Boat Insurance

[shrew]

Now is the time of year many of us are thinking about winterizing or have already winterized and no longer thinking about our boats. I just got off the phone with my insurance agent and was very surprised by the conversation we had.

Recently, I had an issue I discussed in another thread about my boat dragging on anchor while it was unoccupied. A local towing company recovered the boat and excercised their 'salvage rights'. My insurance company rejected teh claim and I've been fighting with them ever since. It turns out that the 'Navigational Limits' on my policy were incorrect. My policy was set for my region, but for "Inland Waters'. There is a seperate navigational limit for 'Tidal Waters'. Big difference and one which has affected me greatly. Fortunately for me the error on the policy was done by the agent, however it was something I overlooked when reviewing the policy myself. I was fortunate that this fell under an "Errors and Omissions" policy due to improper coverage and I have managed to get it straightened out.

So, I urge everyone to look at their boating policy with a magnifying glass. In doing so, I found that my policy had 2 engines instead of 1, because I had the serial number for the outdrive listed as well as the motor. They assumed this meant 2 motors. I found the marina was not updated, state registration was not updated. Teh policy had the old motor and had not been updated since I repowered. It didn't include line items like my dinghy, Dinghy OB, generator. the overall value was not reflecting the new radar, GPS, canvas, engine, and a large number of other improvements on the boat.


I blame myself for not scrutinizing these things. We can't assume that an agent who insures cars, motorcycles and houses all day is savvy in regards to boating. They simply don't process enough policies (especially since I live inland a good ways from any sizable bodies of water).

In short, check and recheck your policies. Discuss with your agent and make sure you are properly and sufficiently covered for what you do.

[seapuppy]

also might concider a 1million dollar rider or umbrella policy....it's really cheap and will cover things like if you sink, it will cover the oil spill that your boat will cause....or property damage if you ram a dock and someone falls overboard....it's worth it and like I said...really cheap...


SP