Boat Insurance - market value

[boonecragun]

So I got a letter from my insurance company indicating they periodically do a review of the market value of the boat and after their review, they have determined the value of my boat to be $21,000 and the trailer to be $2,000 using ABOS. The boat is a 2006 24ve. I have conducted my own "market analysis" (checking current sales on various websites) as well as booking it through NADA (ABOS is a subscription based service) and my values are coming back almost double that amount.

Anyone been confronted with this before? Thoughts?

[Bakes5]

I'll bet for every 10 of those they send out, 2-3 are challenged. Great way to reduce their risk and screw you. I would look for a different insurance company.

[Thegerman618]

i got the same thing, same price Boone. But I noticed that it said the "hull" value is $21K and Change. I don't think this accounts for everything else (motor, tower, accessories, etc.) that is for the Hull and hull alone at least that is what I assumed. If you dig deeper on this let me know what you find, otherwise Ill be switch as well. You wouldn't happen to be with Norman-Spencer Insurance would you?

[boonecragun]

Yep. Norman Spencer. I need to find out because they changed my dec page to reflect the limits of coverage on "Boat and Equipment" to be that $21K and change. Heaven forbid the boat sinks, they are only covering up to $21K for a boat that clearly has a value of about $40K.

[TigeFamily]

BEST insurance company out there in my opinion is BOATUS Insurance....who is also now Geico (who I would personally NOT use for car insurance). FYI...BOATUS was bought this year by Geico, but coverage/policy appears to be exactly the same...I just renewed my policy and went thru it with fine tooth comb cause I am OCD like that and being in this business I know what happens with the "fine print". I have been with them a long time. **YOU choose the amount you want to insure the boat for** and that value is good for 5-10yrs...so if something happens to boat 3-4yrs from now, you still get the pre-determined price as the payout! (No NADA crap about how now your boat is worth HALF of what you insured it for, etc) Called "stated/agreed value". Also, I have found their prices to be the best for the coverage (someone like Allstate MAY quote you similar price, but their coverage is not even close to comparable and Allstate will fight on the payout or cheap out every time)....and I KNOW how every insurance company works since I am in the industry and a policy is worthless unless they will pay out if something happens so I dont go with cheap just cause its cheap. Trust me...look up lots of reviews before you get boat insurance and people will talk about how easy/hard it was once there was a claim.
The other "perk" in my opinion, is you are automatically covered for EPA charges if your boat were to sink. Little known fact is that EPA can charge you up to around $800k for gas/oil leaking out of a sunken boat and causing contamination to the water, many other companies do not even offer this option, some do and charge more for it.
They also have riders for contents (phones, fishing gear, life jackets, boards, etc....anything on inside of boat if something happens and you lose it).

Anyway, this is my opinion. On $100k boat...my policy costs roughly $800 year which I consider to be excellent.

For anyone that wants to know....the "top 3" insurance companies that have good coverage and will pay if you have fire or water damage at your HOME (homeowners), vehcile for a car crash, etc....
State Farm (who I am)
Nationwide....this company pays out with zero arguments on every claim I have every dealth with for clients
Liberty Mutual....same as above

Worst 2 IMO....and will fight you every step of the way
Allstate (have screwed EVERY customer I have ever dealt with on homeowners in case of fire/water damage to home)
Progressive (50/50 with these guys...sometimes ok but many times like to screw you)

[lee]

https://www.skisafe.com/

[gman]

I have Boat US on the 2005 tige and had to go to progressive for the 27ft Essex because Boat US will not insure it though they lead you to believe they will. Both boats are on an agreed value. No one has ever called me to tell me that the value is less. I agree with Bakes5. they are out to limit their losses and screw you as he said.

[UNSTUCK]

TigeFamily, thanks for that very useful information.

[LTWellman]

I disagree that BoatUS is the best. I was with them for about 15 years with 3 different boats, I never had a claim and consistently each year I would get a rate increase for the same coverage. I finally called and spoke with an agent and asked that they lower my premium and I was told to buzz off.

I switched to ski safe and got a 20% lower rate for the exact same coverage as my Boat US policy and they have never gone up on their premiums....screw boats US, now they call, email and direct mail me all the time to come back...Pass on those d bags.

