Need insurance recommendations

[Surely Bassey]

I have a 14 year old 228 in Connecticut and Boat US insurance (GEICO). Usually goes down a few dollars every year. this year it went up $100 for no aparent reason. Have not made a claim in 13 years.
While I am looking for more reasonably priced insurance I would want to know that they will fairly pay a claim if necessary. Ideas?

 

[Shannon C.]

I use Progressive through USAA.

 

[max366]

Try Charter Oaks/Gallagher - great prices and service

888 879 2248

 

[seasick]

I use Progressive and it too goes up each year a bit. The raises are a result of a few factors but you not having any doesn't mean your insurance will go down. When there are as many natural disasters and resulting claims as we have seen in the states, rates get hiked everywhere.
One thing you may look at is if you have agreed upon value policy, see if that amount is realistic for your boat. My policy until recently had the same agreed upon value as what I paid for it a decade ago. By lowering that value to a realistic number, I was able to reduce the premiums.
I have priced other companies but either their rates are higher or they do not offer the same options making it really hard to compare policies.

FYI, I had a claim after Sandy and the response from Progressive was top notch. That said, I have Geico for my auto insurance and their claim service has been top rate also.

The last few times I priced Boat US, the premiums were much higher than I was paying. Recently I saw something about them lowering rates but I haven't done a comparison

 

[mikeayl]

I use Pantaneus from Newport for my insurance. I’ve only had them for a couple of years now but from my research they were the best for the buck in my case

 

[Fishtales]

I have an Agreed Value policy from Merkel Insurance Co.

 

[Surely Bassey]

So I called Boat US Insurance which is GEICO and asked about the $100 increase.
Pretty interesting....
They said it was a general increase related to higher costs on their side, yada, yada, yada.
When the agent looked at my policy he told me that my Boat US/ GEICO policy has unlimited towing as part of the policy. This means I could cancel my Boat US Tow policy for like $160/year.
So essentially I will save $60/year with the increased premium for GEICO when I cancel my tow policy but I wonder why they did not offer this to me for the past 8 years that GEICO has been selling me both insurance and towing under Boat US.
I'm not sure if I'm happy or pissed....

 

[steveditt]

Check your vehicle/home insurance company ours is travelers being a customer received best policy and price .

 

[SkunkBoat]

I use Progressive thru USAA also. It was cheaper than Boat/US-Geico and it has a provision allowing for >75nm offshore.
Still not cheap.

 

[glacierbaze]

"......When the agent looked at my policy he told me that my Boat US/ GEICO policy has unlimited towing as part of the policy. This means I could cancel my Boat US Tow policy for like $160/year..........."

That doesn't sound right for BUS/Geico. I would verify the towing with my own eyes before I cancelled my TowBoatUS. You may also have to pay the tower big bucks out of pocket, and seek re-reimbursement from your insurance policy.

 

[Deep Blue]

Try Charter Oaks/Gallagher - great prices and service

888 879 2248

This. Great group!

 

[Bdsp1234]

So I called Boat US Insurance which is GEICO and asked about the $100 increase.
Pretty interesting....
They said it was a general increase related to higher costs on their side, yada, yada, yada.
When the agent looked at my policy he told me that my Boat US/ GEICO policy has unlimited towing as part of the policy. This means I could cancel my Boat US Tow policy for like $160/year.
So essentially I will save $60/year with the increased premium for GEICO when I cancel my tow policy but I wonder why they did not offer this to me for the past 8 years that GEICO has been selling me both insurance and towing under Boat US.
I'm not sure if I'm happy or pissed....

This isn’t new with boat US. You should had it last year. I was able to cancel my Tow Boat US. It’s all inclusive now. I’d be pissed off too

 

[Surely Bassey]

OK. So I called up Boat US and inquired about my SeaTow $160 package and the Geico Insurance that supposedly includes it as part of the policy. BoatUS/Seatow told me the only difference is that the Geico insurance policy will cover the boat tow but only to the insured boat. The BoatUS policy will include any boat I am on.
Never knew this and a total waste of money to have both redundant coverage.

 

[usmm1234]

I also am with Progressive thru my USAA membership. I belong to Boat US. They got me a Geico quote. It was higher. I’m still going to shop. I think I’m paying too Much

 

[RussGW270]

We are going to go month to month with Charter. They came in about 1-1.1k and no survey needed. After the summer, we will re-evaluate and get the survey. In the long run, the 470 will be better, just need the 700 dollar survey the first year heh.

Russ

 

[SkunkBoat]

We are going to go month to month with Charter. They came in about 1-1.1k and no survey needed. After the summer, we will re-evaluate and get the survey. In the long run, the 470 will be better, just need the 700 dollar survey the first year heh.

Russ

That price difference has to have a catch..even besides the survey.... lower liability & uninsured boater...High deductible...
You can't get something for nothing...

$1100 is were I'm quoted by Geico/BoatUS for a $60k value with $300k liability/uninsured + $5k fishing package + other stuff.

 

[mleads310]

The only "catch" I noticed with marine underwriters when I had them was a higher deductible. But everything else was the same or better than other insurance companies.

 

[INSURANCEMAN]

Hey all just a friendly piece of advice when looking over your boat insurance. If you have a personal umbrella policy make sure that you have informed your agent/company that you have a boat and that the vessel is listed on the umbrella policy and that your boat policy has the correct underlying limits for the umbrella or you could have a huge gap in coverage. I have a 2,000,000 umbrella myself and the liability limit I am required to have on my boat policy is 500k. If you do not have a personal umbrella policy you should consider one.