Should I drop insurance in the winter?

[DavidEBelanger]

What do you folks in New England do about boat insurance in the winter. It just occurred to me that I'm paying boat insurance every month, but it is sitting in my yard on a trailer for six months a year. Do you all drop it in the winter? I also have home-owners insurance that should cover any storm damage.

Remember - there is supposed to be no such thing as a dumb question.

 

[DennisG01]

What year/model do you have? If it's the one in your signature, I'll make an assumption it's about 40 years old. Insurance on that is only a few hundred a year. How much would you really save on the chance that your homeowner's insurance covers it as well? You said "should" which sounds like you're not sure.

However, what we do really doesn't matter - all that matters is what's important to you. For reference, though, I do not drop mine.

 

[Byram]

I also do not drop mine. The hassle of the paperwork is not worth it.

 

[SkunkBoat]

You probably wont save any money...I'm guessing they calculated rates based on New England season and front load the payments from spring thru fall and you don't have payments in Dec/Jan/Feb???? at any rate, You probably wont save any money...they know what they are doing....

 

[Hookup1]

Winter layup is calculated into your insurance rate. You may save some money by shopping around. Mine is with my homeowners - State Farm. My agent wanted the business. I had a Geico quote that they matched.

 

[Clark.N]

I would not drop my insurance. My neighbor's fire damaged my trailer at more than 1K. I had thought that my homeowner's insurance (State Farm) would cover it if there was any damage in my yard, so I dropped my insurance, it did not cover it. It was not considered as part of the real estate. My neighbor who had the fire lost several valuable classic cars and got no compensation from The Hartford Insurance Co. His cars had no insurance either. Please check with your insurance before dropping it!!

 

[seasick]

Dropping is a risk I am not willing to take. Many things can happen during the off season. Simple things like squirrels or other animals devouring your cabin, damage due to ice (in cold climates). Damage from other folks like someone losing control of their vehicle and slamming into your boat and trailer. Then there are the more serious cases like being sued for injuries someone received while 'playing' on your boat. That could be a simple as a child playing and getting hurt. That falls under the Attractive Nuisance' laws.
If stored in a Marina, you are at risk from other folks and vessels. Fires are fairly common and it can spread quickly from boat to boat.
You should ask your insurer if there are winter rates that are lower. Some companies will charge les if you don't use your boat in the off season.

 

[PointedRose]

I agree with others… a nasty winter storm could drop a tree in the yard (or any number of things) and you would want coverage in off-season

 

[MarineBob]

I got insurance with Travelers through a local agent who checked several companies for me. It was abput 60% of the cost from several of the other big companies. And I am sure the paper work as noted by others is not worth the effort. And I am not sure many insurers would appreciate the back and forth? I am not an expert but I am thinking that a boat would not be covered under home owners if a tree fell on your boat in the yard or it got stolen. Before I did anything with dropping the boat insurance I would check on that.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I got insurance with Travelers through a local agent who checked several companies for me. It was abput 60% of the cost from several of the other big companies. And I am sure the paper work as noted by others is not worth the effort. And I am not sure many insurers would appreciate the back and forth? I am not an expert but I am thinking that a boat would not be covered under home owners if a tree fell on your boat in the yard or it got stolen. Before I did anything with dropping the boat insurance I would check on that.

That's interesting... I had Travelers for my homeowners insurance, automobile insurance and had them for the insurance with my previous boat as well. Then I bought my Grady White, initially insured it through them until they told me that I could only insure the boat for what I bought it for. I explained that I bought the boat back on the east coast for $26.5k but that one almost identical to mine just sold on the local Seattle Craigslist for $55k. They said it was now their new policy to only insure a boat for what someone paid for it and so I switched everything from Travelers to Progressive. Which was kind of annoying because I'd been with Travelers on all of my policies for just over 5 years and I even gave them the opportunity to match Progressive. They said no. It's all for the best though as I didn't want my boat only insured for $26.5k because I'd likely not be able to replace it for that price, unless I found a fantastic deal again back on the east coast. I'm happy I looked elsewhere though as I'm saving about $400 a year just on my auto insurance policy now since I switched to Progressive and that savings basically pays for my entire boat policy with them. I've also got the boat insured for an agreed upon value of $45k as well as added vessel assist towing for an extra $30 a year and roadside assistance for free. I was quite surprised by how much Travelers was overcharging me for my auto insurance policy and very glad that I switched everything over.

To the OP... it really depends on the insurance company for your boat, if they'll let you only have insurance for part of the year, if your homeowners insurance will cover any damages to it and how much your premium is as well as what you value your boat at. I personally do what I can to save as much as possible with insurance in the sense that I'll purchase the policy and pay the annual price so that I'll get a better discount than paying month to month. With all of my insurance policies, but especially my auto policy, paying the annual price as opposed to paying month to month was a savings of a couple hundred dollars. It really just depends on how much you're spending now, how much you have your boat valued at and so on. If your policy is say $300 or less a year then you probably aren't going to see a ton of savings where it's worth it to potentially not have coverage, if you were to have a claim you needed to file. If your insurance company let you only insure the boat for 6 months out of the year and your homeowners insurance covered any issues with the boat then it might be something to think about. I think you'd probably money ahead of the game if you paid for an annual insurance policy instead of paying month to month, and that might even save you enough to keep your boat insured year round, or be a wash. I've always insured my boats year round in the event that a tree or something fell on them or that I had an issue but I've got a 12' Lund that isn't worth more than probably $500-$1000 and isn't worth spending the money on it for insurance. I know your Grady and my Grady are a bit of an apples to oranges comparison so it really depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend, what you're comfortable with and if your homeowners insurance will cover your boat. I personally don't think it's worth the risk and think you could save a decent chunk of the money you're spending paying for month to month when you could pay for the annual policy. That, or you could possibly shop around and see if you could get a cheaper boat policy to help offset the costs as well?

 

[Windy50]

What do you folks in New England do about boat insurance in the winter. It just occurred to me that I'm paying boat insurance every month, but it is sitting in my yard on a trailer for six months a year. Do you all drop it in the winter? I also have home-owners insurance that should cover any storm damage.

Remember - there is supposed to be no such thing as a dumb question.

I use Progressive. Their insurance premiums are broken down into categories which you can separately select. The categories typically include things like Bodily Injury & Property Damage Liability, Uninsured Boater, Medical Payments, Collision, Replacement Cost Personal Effects, Roadside Assistance.Rather than dropping the insurance completely, you can selectively remove categories that are not going to occur during the off-season. In my case, I keep the comprehensive insurance for damage just in case a tree falls on the boat during a storm, it catches fire or it gets stolen. But I drop some categories during the winter because they are simply not applicable. For example, the boat is not going to be damaged by an uninsured boater or my personal effects will not be stolen because I remove them. I drop Damage Liability because I will not cause damage to another person's boat. For the months my boat is out of the water I saved several hundred dollars on the premium versus paying for things you don't need for 6 months of the year. At the beginning of the season, you simply log into your account and reinstate the required insurance coverages. I definitely recommend checking out Progressive.

 

[MashpeeMan]

I also boat in New England and keep my boat insured year round. It's a 20 year old 192 so the insurance is only a few hundred dollars a year... so for the extra peace of mind I don't mind paying the insurance for the full year (and I'm not sure whether my Geico-placed) policy would be any cheaper even if I did carve out the winter. I keep my boat stored in a rack at a marina for the winter so I presume it's in a safe spot. But you never know.

 

[INSURANCEMAN]

Keep the coverage year round that is the way the companies calculate the premiums based on where you live. And your homeowners policy isn't going to offer coverage for a larger motor boat. Many people are misinformed and think that their homeowners will cover something while it is in a garage or sitting in their driveway. Companies have exclusions based normally on size or hp of the engines.

 

[nuclear]

Long Island here, would never consider not having year round insurance.

 

[Legend]

The place that I store during the winter requires proof on insurance, regardless I would not consider dropping the insurance - stuff happens

 

[Fishtales]

Most yards require it and want their firm listed on the policy. Not being wise, but don't nickel and dime in boating. It will come back to haunt you. Do things properly, no short cuts and pay for the required items. I've seen/helped/towed to many horror show boaters out there that really have no business being on the water. Just a disaster waiting to happen,

 

[FirstGW]

Not sure if they will cover thru the homeowner insurance. I had an accident before where my tree planter went thru a gas line n cut it. home owner insurance didnt cover for it since its no damaged to the house. Got luck out last storm few weeks ago. I kept my boat insurance thru out the year also in boating in Boston.

 

[DennisG01]

Not sure if they will cover thru the homeowner insurance. I had an accident before where my tree planter went thru a gas line n cut it. home owner insurance didnt cover for it since its no damaged to the house. Got luck out last storm few weeks ago. I kept my boat insurance thru out the year also in boating in Boston. View attachment 24436

I mean this only in a fun/jesting way... you do know that you're allowed to proofread before you click "post", right?

And... wow, that storm did a number on your rig - all it left was the front two feet of your trailer!

 

[Pat Hurley]

What do you folks in New England do about boat insurance in the winter. It just occurred to me that I'm paying boat insurance every month, but it is sitting in my yard on a trailer for six months a year. Do you all drop it in the winter? I also have home-owners insurance that should cover any storm damage.

Remember - there is supposed to be no such thing as a dumb question.

" I also have home-owners insurance that should cover any storm damage" WRONG !!

 

[langski93]

Was your motor subject to the corrosion recall a few years ago? If that doesn’t apply than I agree with everything others are saying, that is a no.