Where to get houseboat insurance?
dh...@nomail.com
I have recently bought a 1968 Lazy Days, 43', aluminum hull. I'm worried
that I won't be able to keep it due to problems getting insurance. I have
2 speeding tickets and 1 running a red light against me in the past year,
and this is my first houseboat so I have no experience. Also no boating
safety courses to help out. All I really want is liability...at least to start with.
One company said they will give me full coverage for about $460/year,
but I'm afraid they will eventually turn me down because of the traffic
violations, and also the age of the boat. I tried Boat US, and they turned
me down because of my driving record and lack of experience with
houseboats. They did get me a quote from another company--$1100/yr
for just liability, and that required an out of water survey done on the
boat which would be another $1K or more most likely. Can anyone
suggest a company that might help me out and be affordable? Would
a boating safety course or more help me out, and if so which ones and
how to take them? This is all new to me, and I'm in a world of confusion.
Thanks for any help!!!
David
Peggie Hall
without IMO--consider just buying a personal liability umbrella policy
from your homeowners insurance carrier. $2 mil is typically under
$300/year.
The most iiability coverage included in most boat insurance policies
only 300-500k...which is peanuts if you should get sued these days.
Which is why I always carried another $2 mil umbrella...'cuz when you
get sued for anything arising out of your possible liability, it doesn't
matter which "pocket" the money to cover your behind is in, as long as
you have a full pocket somewhere. And with your driving record, I think
you'd better have one.
--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.tpl?fno=400&group=327
Joe Parsons
>Hi boatin' folks,
>
>I have recently bought a 1968 Lazy Days, 43', aluminum hull. I'm worried
>that I won't be able to keep it due to problems getting insurance. I have
>2 speeding tickets and 1 running a red light against me in the past year,
I had no problem getting a full policy through Progressive.
I had to pay a tad more (maybe 10%) because we just stipulated the value of the
boat. I'm paying about $450/yr for full coverage, adn my driving record is not
all that great.
HTH,
Joe Parsons
Peggie Hall
Fwiw...Lazy Days are steel hull boats, not aluminum.
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
John Wentworth
news:40319CB2...@nospam.com...
> If all you want is liability insurance--which no boat owner should be
> without IMO--consider just buying a personal liability umbrella policy
> from your homeowners insurance carrier. $2 mil is typically under
> $300/year.
>
> The most iiability coverage included in most boat insurance policies
> only 300-500k
The umbrella policies I looked at required you to maintain some level of
liability insurance on the insured item, if available. ( a boat needs it, a
lawn mower doesn't).The policy I purchased , with a $1M limit, requires a
$100,000 limit liability policy on my boat. The umbrella picks up at
$100,001 in liability coverage, I suspect that the level of boat liability
insurance is what drives the umbrella premium cost. My policy costs more
than $300/year, maybe I should look around.
A major advantage in having an umbrella policy is that it gives the
insurance company
a greater incentive to defend you in court.
Steve
boat with $95,000 valuation ($1,900 deductible) and that alone costs me
$490/yr.
The liability with $300,000 and $5,000 med. costs only $44/yr.
It should be noted that I have been with this insurance co 30 yrs without a
boat claim. Plus I have documented with them ~50 years of ship and boat
experience.
And, if they were to check, I haven't had a ticket or auto accident for
almost 20 yrs..
Bottom line: There are good risks and then there are bad risks.. We all pay
accordingly..
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Peggie Hall
> The umbrella policies I looked at required you to maintain some level of
> liability insurance on the insured item, if available. ( a boat needs it, a
> lawn mower doesn't).
I don't think we're talking about the same thing, John.
most insurance companies won't write only a personal liability policy
though--they want your homeowners too. My homeowners, vehicle and
umbrella are all with USAA...my boats never have been. I don't recall
their ever asking for proof that my boat was insured when I bought the
umbrella...otoh, it's been a while. I do remember that they pulled a
credit report and DMV, though.
--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
Peggie Hall
> Bottom line: There are good risks and then there are bad risks.. We all pay
> accordingly..
No...because there are bad risks, we all pay more.
John Wentworth
a secondary coverage, that's why it's cheap. The policy doesn't get hit
until the primary coverage is exhausted.
That said, there are probably a thousand variations on insurance policies,
and a thousand different riders on those thousand policies. With the right
company, and the right premium, you can get any policy you want. Who knows,
there may be a company that will assume all liability up to $2M, from dollar
one, for all threats, for $300/year. I just haven't found them yet.
With such a policy you could eliminate the liability portion of all other
policies.
