Boat US insurance?

J

JAYROCK

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
RO Number
28607
Messages
272
I am sure some of you have had Boat US insurance. My State Farm agent is killing me! I got a quote from Boat US and they can save me some $$$. What experience have you had? Good ? Bad? Ugly? Thanks in advance.
 
I have used Boat US for the past few years, no issues, but i have had no claims to deal with. Knock on wood.
 
I've had them for 8 years. In that time I've had one claim and they were great to work with. I had a fuel issue that I wasn't sure would be covered, they covered it, covered subsequent damage found about 6 months later and we're a piece of cake to deal with. It was a $20k claim and barely a batted eye from them.

Ben
 
12 years. No claims and no problems. When I comparison shop they are cheaper than competition for me.
Jim
 
Ben,
Don't want to highjack the thread but I have a fuel issue now, is it covered with my policy? I have about 30 gallons of contaminated fuel that needs to be pumped out.
Jim
 
When State Farm decided to double my premium, I went shopping. Boat US wanted even more than State Farm. I contacted NBOA and they placed me with Progressive for less than State Farm wanted even before they wanted to double the premium-and with my 20+ yr old boat, Progressive didn't even require a survey-Boat US did. It pays to shop around.
 
+1 for shopping around. Insurance rates will vary based upon, among other things, location. Had BoatUS, now have Travelers . . . much cheaper. Have heard the opposite experience from other RO's.

Make sure you are comparing apples to apples, e.g.: same Agreed Hull Value, same deductible, same/close to same limits on liability and environmental coverage, and same cruising area!
 
I had my insurance broker shop around. I am with Markel, and going through a broker its less then boat us and many others..
 
Global Marine Insurance. I had BoatUS for about 15 years with no issues (no claims) and always got what I thought was a fair price. When I bought a new boat in 2012, my dealer sent me to Global Marine for a quote. They were half what BoatUS wanted for the same coverage and it was still underwritten by Sea Worthy (which is who BoatUS used anyway.) I lot of my dock neighbors use and are happy with Markel.

Of course when it comes time to make a claim, I've heard no one was better than BoatUS. So saving money up front may only hurt you in the rear. :)
 
quote:
Originally posted by cmariner32

When State Farm decided to double my premium, I went shopping. Boat US wanted even more than State Farm. I contacted NBOA and they placed me with Progressive for less than State Farm wanted even before they wanted to double the premium-and with my 20+ yr old boat, Progressive didn't even require a survey-Boat US did. It pays to shop around.

Click to expand...


I've got the exact same story. So far, so good with the NBOA/Progressive combination. The funny thing is that BoatUS is one of Progressive's largest agents.

NOTE: Neither BoatUS nor NBOA are insurance companies. Both are merely agents for other insurance companies. Coverage varies depending on many factors (vessel location and cruising grounds being a big one). One can do no harm in shopping around.
 
I was with BoatUS for years, but after Sandy my premium almost doubled - I live on a lake in NC and have never had a claim. When BoatUS could not give me an explanation for the increase other than "Sandy" I decided to shop around - switched to Progressive. Never an issue with BoatUS or Progressive (have had the boat and SeaDoo with them for 4yrs). But then again, never a claim to deal with either.

NBOA, had my 290 SeaRay with them when I first bought it, got the first renewal and had a question, after 3 days I finally got someone on the phone - figured if it takes that long to respond when there IS NOT a problem, can only imagine when there IS a problem, dropped them right then.

StateFarm - have had my home and cars with them for years, every couple of years I have my agent quote the boat and SeaDoo, premium is always ridiculously high. Even my agent agrees I should stick with other carriers.

Unfortunately you never know if your insurance is good until you have a claim - then it's too late to switch.
 
As others have mentioned BoatUS is not an actual insurance company. I kept getting adverts from them to switch and save money. Well I did get a quote and it was just about $300 a year more than I am paying now. And the underwriter was the same company I am with. Seaworthy.
 
I have been using BoatUS for many years and I have had a couple of claims and while they are not an actual insurance company they are a pleasure to deal with! I had a claim due to Sandy and while I had very minor damage it was handle promptly and I was very happy to have them be there for me!
 
BoatUS announced last year a new insurance company underwriting partner, National Liability & Fire Insurance Company, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of insurance companies.
 
I was insured with Boat/US and the way I was treated with my claim after Sandy had me switch to Catlin thru Total Dollar (Sy Goldberg). They provied me with better coverage for less money than I was paying for my boat that was totaled. Did I mention that Boat/US wanted to increase my premium over 300% for my replacement boat. Good bye to Boat/US!!!!
 
I have found that a RULE OF THUMB for north Jersey has been $500 plus 1/2 % of declared hull value plus or minus some consideration for deductibles.
 
BOATUS handled my Category 4 Hurricane Charley claim quickly and professionally.

I remain a client.

RWS
 
I have had Boat US for 24 years. I had a claim 16 to 20 years ago and they treated me like a king. I had an electrolysis problem due to stray current from another boat. Once we found the cause Boat US fixed my boat and had it back in the water while other insurance companies were fighting over whose fault it was. There were at least 10 other boats involved. I did have to pay my deductible to get started but once all of the insurance companies figured whose fault it was I got my deductible back and it did not count against me.

I too had State Farm for my 18ft boat but when I moved up they could not come close to beating Boat US price and also coverage. My State Farm agent told me that they do boat insurance as a courtesy for their customers they do not specialize in it.
 
I got a quote from Boat US several years ago after continuously getting offers from them. They were a couple of hundred dollars a year more than my current company and they wanted a survey (added expense).
 
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