Insurance

1985 Marine trader in great shape, would realistically sell for $80k, I am an experienced boater, live aboard, and have never filed a claim. Current insurance $300,000 liability and 80K hull premium is $2200 per year.

Seems I should be able to do better but can't get anyone including Boat US to get even close to my present premium. All quote $5000 per year or more. Is my 30 year old boat the problem? or is it that I am a live aboard? or what?

Yes, two problesms: old boat and you live in the hurricane belt.

Find a friendly yacht broker and ask him to run Soldboats for your boat. I would be surprised if a 30 year old boat was worth $80K. Since liablility is only about $500/year, and hull insurance premiums are sort of proportional to agreed insured value, maybe you can cut it to say $50K and save some money.

One question to ask yourself: if the boat is a total loss, do I want what I have invested in the boat back or what the market says it is worth. You are paying for the extra value.

David

I would message Pau Hana. He is an insurance broker, and he has been able to find good policies for me-- lower premiums than what you were quoted, and on more expensive boats.

I also live in the hurricane zone but I am not a liveaboard.

My boat would be roughly an equivalent to your's. It's 38 years old and I have Boat US insurance. My annual policy cost is $1000 and no insurance required surveys in 9 years now.

I think the previous poster is right. The Caribbean, Gulf and South-East states are all higher risk for loss. It's where you live and if your insurance is $2200, you better hang on to it!!

OB, I just went through getting insurance in Seabrook. I got a quote from BoatUS, and then from a couple of local brokers. They came in much cheaper. Shoot me an email if you want their contact info.

It's where you live/store the boat:

Same boat, a Krogen 42:
Trinidad $2,800
Grenada $3,800
St. Lucia $4,800
Savannah, GA $2,200

Lots of good advice here (except for going thru another broker ).

Lots of variables come into play regarding how a premium is calculated:

• Vessel year, make, and construction
• Vessel value
• Vessel usage (private pleasure/liveaboard/limited charter)
• Fuel type
• navigation area
• where the boat is moored (x2 if your navigation area is in Hurricane Alley)
• Vessel experience (ownership and operational)- what vessels have been owned/operated and for how long
• Credit history
• Marine loss history
• The risk appetite of an insurer
  

Each company has its own underwriting criteria, so your quotes can vary widely.

BoatUS may not have an insurance survey requirement; I would be suspect as to how their policy reads with regards to partial and total loss situations. The agreed value/all risk companies we represent require a survey about every 5 years.

Our boat is $1300/year in Puget Sound waters; changing the navigation to Florida/Gulf full time changes the coverage to about $3k/year!