"Peggie Hall" <peg...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:4032B1D9...@nospam.com...
dh...@nomail.com
>On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 01:24:40 GMT, dh...@nomail.com wrote:
>
>>Hi boatin' folks,
>>
>>I have recently bought a 1968 Lazy Days, 43', aluminum hull. I'm worried
>>that I won't be able to keep it due to problems getting insurance. I have
>>2 speeding tickets and 1 running a red light against me in the past year,
>
>I had no problem getting a full policy through Progressive.
>
>I had to pay a tad more (maybe 10%) because we just stipulated the value of the
>boat. I'm paying about $450/yr for full coverage, adn my driving record is not
>all that great.
>
>HTH,
>Joe Parsons
Thanks, I'll give them a try.
Curtis CCR
> If all you want is liability insurance--which no boat owner should be
> without IMO--consider just buying a personal liability umbrella policy
> from your homeowners insurance carrier. $2 mil is typically under
> $300/year.
Would a bad driving record effect the premium of a umbrella liability
policy?
And (going back to something the OP mentioned), why would an insurance
company require an out of water survey to write a liability only
policy?
> The most iiability coverage included in most boat insurance policies
> only 300-500k...which is peanuts if you should get sued these days.
> Which is why I always carried another $2 mil umbrella...'cuz when you
> get sued for anything arising out of your possible liability, it doesn't
> matter which "pocket" the money to cover your behind is in, as long as
> you have a full pocket somewhere. And with your driving record, I think
> you'd better have one.
In a thread I started a few days ago, I passed on that the Coast Guard
is considering a regulation change that will *allow* states to require
proof of liability insurance in order to register your boat. I am
opposed to the change and submitted comments to the CG on it - but I
wholeheartedly agree that liability insurance is important. My
policies provide me with liability on all three of my boats -
including the 7ft Livingston.
Not to mention that my marina REQUIRES that I have liability coverage
with them listed as named insured.
dh...@nomail.com
Thank you for telling me about the umbrella Peggie...I've checked
into it with one company, and will do so with some others.
The Lazy Days I just bought is definately an aluminum hull--which
is the reason I bought it--and I believe that they all are. All of the ones
I've seen are anyway...maybe you just got it backwards. What does
fwiw mean?
Steve
<dh...@nomail.com> wrote in message What does
> fwiw mean?
"FWIW" = For What It's Worth!
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
John Wentworth
http://personalinsure.about.com/cs/umbrella/a/aa110503a.htm#b
jay
NBOA is a large org.
-j
<dh...@nomail.com> wrote in message
news:ttq230ptp0fufn8e1...@4ax.com...
Peggie Hall
> is the reason I bought it--and I believe that they all are. All of the ones
> I've seen are anyway...maybe you just got it backwards.
Lazy Days were built in Buford GA, next to Lake Lanier where I kept my
boats for 20 years. Lanier was littered with 'em! And I knew the owner,
Jack Beacham. I won't argue that the first boats they built in the '60s
may have been aluminum, but by the time I moved to that area in the
mid-late '70s, they built only steel hulls. He had great people for
him...his plant manager--who did a lot of work on the side for me--was
the best plumber and finish cabinet worker on the lake...another one of
his employees is the best carpet layer I've ever known...he made more
moonlighting recarpeting houseboats and cruisers (including 2 of mine)
than he made during the day at Lazy Days.
Jack had a highly creative method of establishing a high resale value
for used Lazy's in the '60s and '70s...he watched the ads etc like a
hawk, and when one came on the market for less than he thought it should
be worth, he immediately bought it and put it back on the market at his
idea of the right price. :) It only took a few years to set the "book"
values for 'em and he was able to stop doing that. Like a lot of boat
builders, Lazy Days died an ignominious death in mid '90s. Jack finally
decided to retire and sold the company--but not the property--to someone
who drove it into the ground...he disappeared one Friday after cleaning
out the bank account...employees found out when their paychecks bounced.
Jack came out of retirement to take over again, but by then he had a
lot of competition from aluminum houseboats that cost a lot less to
build, so they had a lot more "glitz and glamour" stuff on 'em for the
same price or less than a new Lazy Days. He finally closed the plant in
the late '90s. Jack isn't suffering, though...the boatworks property
just keeps gettin' more valuable...he was the original owner of Holiday
Marina...he and his son Doug own Lazy Days Marina...they're doin' ok. :)
So I do know just a LITTLE bit about Lazy Days. :)
cfo...@gmail.com
Thank you, Ron
Keyser Soze
and we'd like your recommendations for insurance, especially since our
boat sank more than 100 years ago and we're all dead.
Poco Deplorevole
Progressive!