, and leave for someone else to clean.
twistedtree
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I think this is a really important element. The scope of the project and available resources to complete it are one thing, and probably the most easily assessable. Then there is the "character" if the individual behind the project. Lots of people have eyes bigger than their stomachs, get all gung-ho about a project or plan, then rapidly lose interest. I'd guess that 80% or more of larger projects (not just boat projects, but all sorts) fail because the person loses interest or gets distracted. Starting is easy. Finishing is much harder.
open minded insurance carrier... i think it's becoming increasingly difficult to find something like that. i feel like carriers have a very specific set of parameters they will use, and if you are outside of those you're out of luck.
as has been mentioned, in many cases it's a good thing. there's a ton of vessels that have been abandoned in the slip or anchored out that present a considerable expense to remove and destroy. in my area i'm seeing them removed at a fairly consistent rate. the supply seems never ending though.
for valid projects, i think a surveyor would be your best advocate. even with that blessing i don't think you could count on anything. interesting topic of conversation though, thanks for the comments.
as has been mentioned, in many cases it's a good thing. there's a ton of vessels that have been abandoned in the slip or anchored out that present a considerable expense to remove and destroy. in my area i'm seeing them removed at a fairly consistent rate. the supply seems never ending though.
for valid projects, i think a surveyor would be your best advocate. even with that blessing i don't think you could count on anything. interesting topic of conversation though, thanks for the comments.
Let's back up to your earlier post that you're to the point of transferring documentation and haven't arranged for insurance. Then you've formed an opinion on carriers.
Well, rule one is arrange insurance before buying.
Then my big rule, don't search for insurance policies, search for a good marine insurance broker and let him do the work. 40 year old boat, he's going to have to work hard but you won't be the first one he's faced.
Perhaps ultimately what you learn from a good broker will discourage you from buying a specific boat. That may be the luckiest day of your boating life.
i think you may have misunderstood my situation. i'm not having this trouble myself. i had insurance in place for my recent purchase prior to finalizing the payment to the previous owner. i wouldn't put myself in the position of having all that money spent without a good plan in place. i was only commenting on that situation as i didn't realize that requirement was in place at the state licensing level. it could be a big surprise to someone who hasn't done their homework though. i've been boating all my life, and owned boats in washington state for 30 plus years, and this requirement was news to me. didn't have an impact on my purchase as i considered insurance a necessity before taking possession.
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