I just want to remind everyone to stay away from Boat US...
With boating season here, i know many are looking for new boat insurance, and i wanted to tell my story so you don't end up like me and screwed by boat US.
As some of you veterans may remember, one of my tigé's was totalled 4-5 years after it was involved in an accident and slid down the interstate at 70mph. Well after we determined the at fault party had state minimum ($25k) we fell back to my insurance, Boat US.
Allow me to spread some back story.... Boat US had sent me a check in the mail and a letter stating they were canceling my policy 3 days before this incident for failure to provide pictures (which BTW had been sent). But no big deal as i called to figure out the deal and they said no problem, we'll get you a new policy and you'll just need to get us pictures again. So the lady I spoke with set me up a policy, took payment, and said she'd be snail mailing my member packet with my policy. She stated, I'd have 30 days to get them the pics, but in the mean time I'd be binded for 30 days of coverage. Which is SOP for them. I was clear to confirm that I was binded for 30 days, and she said absolutely, in 24 hrs you'll be bonded. I was clear on this as this was a Tuesday and 4th of July weekend was beginning on a Friday.
Fast forward to that Friday when the wreck occurs. At this point I hadn't received my member packet but nbd as i wasn't expecting it in the mail that quick. So the wreck happens so I call boat us claims and something weird happens. The individual I'm on the phone says to me "this is weird...all your information is here, payment info, everything, but it looks like someone forgot to hit submit". Now that's an exact quote, as I'll never forget it. So I ask him, are you saying I Dont have a policy. He proceeds to state, 'correct.... The agent filled out a policy but didn't hit enter'. Of course my jaw drops. So I explain to him the situation, he proceeds to fill out the claim and just turn it in to see what happens. Of course the claim is denied due to a lack of a policy.
So then I move to get legal counsel. This is where things get fun. Since boat us doesn't have any local agents, they record all calls in their call center. We subpoena the phone records, as we had the exact date and time of my original 33 minute phone call to boat us from my cell phone records. Miraculously the 33 minute phone call has disappeared and the recording of the gentleman who stated "this is weird...all your information is here, payment info, everything, but it looks like someone forgot to hit submit", never recorded. The lady who took the policy originally, no longer was employed there and could not remember the particular phone call. So at that point we were dead in the water other than my phone record that showed a 33 minute phone call that showed nothing more than a phone call about a Betty crocker recipe according to the words of their adjuster. They later acknowledged that the phone call took place but denied the claim stating that I inquired about coverage, not took out a policy....despite their "agent" stating I was binded and taking payment. For those wanting to know, no the card was not charged as she never hit enter.
So if you're considering boat us, I encourage you to look elsewhere or even if you have boat us. When it comes time for an actual claim, they will try and worm their way out.
I always try and remember to remind people at the start of the boating season, but I sometimes forget.
As some of you veterans may remember, one of my tigé's was totalled 4-5 years after it was involved in an accident and slid down the interstate at 70mph. Well after we determined the at fault party had state minimum ($25k) we fell back to my insurance, Boat US.
Allow me to spread some back story.... Boat US had sent me a check in the mail and a letter stating they were canceling my policy 3 days before this incident for failure to provide pictures (which BTW had been sent). But no big deal as i called to figure out the deal and they said no problem, we'll get you a new policy and you'll just need to get us pictures again. So the lady I spoke with set me up a policy, took payment, and said she'd be snail mailing my member packet with my policy. She stated, I'd have 30 days to get them the pics, but in the mean time I'd be binded for 30 days of coverage. Which is SOP for them. I was clear to confirm that I was binded for 30 days, and she said absolutely, in 24 hrs you'll be bonded. I was clear on this as this was a Tuesday and 4th of July weekend was beginning on a Friday.
Fast forward to that Friday when the wreck occurs. At this point I hadn't received my member packet but nbd as i wasn't expecting it in the mail that quick. So the wreck happens so I call boat us claims and something weird happens. The individual I'm on the phone says to me "this is weird...all your information is here, payment info, everything, but it looks like someone forgot to hit submit". Now that's an exact quote, as I'll never forget it. So I ask him, are you saying I Dont have a policy. He proceeds to state, 'correct.... The agent filled out a policy but didn't hit enter'. Of course my jaw drops. So I explain to him the situation, he proceeds to fill out the claim and just turn it in to see what happens. Of course the claim is denied due to a lack of a policy.
So then I move to get legal counsel. This is where things get fun. Since boat us doesn't have any local agents, they record all calls in their call center. We subpoena the phone records, as we had the exact date and time of my original 33 minute phone call to boat us from my cell phone records. Miraculously the 33 minute phone call has disappeared and the recording of the gentleman who stated "this is weird...all your information is here, payment info, everything, but it looks like someone forgot to hit submit", never recorded. The lady who took the policy originally, no longer was employed there and could not remember the particular phone call. So at that point we were dead in the water other than my phone record that showed a 33 minute phone call that showed nothing more than a phone call about a Betty crocker recipe according to the words of their adjuster. They later acknowledged that the phone call took place but denied the claim stating that I inquired about coverage, not took out a policy....despite their "agent" stating I was binded and taking payment. For those wanting to know, no the card was not charged as she never hit enter.
So if you're considering boat us, I encourage you to look elsewhere or even if you have boat us. When it comes time for an actual claim, they will try and worm their way out.
I always try and remember to remind people at the start of the boating season, but I sometimes forget.
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