Geico Boat Insurance

Good evening all. Looking for insurance quotes on a GB 32 1974 through GEICO. Any opinions among members? Good/Bad? I've had auto coverage for a number of years with GEICO
and satisfied. Any thoughts are appreciated.

I keep asking, but I think your 32’ length is still all they will do. My insurance went up 18% this year, but they still won’t quote me on my 36’.

Geico insures my 52’ and has done for past 3 years. Decent coverage but higher on the price curve. First year was competitive but had hefty price hikes year 2 and 3 although deductibles are falling away with a good claims history. Never made a claim So can’t comment on their service. So far the relationship has been one way, I give them money, they take it.

I recently ran the "new boat" insurance gauntlet and found Geico (under the guise of BoatUS) was one of the few companies that would write a new policy in Florida.

Historically BoatUS is one of the absolute best companies. However they were only bought by Geico a few years ago, so time will tell if the quality takes a dive.

Thanks guys. I just got my binder from them. Trick is to call them directly. The online quote was going all over the place. Once I got a real person on the line they were more than willing to take my money. Good survey helped too. Can’t wait till next year. Lol

Have had BoatUS insurance for years. When they switched carriers to Geico last year, my insurance went up 50%. I shopped around and made the switch to Charter Lakes, carrier is Markel. About 30% lower rate for better coverage.

I had Seaworthy for years. They were bought by Geico a couple years ago.

So far my rates have not gone up much at all. Just a few percent, like everything else.

Great coverage, easy to deal with, and a TF member is their head underwrighter for the PACNW.

I had GEICO for several years in South Florida for my 1980 58’ Hatteras. My premiums actually went down little by little over the years. When Irma damaged the boat substantially last year, GEICO was a pleasure to deal with. They even paid for some things I didn’t think they would. They were quick to assess my claim and get me towed and hauled out at a yard of my choosing. I would recommend GEICO and it’s good to know they are still writing in South Florida. I hadn’t asked yet. My boat was totaled and I haven’t found another one yet.

I use progressive for the small boat I carry. Cheaper than Geico. Had Geico car insurance, but as I got older the rates went up too fast. Progressive was about 200/yr cheaper.

Insurance

averybill said:

Good evening all. Looking for insurance quotes on a GB 32 1974 through GEICO. Any opinions among members? Good/Bad? I've had auto coverage for a number of years with GEICO
and satisfied. Any thoughts are appreciated.

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Got our geico via boatus. Saved us a lot of money and got better coverage over auto owners ins even though we have multi policies with auto owners.

No complaints.

Knot Salted said:

Got our geico via boatus. Saved us a lot of money and got better coverage over auto owners ins even though we have multi policies with auto owners.

No complaints.

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I have Travelers and just got a Seaworthy/Geico quote. Its $600 less and much higher coverage with no hurricane dates, although it has a 7k named storm deductible. Liability is 1M vs 300k, spill is 939k vs 300k, medical payments 25k vs 10k, unisured boater 500k vs 100k.
The agreed value has a 2% deductible decreasing to 1%.
I am interested in hearing about any Geico stories on increasing premiums.
Our only rub is the need to pay for a survey. My survey is 8 years old.

Dave: The cost of the survey is part of the reason we haven’t looked at other companies and are still with Geico/Seaworthy (we haven't had a survey since 2010) plus they haven’t given us a reason to change. Last year they dropped the deductible to 0 other than a named storm. This year the premium dropped over $600 to ~1% of our hull value. With an agreed value policy and $250 deductible on electronics, we’re not looking. From your post and talking to others, they seem to be aggressively going after the business. We have no seasonal restrictions and our navigation limits are Brownsville, TX to Northern Maine and as far south as the Turks and Cacos including the Bahamas.

