“Tessa’s” repower was completed in October! A little late to make any trips. But sea trials did happen and what a difference! I can get into details of anyone is interested but for now I’m curious how much I can expect to see my insurance premium go up. I assume it likely will. What has anyone else’s experience been with that?
Rebecca Bray
“Tessa” N30C #11
Watch Hill RI
Rebecca,
I am probably late to this conversation but what motor did you install in Tessa? Also I’m curious as to what would cause the insurance increase. I would think that the better equipment you have on your boat the safer it is.
Brian
Since Chancy was damaged by another boat at the dock a few months ago I am beginning to learn about insurance. I guess you are considering the increased value of the boat after spending a small fortune on a new engine.
There seem to be two types of insurance, cheap and expensive.
The cheap one is where you tell them the value of the boat and they base the premium on the value you give them. There will be a small statement on the insurance that says “assessed value”. This means that, when an accident happens they tell you how much you are going to get. Your boat is 30 or 40 years old- I t will probably be a lot less than the value you put on your boat, the value used to calculate the premium.
Expensive is when you have an “agreed value”. In this case I guess you go to your insurance company and say “I just spent mega $$$ on a new engine so the boat is now worth $$$$$$”. If they agree your insurance will say “agreed value $$$$$$” and, I assume, that’s how much you will get should it be a total loss and the premium will reflect this. The problem I have with my “assessed value insurance” is, although the damage doesn’t seem like much it may cost up to C$15,000 to repair. Chancy is 47 years young. Hm! I don’t understand why it isn’t the other boats responsibility to make good the damage they caused but that is not the message I am getting from the insurance company adjuster. By the way, Chancy also has a new engine. I hope you can get some more optimistic feedback than this.
Mike Jennings.
NC30C Chancy.
Port Moody, BC.
Mike,
So what you are saying is that your insurance company has to pay for damage caused by another vessel to you. That does not make sense, time to hire Bender & Bender.
Brian
Not exactly. The other boats insurance co. has to pay for the damage but they probably won’t pay the full amount. Also, I have to pay for the repairs and see how much I get back. I agree, I need more advice. Mike.
I recently re-powered, installing a Yanmar into my Nonsuch 26C. I insure through BoatUS/Geico and renewed my policy in December. Their assessed value of the boat, including the Yanmar was about $7,000 US. The premium would have been about $400. I purchased an agreed value policy with a hull value of $33,000, which frankly is less than the cost of purchasing and having the Yanmar installed in pricy Martha’s Vineyard. The premium of the agreed value policy is about $800. Hope that information is helpful.
Michael Hoff, NS 26, Lake Tashmoo, Tisbury MA.
Interesting. I have a 26 and $27k US in agreed value with Boat US for $440. Now I have been with them for 20 plus years and no claims..
I pay over 1k US for 50K agreed value and 3K tender on Long Island Sound in Ct,
Location Location Location I guess
I have $33K agreed value insurance with Markel on my 1987 N26U through Jack Martin Marine Insurance of Annapolis for $368.00/year. Like Thor, I may benefit from having been with them for a long time w/o claims.
I don’t think of my area as a cheap location – it’s a high labor cost area for boat repairs, and in a particularly litigious part of a fairly litigious state.
OTH, I got a friend to use Markel for his N36, but they were much more demanding about renewing when his boat hit its 40th birthday – to the point where he decided to go elsewhere. This despite him also having made no claims. I don’t know whether I’ve avoided this because my boat’s smaller, not yet 40, or just dumb luck.
– Bob
Forgot to mention: I repowered about two years ago, and reported it to my insurance company.
I did not request a change in the agreed value (I swapped because I wanted electric not because of problems with the old diesel). Markel did not substantially change my premium.
– Bob
Thor, your post inspired me to call my Boat US/Geico agent and see if I could get a better deal. Before speaking to an agent their system asked for my state, Massachusetts. Then an agent gave me a quote of $745 for a $27K agreed value policy. My location might have had something to do with the difference between their underwriting of your boat and mine. Another possible factor is that I had a claim several years ago when a pine tree fell across my boat during a winter storm. The wishbone stored onboard caught the tree and saved the boat but the wishbone was badly damaged. Boat US was great to deal with and paid about $22,000, the full cost of shipping the damaged wishbone from Martha’s Vineyard up to Klacko Spars in Ontario (transportation was a challenge and expensive), Klacko’s expert repair, and shipping the good-as-new wishbone back to the Vineyard in time for a spring launch. BoatUS did not raise my premium in the years following the claim, until this year when I asked to increase the hull coverage to $33,300, the maximum they would provide on my boat. They are expensive but I’m a loyal customer. Might as well mention here that dealing with Klacko Spars was a pleasure, they repaired the wishbone quickly and did a great job.
Michael Hoff, NS 26 Evelyn May, Lake Tashmoo, Tisbury, MA.
I think 24 years of no claim is the difference
Joining this discussion a bit late . . .
First - agreed value is normally based upon a survey, not just what an owner says the boat is worth. Probably for good reason - except for when we are buying (and probably even then), we probably over value boats.
We insure through a local agent (Total Dollar) which is owned by a sailor. The agency also handles our club’s insurance. They know the marine market.
We have been placed with Sutton National Insurance Company, with the policy sold via a third-party administrator called Kemah Marine.
For $55k in agreed value and the normal other bells and whistles, including $300k in P & I (liability), on the North Shore of Long Is., we are paying $863. That includes a $5k tender. Deductible is $1,100. The premium is about 1/2 of what BoatUS wanted from us about 5 years ago. The rate has not changed the whole time we have been with them.
General insurance point (FYI - I represented insurance companies and their insureds for 30 years) - if you don’t have one, look into getting an umbrella policy and reduce your liability coverage on all your policies to the umbrella required minimums. You can often save money and end up with additional coverage to boot.
For a bit of additional perspective - I insure a $6k bicycle with Markel. The premium is $268 with no liability coverage. Makes all of our boat rates (and especially Bob’s $368 for $33k in agreed value with Markel) seem like a steal, but a bike is real easy to steal compared to a boat and if I fall hard the bike is probably junk/unfixable. Hopefully I am fixable, and if no, I have long term care and/or life insurance to cover that. (-: