Looking for quality insurance, does it exist?

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Bruce Palmer

Bruce Palmer

Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Messages
24
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Aqua Vitae
Vessel Make
Seahorse 52 LRC
I decided to read, in detail, my policy on our 52' boat. To my surprise, the policy had been rewritten from the last time I had read in detail. Depending on which side of the fence you were on one could argue almost nothing was covered.

I do not want the lowest priced policy, just a quality fair priced policy. I want one that covers all damage due to my stupidity, unintentional negligence, and weather events UNLESS clearly listed in detail and written in a language even I can understand before I buy. I want to be able to get a WRITTEN response to my what-if questions before I buy, which I am not receiving from my current company. I don't want to argue someday about consequential damages issues.

Is there a commonly accepted company that sells what I'm looking for? Or perhaps an extremely knowledgeable expert marine insurance broker that specializes in same? What I have found so far does not meet my needs.

If it matters, we are in south central Alaska.
 
MTOA has a good policy through Markel. Membership is not expensive and the policy is better than the one offered to the general public. The agent is Jack Martin in Annapolis.
 
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Bruce, let me suggest you call my agent, Robin, at Bristol Insurance Company in Seattle at 206-634-1787. Tell her Mike in Pasco gave you her info and tell her you are interested in a Yacht Policy, not a boat policy.

I've been with them over 15 years and they've done me well with a couple of claims.
 
Most importantly, do they pay claims? I have had great service from ACE, on both the big boat and the Whaler. The broker has also been excellent, the Gowrie Group out of Connecticut.
 
Talk to Novamar insurance, Pau Hana on this forum. I'm certain they will present you with a range of options from several companies that will meet your specific needs.

I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

You can reach Novamar in Seattle at, 206-281-8144.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into all of them.

I looked at Markel about a month ago, but they would not write unless I put the boat on the hard in the winter. Not a good option for my needs.
 
murofrelwart said:
Talk to Novamar insurance, Pau Hana on this forum. I'm certain they will present you with a range of options from several companies that will meet your specific needs.

I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

You can reach Novamar in Seattle at, 206-281-8144.
Click to expand...

:thumb:

Novamar has been good to me. I am very satisfied with the policy that Peter Ricks (Pau Hana) obtained for me. And he will tirelessly answer all of your questions.
 
We have Boat/US and are happy with them. Have had them for 30+ years.
 
Bruce Palmer said:
Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into all of them.

I looked at Markel about a month ago, but they would not write unless I put the boat on the hard in the winter. Not a good option for my needs.
Click to expand...

That’s why you get your policy through the MTOA.
 
I prefer a Multi-Line Agent that specializes in marine insurance policies. Often the home and auto route are only marginally familiar with trailorable lake boats. They start to get in over their head when they start dealing with groundings, salvage, etc.

These folks are helpful and will return a number of quotes from a a variety of companies:

https://maritimeinsuranceinternational.com/
 
Boat US has a great reputation for settling claims quickly and fairly.

For every year with no claim, they reduce the deductible by 10% until at year 11 the deductible is 0.

They also surveyed the boat at the end of the 10th year and paid for it. Will see if they do that again at the 20 year renewal coming up this year.
 
Bruce Palmer said:
Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into all of them.

I looked at Markel about a month ago, but they would not write unless I put the boat on the hard in the winter. Not a good option for my needs.
Click to expand...

Bruce, I have some options for you- touch base when you have a moment.

Pete
 
And they also offer an MTOA/GEICO policy which has no latitude/hurricane/date limitations. The trade-off is a 10% deductible of agreed value for damaged incurred in a named storm. Otherwise the deductible is 1%. I have received good service from the Jack Martin Agency.
Woodland Hills said:
MTOA has a good policy through Markel. Membership is not expensive and the policy is better than the one offered to the general public. The agent is Jack Martin in Annapolis.
Click to expand...
 
Make sure you are covered in the yard. A yard I was in, dropped my boat and drove the starboard stabilizer through the hull. Constructive loss, aka totaled.
My insurance company calmly proclaimed, you were not cover in the yard.
 
Before purchasing insurance from any broker ,


Hire your own liar for hire to look for the weasel words and loop holes.
 
FF said:
Before purchasing insurance from any broker ,


Hire your own liar for hire to look for the weasel words and loop holes.
Click to expand...
Makes no sense to "hire a liar". Might make sense to hire a lawyer, but retaining one of the brokers suggested above probably makes even more sense.
 
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Woodland Hills said:
MTOA has a good policy through Markel. Membership is not expensive and the policy is better than the one offered to the general public. The agent is Jack Martin in Annapolis.
Click to expand...

I will offer another recommendation for Jack Martin (my agent is Morgan Wells). I just decided to renew with Chubb having had several quotes from different insurers from Jack Martin. Chubb have several levels of coverage, I chose their broadest policy which they call "Masterpiece Yacht Select". It was around $1k more than the cheapest market quote Jack Martin provided but IMO worth it.
 
FF said:
Before purchasing insurance from any broker ,


Hire your own liar for hire to look for the weasel words and loop holes.
Click to expand...

Again with the insults. Just like the last time you slandered an entire profession, I’ll say again that I know many attorneys and they are all honest professionals who uphold the highest standards.

