Stupid Question??

[Surely Bassey]

Hey, this may be a very stupid question but I'll post anyway.
Is it possible to purchase a boat insurance policy for only half of the year.
Because the other half the boat is on the rack and I would definitely assume any risk there.
Lemme know.

 

[PointedRose]

Should I drop insurance in the winter?

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...

www.greatgrady.com

Also, does your marina/storage require that they are also named within the insurance policy?

 

[seasick]

As mentioned your marina may require insurance. More importantly, generally not insuring your boat for the whole year exposes you to additional liability and loss exposure. Anyone can sue for whatever reason.
Suppose your boat catches fire and damage extends to other boats or yard facilities. You could be on the hook.
If you can handle a total loss, you might be able to cancel your comprehensive for the off season realizing that the cost of your liability may increase. You have to check with your insurer. I would not cancel liability though.

 

[SkunkBoat]

There are no stupid questions, only stupid people

What I think..
They base their rates on the seasonality of the area anyways.
If everyone was starting and stopping coverage it would be an expense to them.
They would charge almost as much anyways for less covered time.
You can't win.

 

[Surely Bassey]

I sent an email to BoatUS (GEICO) and they replied that they only issue 12 month policies. But they did say that some brokers will issue 6 month policies. I'll stay with the 1 year but this could be useful to people that keep the boat in their driveway during the winter.

 

[Bg56126]

Some companies have a "lay-up" period where you commit the boat will be out of the water and not in use. I've adjusted my lay-up period to be shorter (allowing me more time in the water) and it has not impacted my premium but I'd guess that a longer lay-up period would mean a lower premium.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I have Progressive insurance for my home, cars, boat, etc.... of which I believe my boat policy is around $600 for the year and I've not considered removing it in the event of a tree falling and hitting it or something doing some sort of damage. Even if Progressive did do a 6 months thing, I'm not sure it would be worth the risk at saving $300 for those 6 months in the even that something did happen to the boat. To me, it's a situation of way too many "what if's?" and especially if my homeowners insurance didn't cover the potential damages done to it. If you've got your boat in a locked garage on your property, or even in your driveway and your homeowners insurance policy did cover your boat, then that might be a different story. Every company and every policy is slightly different though, so you'd have to see exactly what your homeowners insurance policy covers, and more importantly what it doesn't cover. If you kept your boat in a locked garage on your property with no trees around or really anything else that could possibly damage the boat, as well as if your homeowners insurance covered it in the event of their being an issue? I'd say go for it if the insurance company will let you.

 

[Surely Bassey]

I totally agree and will keep my policy because I winter store at the marina.
But I have to say that insurance companies are out of control. Currently I an looking for a homeowners policy that will cover me for liability and umbrella with perhaps a specific amount of physical house coverage that would be a fraction of what the building is worth. Should my home ever be a total loss (which is very remote) it will be a battle with the insurance company anyway so I would gladly pay the remainder out of pocket.

 

[Fishtales]

Marinas will require insurance. Check with your agent and see if you can suspend it for a period of time. There may be a charge that may be prohibitive though. Worth asking.

 

[seasick]

Weather or not you are willing to eat the loss for a comprehensive claim, you still need protection for liability. In general you can cancel your comprehensive and pay a smaller premium but the premium will not go down by the amount you are paying today for comprehensive.
The mention of umbrella insurance brings up a potential issue. Your umbrella's policy if you have one, picks up after your regular policy as far as coverage limits go. More importantly, umbrella policies generally will require specify minimum amounts of coverage on your individual policies for let's say home, auto, boat etc.
When you sign your umbrella agreement, you basically attest that you have the required coverage limits on the individual polices.
Be careful you don't 'shoot yourself in the foot"

 

[Surely Bassey]

Totally agree Seasick.
What I am looking for is liability coverage with umbrella on a policy that carries maybe 50% of property vale. At that point I evaluate the cost vs full coverage to see if it is worthwhile.
I feel if insurance companies want to be super competitive some will offer this.

 

[Legend]

Insurance is out of control - guess inflation on building supplies and labor cost etc are adding up as they are with all of us. My Marina requires insurance during 6 months of in water dockage. During the winter I keep mine at local GW dealer and they also require proof of insurance. My policy also mandates a 6 month layup on land.

 

[seasick]

The two major factors responsible for the increases are the cost of repairs, especially for new vehicles and the unprecedented dollar amount of claims.
The weather plays a large role in those costs.
Although you may argue that you didn't have any claims, everyone shares the cost .
If you want to reduce your premiums, you may want to look at your current deductibles. Raising them most likely will reduce premiums. If you have agreed upon value clause, you may want to see if that number is realistic. Lowering it will also reduce premiums. That said, it is more likely these days that your agreed upon value might be low as a result of the increase in market valuations of used boats in general. New boats prices has alo increased significantly.