How much more is insurance for Florida summers?

I have read about cruisers hurrying to reach the 30th parallel, leave the Bahamas, or pass some specific latitude in order to meet the requirements of their insurance. I have also seen a ton of boats in Florida during the summer. How much more should I expect the insurance to cost on a $100,000 boat if I want to stay in the south or Bahamas year round?

HeadedToTexas said:

I have read about cruisers hurrying to reach the 30th parallel, leave the Bahamas, or pass some specific latitude in order to meet the requirements of their insurance. I have also seen a ton of boats in Florida during the summer. How much more should I expect the insurance to cost on a $100,000 boat if I want to stay in the south or Bahamas year round?

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Why not just call your insurance company for an exact quote?

Because I don't own a boat on which they would quote. Guessing they would have the same question and I am hoping m fellow Trawler Forum members can provide some guidance on which I can continue planning for the future.

Go to boatus and get an online quote. I just did and looked at my insurance in Stuart Fl vs chicago and it doubled but still affordable

Last time I looked, there was a 50%+ increase for me to be covered for named storms in FL between 06/01 and 11/01.

edit: Actually, the insurance policy doesn't cover me below the 32nd parallel, so more than just FL.

Ted

Our agreed value policy costs about 1% of our hull value. We have no seasonal restrictions from the Turks and Cacos, Brownsville, TX to northern Maine. We pay a little more for the no seasonal restrictions. Hobo stays in FL during the summer. We’ve been with the same underwriters and boat for over 10 years.

Policy’s are written based on your boating experience, navaigation limits, credit history, boats value and age of the boat so one size dosent fit all.

What insurance company is that? Highly unusual - actuarial damage from hurricanes has little to do with experience, boat, etc. The policies I've had in that area don't stop in hurricane season, but damage coverage from a named storm is either excluded, or very highly limited. On the other hand 1% of value is a pretty high premium, maybe they think they are covering themselves.

Larry M said:

Our agreed value policy costs about 1% of our hull value. We have no seasonal restrictions from the Turks and Cacos, Brownsville, TX to northern Maine. We pay a little more for the no seasonal restrictions. Hobo stays in FL during the summer. We’ve been with the same underwriters and boat for over 10 years.

Policy’s are written based on your boating experience, navaigation limits, credit history, boats value and age of the boat so one size dosent fit all.

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That sounds like a really good deal. Thanks Larry.

DDW said:

What insurance company is that? Highly unusual - actuarial damage from hurricanes has little to do with experience, boat, etc. The policies I've had in that area don't stop in hurricane season, but damage coverage from a named storm is either excluded, or very highly limited. On the other hand 1% of value is a pretty high premium, maybe they think they are covering themselves.

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1% is pretty cheap for a liveaboard in my experience, especially in FL. Mine is over that but I bet at some threshold of low hull value the percentage does get bigger. A lot of the costs are the same for a cheap boat or expensive one....other than replacement.

DDW said:

What insurance company is that? Highly unusual - actuarial damage from hurricanes has little to do with experience, boat, etc. The policies I've had in that area don't stop in hurricane season, but damage coverage from a named storm is either excluded, or very highly limited. On the other hand 1% of value is a pretty high premium, maybe they think they are covering themselves.

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Geico Marine (was Seaworthy) not BoatUS/Geico. Hobo is based in what is referred to as a “safe” marina, what ever that is; Ortega Landing Marina, JAX. Other than named storms we have a zero deductible on hull damage, electronics is $250.

When we crossed the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, on our last boat, our policy cost 3%. The 1% feels like a bargain. We’ve been with the same agent/office for 18 out of the last 20 years with no losses.

When my sailboat was in that area, premium was about 1/4%. But no coverage for named storms, other that they would give you some money to haul it out. Maybe the big difference is I specified a high deductible.

Talk to a marine broker, preferably one in South Florida. They'll have to shop around for you in all likelihood. However, I see many people paying no more than a 10% or 20% penalty for year round Florida, Bahamas, etc. We don't honestly know what penalty we pay, as living where we do, we're going to insure where we live. However, based on our rate we definitely know we're not paying a 50% penalty or anything like that. I've even known people who moved to South FL, got quoted an outrageous rate by their existing insurer, contacted a broker and ended up paying less in South Florida than they'd previously paid in SC. There is no universal consistency.

I’m with BandB on this. Our boat was in Florida, and our insurance covered 125 miles offshore of entire USA (but no Cuba coverage), with a $1000 deductible, except for named storms where the deductible was $10,000. Cost was about 1.5% of agreed value.

Here in the SF Bay/Delta, my "full coverage" boat insurance (BoatUS/Geico) is less than 0.5% of boat's original value if staying not farther than a few miles beyond the Golden Gate. Named storms along the Gulf and East Coast have a slightly higher deductible which is now negligible since I've never had a claim (like I'll never boat in those waters).

O C Diver said:

Last time I looked, there was a 50%+ increase for me to be covered for named storms in FL between 06/01 and 11/01.

edit: Actually, the insurance policy doesn't cover me below the 32nd parallel, so more than just FL.

Ted

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For the purposes of comparison, I pay .6% of value for coverage from Maine to Texas, plus the Great Lakes and the Bahamas. I'm not a liveaboard.