[akdoc]

TigeFamily, I know you work for State Farm, but I had a home claim from a hail storm and they were a complete pain in the rear to work with. Had damages to outdoor play structure for my kids and they said replace it and send us the receipt and then we will give you a check for the depreciated value. Had neighbors with Farmers and his grill lid blew off (expensive grill) and they wrote him a check on the spot for a grand. So probably depends on the claim adjuster but mine was horrid. I dropped State Farm after that and switched to an independent agent and also saved a ton of money for better coverage on everything.

[Thegerman618]

Just got a quote through Ski Safe. My Annual Premium is $469.00, pretty close to where Norman Spencer was last year but not for all the same coverage much less coverage.

I have heard that BoatUS is pretty good, I have them for on-water/trailer emergency towing. Pretty reasonable prices, may have to get this sorted out since my coverage is up in May.

[TigeFamily]

A lot of it of course does depend on your agent, an agent will make or break you.... I meant as a whole. Same concept as your relationship with boat dealer, if he goes to bat with you on warranty from manufacture, 95% of the time, you will get it, crappy dealer = crappy experience. I realize not everyone can be friend with insurance adjuster tho and that is when you gotta check reviews for your areas, talk to friends, etc.
Sorry, that was a typo...I DONT work for State Farm, I meant that I have my home and autos insured thru State Farm and adjuster is a good friend of mine.

I am however in the restoration business and 95% of our business is insurance related for fire/water/smoke damages. We do over $12m year in my location and deal with every insurance company....so that was based on majority of our experience. There is ALWAYS the exception to the rule and you gotta remember that no matter what, insurance is in business to make money and sometimes the sad truth is that if you don't know how to be firm (yet respectfully), know what to say and stand your ground....they will screw you so THEY are making the money. Just cause they say no, does not mean that is the actual answer....sometimes a claim in on the line and they just hope you will go away but many times if you go back to them and plead your case, present more evidence or refuse to take no for an answer, you would be surprised and how much of a difference that can make. As a whole tho, those 3 companies give the least amount of trouble to paying out claims to our clients and as long as you have the proof, they pay. But its like going to court, if you don't have the evidence, pictures, paperwork, etc....you wont win. You have the burden of proof.
As a side note...hail damage is one of the hardest things to prove unless its big hail and its obvious. They have "rules" on how many hits per square foot there has to be and they ALL depreciate...key is having a policy where you can recover the depreciation. Many agents don't even know how to properly document hail damage to get approval and some are not even willing to get on roof to look, lol.
On the rising insurance rates, that is EVERYTHING. Don't boat and car prices go up every year? Cost of living increases and so everyone raises their prices. Simple fact is not that it actually costs more, its that the dollar is worth less every year so prices artificially inflate to keep up with it. That is another conversation tho, lol.
That pisses me off too....you buy a brand new truck and pay your premium every month. 4 years later your truck is worth half of what you bought it for, does premium go down? Not in my experience....there are ways tho, just gotta be in the know. Like everything in life, know the loopholes.

[TigeFamily]

German...Check State Farm too on boats, the quotes from my agent were very competitive. I have just been with BOATUS for quite a while, like their service and since I have not had a claim, my deductible has disappeared and its insured for more since I did agreed value 3yrs ago so if something happened and was total loss, I would get a brand new boat, not a 2014. If I left BOATUS, it would be to State Farm...some of that is cause of my relationship with the agent tho.

[boonecragun]

Just got a quote through Ski Safe. My Annual Premium is $469.00, pretty close to where Norman Spencer was last year but not for all the same coverage much less coverage.

I have heard that BoatUS is pretty good, I have them for on-water/trailer emergency towing. Pretty reasonable prices, may have to get this sorted out since my coverage is up in May.

Brad, let me know what you find out/who you go with..price/coverage etc since we have pretty much the same rig. I'm up in June.

[skibumsd]

State farm was almost double the price to insure my 07 rz4 than progressive was. After reading this I am going to shop around as progressive raised my rates more than 200 this year for no apparent reason? We have had bad luck with state farm and hail in our area of western south dakota. Few years back my office building got pretty bad damage along with every property we own since it was a big *** storm and we live close to work. The adjusters initial quote for damage was 27k and we settled in court arbitration for 120K. It was the same story for our 3 other properties. Then to make it worse the next year they set everyones rate for hail damage in our area based on a percentage value of the building. Not terrible if your house is 150-180k. On a 1.7 million building no bueno. Our agent pretty much told us to start shopping for new insurance there is nothing he can do and we have know him for 20 plus years. Needles to say we dont have state farm and advise other to not get them as well.