Geico

We lost our Mainship 34 to Florence. Had Geico through BoatUS. We purchased it in March, and had just completed prepping the boat for the Fall cruising season. I contacted them about the loss, and sent photos to show it sunk at it's slip. Weeks went by without hearing anything. Stopping by the boat one day (1/2 mile from the house) we found it in the process of being raised. The crew said it was being taken to a local boat yard. Called Geico multiple times before getting connected to anyone in the Catastrophe Team handling my boat. I wanted them to know the condition of the boat before the storm, as we had just purchased it in March and had a good survey, plus I had done a lot of work to her. The survey valued the boat at $28 to $30K. Geico said send them any information I thought was important. I sent copies of pages from the survey. I sent copies of pages from the log books to show a 240hp Perkins installed in1993, and a new tranny in 1999. Also sent pictures of the manuals. I also sent a detailed listing of my work, including replacing all four ports, four house bank batteries, and one engine start battery. They came back with a value of $24,500, which I refused. I was dealing with a middle man (Justin) who was nice enough, but had no authority to change anything. I said it was ludicrous that the boat would devalue that much in 7 months, especially since I had done nothing but repair and upgrade the boat since owning it. A few days later, they came back with an offer of $27,500, which I refused. When I brought up my list of improvements, Justin said their surveyor said all that was "routine maintenance" and not improvements. I was stunned at such an idiotic statement, and told him so. I also stated that I could not replace my boat with another Mainship with lesser equipment and value with what they were offering. Justin said to send proof of that. So I copied ads for the three 1978 Mainships on Yachtworld, all with original 160 hp engines, averaging $30K, and sent it to them, along with a scathing letter expressing my dissatisfaction with the process. My key element was their surveyor looking at the boat without contacting me. He knew nothing of it's condition or equipment, just went by the sodden hulk sitting on the hard. I also told them I would accept $32K as a fair price. A few days later, a woman called and offered $31K, which I accepted, less 5% deductable for a named storm. This process took over three weeks to resolve, and I know they have a lot of claims to resolve. But I feel they tried to low ball me and get on with other claims. A little communication early on could have made a terrible situation easier to cope with. As it was, even though I eventually got what I thought was a fair price, the aggravation and time consumed fighting them has jaded me on ever doing business with them again. All I can say is keep good records and all your receipts, and keep fighting until you get satisfaction.

I just changed from Geico because they don't understand that a boat can be out of the water (on the hard) for the winter in New England. They don't give any financial consideration to that fact. I went with Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company (through our broker) with better coverage, for less.

Geico Insurance

I have a Grand Banks 36 in Florida. My first year with GEICO was very inexpensive. 2nd year they went up ALOT! Third year has gone up a little. Trouble is, almost no one else will insure in FL and those that will are 2 to 3 times what GEICO charges. My agent is Heritage Ins. If you can get a reasonable quote from GEICO now, I'd take it because I fear that in the future, obtaining yacht insurance on the Gulf or Atlantic coast is going to be very difficult or very expensive. Good luck!

Not sure where this “nobody will insure in Florida “ stuff comes from, we were able to get quotes from several carriers for 1st time boat owners with a 70’ boat. We went with a Markel policy through the Marine Trawler Owners Association which offer better terms for less money.

I didn't say "Nobody would insure in Florida" What I said was "Geico is much less than all of the other quotes that I've gotten and that many insurance companies won't insure at all in Florida. I'll check out the companies you listed, as I'm also in Jacksonville, Fl now. What I said was is that afordable yacht insurance for large boats is becoming harder and harder to obtain and that it will become even more so in the future due to huge losses in the insurance industry due to storms.

I've had the same Allstate policy for 20 plus years on all my boats. I started it with a 17' Aquasport and just kept moving it up to the next boat. It now covers both my 18' flats boat, the dinghy and my Mainship 40.



I made two claims on the Gulfstar 36 we had before the Mainship, one for almost the entire value of the boat in 2005 after Hurricane Dennis, and one for a new bimini after a hurricane in the Bahamas. I made a claim on the dinghy motor after it was stolen. I made a small claim on the trailer for the flats boat after an accident (not my fault) on the Florida Turnpike. My premium has gone up as the boats have gotten more expensive, but no giant hikes, even with a fair number of claims.


They have been fantastic to work with.


We also have them for our home, rental property, and 4 cars. I think that helps.

We are new with Geico and had been told Geico was the only company left that did not require a haul out in FL in the event of a pending named storm. We are on W Coast of FL.....There are virtually no haul out places left in FL.... Now in an argument with them over boat value based on the final survey and the numerous upgrades made to this 39' power cat. I'm of the belief that the Underwriters are not reading the details because this has become ludicrous. I'll be looking around for a new carrier and hope to overcome that haul out issue.

For 2017 I had Boat US/Geico on my 1986 Gulfstar 44 MY. Boat is in New England. I had a good survey that was done in 2017. For 2018 they increased the price by 80%. I ended up going with Pantaenius for about the same price as 2017.

while I have not dealt with geico on any boat claims, they are a total pain to deal with in auto related matters. I deal with insurance carriers every day and they are one of the most difficult to work with. Who knows, maybe their boat adjusters are better, but Bilgewater doesn't make it seem so.