And just like last time I’ll ask again: if they are liars, how can you, in good conscience, recommend hiring them?
 
I also have the Chubb Masterpiece Yacht Select policy that Pau Hana obtained for me through ACE. I am very satisfied with the terms. A little pricey but very comprehensive and worth the additional cost.
 
I just received my non renewal notice from panteneus. So now I have to do,some shopping for insurance.
 
Madhatter53 said:
I just received my non renewal notice from panteneus. So now I have to do,some shopping for insurance.
Click to expand...

Call John Horton at Jack Martin & Associates in Annapolis to see what he can offer. If you are a member of the MTOA or are willing to join, John is able to offer a GEICO policy with special endorsements and valuable provisions not found in ordinary GEICO policies. Plus, the MTOA/GEICO policy has no latitude/date restrictions for the hurricane season. Instead, the deductible for damage occurred from a named storm that is incurred in Florida, Georgia, and a few other of the southern states is 10% rather than 1% in other states.
 
Does MTOA/Gieco have liveaboard policies?
 
Leatherneck said:
I also have the Chubb Masterpiece Yacht Select policy that Pau Hana obtained for me through ACE. I am very satisfied with the terms. A little pricey but very comprehensive and worth the additional cost.
Click to expand...

ACE and Chubb are one and the same. The two companies merged several years ago and I guess still use both legacy names.

~Alan
 
Pau Hana said:
Bruce, I have some options for you- touch base when you have a moment.

Pete
Click to expand...

I second the motion! I talked to Pete a few years ago (based on his thoughtful, unbiased marine insurance related input on this forum over the years) and we are quite satisfied with the direction we went based on his advice.
 
There is NO good insurance company :/ They exist to make money and any money you get is money they don't get and they act accordingly. The most you can hope for is a good person who works there.

The best bet is to make a long video of EVERYTHING on your boat every six months. Pull out every drawer and open every locker. A deck of cards, magnets on your fridge - it is all covered and the more you can prove with a video the more it is easier for them to pay out what you deserve instead of lowballing.

I have BoatUS / geico. They were so rude to my attorney (friend of a friend - no lawyer will take on an insurance company unless it is way into 6 figures because it isn't worth it) that he got pissed off and helped me. Every last thing from my sailboat had been removed from the boat, crated and boxed up and was in a cargo van to go to storage. The van got stolen. Sails, tools, foulies, everything. They offered me $500. After a year of BS we finally settled for 20k.
 
I'll second the motion

GFC said:
Bruce, let me suggest you call my agent, Robin, at Bristol Insurance Company in Seattle at 206-634-1787. Tell her Mike in Pasco gave you her info and tell her you are interested in a Yacht Policy, not a boat policy.

I've been with them over 15 years and they've done me well with a couple of claims.
Click to expand...


I got my insurance at Bristol in Seattle. The policy was from Chubb. It was the best experience I have ever had with an insurance provider. I never had a claim (thankfully) but I found that Bristol (and Robin) always treated me like a valuable customer, which is something I can't say about most other offices. If I needed something, like a rider to name my marina as an insured party, they always came through. And the rates were the best I have seen for a comprehensive policy. They service boats from wherever going to wherever but they certainly know Alaska and the rest of the West coast very well.
 
Andiamo2018 said:
There is NO good insurance company :/ They exist to make money and any money you get is money they don't get and they act accordingly. The most you can hope for is a good person who works there.

The best bet is to make a long video of EVERYTHING on your boat every six months. Pull out every drawer and open every locker. A deck of cards, magnets on your fridge - it is all covered and the more you can prove with a video the more it is easier for them to pay out what you deserve instead of lowballing.

I have BoatUS / geico. They were so rude to my attorney (friend of a friend - no lawyer will take on an insurance company unless it is way into 6 figures because it isn't worth it) that he got pissed off and helped me. Every last thing from my sailboat had been removed from the boat, crated and boxed up and was in a cargo van to go to storage. The van got stolen. Sails, tools, foulies, everything. They offered me $500. After a year of BS we finally settled for 20k.
Click to expand...

Respectfully, I disagree that there are “no good insurance companies”. Wheat I’ve found (in almost 20 years being in marine insurance) is that few people actually take the time to read their policy, and assume “everything is covered”.

Ain’t the case, brother - not by a long shot.

I don’t know about your specific claim, but in general I see some challenges:
  • Personal effects are not covered by the GEICO policy off the boat- so your personal gear you mention should have been covered by your auto or homeowners policy. Also, personal effects coverage is a depreciating coverage, so that 10 year old toolkit you paid $250 may be worth $100 now- and that is what claims would offer.
  • Sails in your vehicle should have been covered by the vehicle policy..
  • If the marine policy limits for personal effects was $500, GEICO most likely offered that amount to settle.
  • Finally, it’s been my experience in claims that rudeness is almost always generated from the policyholder (and it almost always stems from the erroneous assumption that”everything is covered” by the policy. The claims employee would certainly be in the unemployment line should they pop off rudely to the policyholder.

Claims folks always look for ways to pay the claim, not for ways to deny any claim. They do this by ensuring the claim fits into the policy language, and they’re good at what they do.

Again, not doubting your claims experience, but my viewpoint is very different from the professional side.
 
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