First off, I'm a marine insurance guy, and this post is about education.
I do presentations for yacht clubs and other organizations about insurance, and EVERY boat owner needs to read and understand their policy- before you need it. Hopefully this will be made a sticky topic.
I just had a call from the Vice Commodore of an Idaho anglers association about a situation he's going thru. He owns a newer aluminum pilothouse boat- 200hp outboard, full electronics, downriggers, etc- $70k worth of boat, engine, trailer, and accessories. It was afloat in Lake CdA, and being used for winter fishing.
On Superbowl Sunday, the boat was resting comfortably in its slip. The next day, the boat was on the bottom.
Cause of loss: a thru-hull had failed from repeated freezing and warming, allowing water into the boat.
Claim-DENIED. He was covered by a boat policy from his normal insurance guy; that policy had a specific exclusion clause for Idaho regarding freezing claims. So, he's had to pay out of pocket for salvage, transport to a boatyard, storage, and teardown of the engine...and there's more to come. He thought he was covered.
Note I said he had a boat policy- not a yacht policy. In short, he probably would have been fully covered under a yacht policy, as most yacht policies don't have that exclusion regarding freezing. Further, the yacht policy would have covered the salvage, transport, pollution spill, storage, and repairs.
Yacht= coverage type, not boat size. My personal 24' Trophy is on a yacht policy.
Yacht= agreed valuation payout in the event of a total loss, without depreciation or deductible.
Boat= depreciated payout in the event of a total loss (similar to your auto insurance policy).
READ YOUR POLICY. Ask your agent if your policy is a boat or yacht policy. Ask about how your policy pays you in the event of a total loss and partial loss. Ask about your navigation limits. Ask him/her if the boat is covered if you let a friend borrow the boat.
Most personal lines insurers (State Farm, Allstate, Foremost, Safeco, Pemco, etc) offer boat policies.
I don't represent the guy that had the loss- but his situation is a good example of what can happen. Insurance needs to be there when you need it- and this guy (so far) feels he has gotten screwed.
The season is coming up fast- I really don't want to read about any of us that have a loss, and get the short end of the stick.
I'd be happy to put together a presentation for anyone that is interested, or at a gathering of the gamefishin.com clan.
Dr. Hook, please let me know if this out of line. Thanks!
I do presentations for yacht clubs and other organizations about insurance, and EVERY boat owner needs to read and understand their policy- before you need it. Hopefully this will be made a sticky topic.
I just had a call from the Vice Commodore of an Idaho anglers association about a situation he's going thru. He owns a newer aluminum pilothouse boat- 200hp outboard, full electronics, downriggers, etc- $70k worth of boat, engine, trailer, and accessories. It was afloat in Lake CdA, and being used for winter fishing.
On Superbowl Sunday, the boat was resting comfortably in its slip. The next day, the boat was on the bottom.
Cause of loss: a thru-hull had failed from repeated freezing and warming, allowing water into the boat.
Claim-DENIED. He was covered by a boat policy from his normal insurance guy; that policy had a specific exclusion clause for Idaho regarding freezing claims. So, he's had to pay out of pocket for salvage, transport to a boatyard, storage, and teardown of the engine...and there's more to come. He thought he was covered.
Note I said he had a boat policy- not a yacht policy. In short, he probably would have been fully covered under a yacht policy, as most yacht policies don't have that exclusion regarding freezing. Further, the yacht policy would have covered the salvage, transport, pollution spill, storage, and repairs.
Yacht= coverage type, not boat size. My personal 24' Trophy is on a yacht policy.
Yacht= agreed valuation payout in the event of a total loss, without depreciation or deductible.
Boat= depreciated payout in the event of a total loss (similar to your auto insurance policy).
READ YOUR POLICY. Ask your agent if your policy is a boat or yacht policy. Ask about how your policy pays you in the event of a total loss and partial loss. Ask about your navigation limits. Ask him/her if the boat is covered if you let a friend borrow the boat.
Most personal lines insurers (State Farm, Allstate, Foremost, Safeco, Pemco, etc) offer boat policies.
I don't represent the guy that had the loss- but his situation is a good example of what can happen. Insurance needs to be there when you need it- and this guy (so far) feels he has gotten screwed.
The season is coming up fast- I really don't want to read about any of us that have a loss, and get the short end of the stick.
I'd be happy to put together a presentation for anyone that is interested, or at a gathering of the gamefishin.com clan.
Dr. Hook, please let me know if this out of line. Thanks!