Geico really low balled me too

The adjuster I had was a total jerk - Grant Beach. Sent a check of $500 for over 30k loss. I was fortunate to have a friend who is a lawyer because if the amounts aren't over 6 figures it just isn't worth it for them to fight. He was curious about maritime law

Long story short Geico spent over 30k fighting me. I ended up getting 16k a year later.

My lawyer gave me some good advice. Take a long boring video of EVERYTHING that is insured. Bits of line, welcome mats, extra impellers etc etc. Pull out every drawer and video everything inside.

It may have been in my favor that the Beach guy was so rude. It ticked off my attorney enough to make him fight it the whole way even though the amounts were really small for him.

He, the lawyer, also explained that the insurance companies know it doesn't pay to fight them unless the settlement is well into 6 figures. Even for a 30k claim they can make you jump through hoops that cost thousands just like they do for a $500,000 claim.

Bilgewater
Was your policy a declared value policy?
I've been w Boat US insurance since started boating and always been pleased but never have had a claim.
Recently switched to Geico w the Boat US conversion so anxious to hear experiences.
I thought w a total loss you received the declared value (less deductible?) Is that not how itvworks? I thought depreciation only comes in w partial loss claims?

I have had Geico Marine insurance for several years and have been very satisfied, albeit I have not had any claims. Cost is very competitive.

Purchased the policy through a broker (Novamar Insurance Group out of Bradenton, FL) that I have used for 15 years.

Has Geico fully intergrated BoatUS boat insurance with Seaworthy? I see references for Geico Marine Insurance and also for Geico/Boat US. Are they the same? Or are they for different markets/boat size/navigation limits?

BoatUS, I think, primarily sold boat insurance for US navigation limits with a available riders for Mexico and the Bahamas. You could apply for insurance on line or call and talk to who ever answered the phone.

Seaworthy sold a lot of yacht polices for domestic and off-shore navigation. We were insured through them from Africa to the US (BoatUS wasn’t in the market at the time). I would always and still deal with a specific agent who would tailor the policy for us.

Anyone know?

We are with Boat/US Geico, and just had a $140.00 increase. Since we have not had to have a boat survey in the 18 years we've owned the boat we will stay with them.

If wesuffereda major loss, whether or not ithought the check'looked okay' i would engage my own surveyor to get an independent judgement before I settled.

Geico boat insurance

Dougcole said:

I've had the same Allstate policy for 20 plus years on all my boats. I started it with a 17' Aquasport and just kept moving it up to the next boat. It now covers both my 18' flats boat, the dinghy and my Mainship 40.


I looked at moving to Allstate from GEICO. Two different agents told me Allstate wouldn’t Insure a boat over 35Ft. When I offered to move all my insurance to Allstate they said that they would insure my trawler. Then I found out that Allstate’s wreckage removal is only up to 5% of the value of the boat. If your boat sinks during a hurricane and requires a barge and crane to be removed, you are only going to get a max of $5000 on a hundred thousand dollar boat. That isn’t going to even touch your removal costs. I spoke to a professional wreckage removal and salvage company. They warned me away from Allstate and State Farm for this reason. He said he had good luck working with GEICO who has a wreckage removal limit of $500k. If you have a policy with anyone, you better check the spill limits which are statutory at $939k I believe and what your wreckage removal limits are. Especially if you are on the Atlantic or Gulf Coast.

For the people who are saying they don’t survey their boats, you can get an insurance survey done for $550 on a 36 foot boat. It’s easily done when the boat is out of the water for bottom painting or cutlass bearing work. Besides helping with your insurance or selling the boat if you decide to, if you are going 8 to 10 years with no survey you are setting yourself up for some major and costly problems. I just had a survey done while doing a major refit. Several large issues were discovered that we weren’t aware of which I was able to address while the boat was out of the water. A good survey every 5 years will pay for itself.

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Depreciation Factored into Repairs

I just read the policy details for my GEICO policy on my (just purchased) 1990 44' Viking Motor Yacht. It says that they cover repairs to the boat less depreciation, figured at 10% per year past the 20th anniversary of the boat's manufacture date. By my math, that means that they cover on 10% of repairs. Am I reading that right? Does anyone actually pay for the full cost of repairs?


Rick

As I understand it the depreciation stops at 20%. And it applies to parts not labor. Maybe someone knows better...