Ted

Ours was .6% Canada to Caribbean incl Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico. When we decided to stay north of Georgia for hurricane season they gave us half our premium back. This covered the fuel costs and then some for the season. Effective rate of .3% for us it paid to leave.

.34% with no limitations on cruising area in this part of the world other than Venezuela. Just tossing that out since others are throwing out such numbers. Now, a percentage like that really tells you nothing as you have no idea what we have covered and whether our policy is good or bad. Oh, that does include war coverage too.

I would suspect that below $100,000 the price of hull insurance as a percentage of value will increase and above $1,000,000 it will decrease.

Ted

O C Diver said:

I would suspect that below $100,000 the price of hull insurance as a percentage of value will increase and above $1,000,000 it will decrease.

Ted

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I would think you're very right and it's not just those levels, but all the way up the value scale.

Our policy now has language I have never seen before in a policy. We can stay in the Bahamas (and T & C) year round, but our deductible goes up for damages caused by a named storm while there. I can’t remember the amount it goes up by, but it’s really not that bad.

Group9 said:

Our policy now has language I have never seen before in a policy. We can stay in the Bahamas (and T & C) year round, but our deductible goes up for damages caused by a named storm while there. I can’t remember the amount it goes up by, but it’s really not that bad.

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That's really quite common. Often the deductible changes from a flat rate to a percentage.

BandB has a point. Working in the commercial assistance/salvage business I have seen WIDE variations on what was covered in boat policies. Read your policy before you need it. Large multi line companies often limit salvage and pollution coverage and use market valuations. (That’s why they are bundled/low cost). IMO underwriters and agents that specialize in marine insurance are far better policies.

We keep our 48' trawler at our home dock in southwest Florida and pay Boat/US GEICO $2,500 per year. Our policy also includes the Bahamas.

1987 Grand Banks 42', kept in SE Florida year round. BoatUS/Geico for inland and coastal water only. Premium is $3,172 annual with a $1,250 deductible. $8,250 deductible for damage by named storm. Going to a broker to compare sometime this winter as I think this may be high-ish for what we are getting and now that we are more comfortable with the boat will look at adding Bahamas to the mix.

We just renewed our policy. We leave our boat on the hard at Puerto Del Rey Marina, Puerto Rico May-Nov, and sail Dec-May. For the past 4 years we were paying 1.57%, with a 2% deductible that went to 10% deductible for Named Storm Damage for our monohull sailboat. Now, following the hurricane damage, I found 1 policy at 1.55% and 1 at 2.1% for NO Named Storm Coverage, and 1 at 2.8% and 1 at 4.7% with Named Storm Coverage. All had a 2%/10% deductible, and included a $1M liability rider. and lots of companies that were keen to write coverage IF I stayed w/i CONUS waters (Maine to Texas) but were absolutely NOT interested if I was in the Bahamas or south.....unless I was in Trinidad (below the "Box") by 1July. Once you're out of CONUS waters, the rates seem to really go north!

George Harmon said:

Why not just call your insurance company for an exact quote?

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Stop it George! The obvious is not permitted.

To add to the discussion, I recently purchased an expensive boat and I had it down south. It was pretty much impossible to find ANY company that would cover it below the Carolinas after June 1st. Part of it was because I was not down south with the boat full-time. I got the boat out with a month and a half to spare but if I got stranded that would've sucked if a storm came through and did damage. I think if I was down south with the boat full-time a policy to keep the boat down south year round was anywhere from 2-4x the price with a high 10% named storm deductible.

mystery said:

To add to the discussion, I recently purchased an expensive boat and I had it down south. It was pretty much impossible to find ANY company that would cover it below the Carolinas after June 1st. Part of it was because I was not down south with the boat full-time. I got the boat out with a month and a half to spare but if I got stranded that would've sucked if a storm came through and did damage. I think if I was down south with the boat full-time a policy to keep the boat down south year round was anywhere from 2-4x the price with a high 10% named storm deductible.

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I am looking at being in a similar situation. Although perhaps with not as an expensive of a boat. But I do plan soon to keep a boat in Southeast Florida year round while I will not be living there full time. I heave heard from others they have managed to pull this off, but I never specifically asked about insurance.

May I ask which companies said no because you did not live near by the boat full time?

I didn't anticipate this being a problem so I am eager to look into it. Thanks.

Hi all,

I always hear about marine specific insurers. And, I know that they are probably the right answer for many. But, I'd suggest that one consult their every day insurer also. My boat (and everything else) is insured with State Farm, as was my last boat.

In the case of my present boat, State Farm came in a hair under $300 cheaper than BoatUS for essentially the same coverage (State Farm might actually be a little better in the nuance). In each case, the coverage area was coastal Florida + Bahamas. And, because of the way the rest of my coverage with State Farm works, the policies dovetail and I actually get significantly better coverage with State Farm.

I can't tell you about the difference in price for my last boat (my first one), because BoatUS wouldn't insure me, due to the boat's size and fuel capacity and my lack of experience. Note: Note just ownership, but experience more broadly -- I think they would have counted on someone else's boat. ("Sorry, but you don't fit our risk profile.") But, State Farm was reasonable in that the premium they charged me for having limited experience owning or operating a boat was minor.

I just went back and looked, and I don't see any odd restrictions or limitations on my State Farm policy. It seems to cover salvage, fluid spills, etc.