Re: Another boat insurance thread
I didn't want to take over the other thread with my question.
If you get a boat and put a lot of time and money into rebuilding it or fixing it up real nice, will boaters insurance cover the rebuilt value, or the original value (blue book) of the boat?
I did just that with my 65 MFG Niagara. I sent my insurance company (State Farm) photos of the boat, motor (at the time the motor was still in the crate) and trailer and they gave me a policy for my stated value of $5000.
Where I live, that costs about $104 a year, includes $350k liability, on water repairs up to $500, on water towing reimbursement, on road towing if my tow vehicle breaks down, theft & vandalism on or off water, and a host of other coverages. A whole lot more than the "boat only" insurance companies offer, at about 1/4 the price.
My 1985 Bayliner 1600 Cuddy that I bought last summer has a "book value" of about $1800. It is in such outstanding condition for a boat its age I asked for a $4000 (maybe it was $5000) stated value policy. This time they balked, because it was on the books as only $1800. (The MFG was not listed as it is just too old). I sent them an e-mail with two links for the same boat for sale priced at $4000 and $5000 by Dealers and pointed out the boats were not in nearly as good conditon as the one I had bought. They agreed to a $4000 stated value policy based on the boats for sale I sent them. I think the Bayliner insurance costs $130 or so a year.
I strongly urge you to talk to a representative from your home/auto insurance company that has written boat policies before. I say that because the first time I called my agent, someone who never did a boat policy quoted me $900 for the MFG. A week or so later I called back and questioned the quote and got someone who had done boat policies before and knew what the underwriters need to know. Makes a big difference.
At these prices, you can't afford not to have insurance.
