"User Friendly" Insurance Co. ?

[Elcoholic]

Can anyone recommend a good insurance company that understands, appreciates and insures wooden boats without requiring a survey that includes dismantling half your boat? A surveyor I talked to said it would take TWO MEN TWO WEEKS to remove and replace all the below-the-waterline screws he would want pulled.......and he's never even seen the boat!!!! I could use a little help. Who has had a good experience with a good company? Thanks

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

It seems salt water boats have different regimens for insurance surveys. The survey that my boat underwent was pretty complete, but in fresh they check for rot rather than fastener degradation. They did go over the boat pretty thoroughly tho.

[Mark Van]

I have a related question. Since most insurance companies don't require old fiberglass boats to be survayed for a liability only policy, will insurance companies require a full survay or just a hull survay for a wooden boat liability only policy?

[Gary E]

A surveyor I talked to said it would take TWO MEN TWO WEEKS to remove and replace all the below-the-waterline screws he would want pulled......

Sounds to me like he just didnt want the job...

Do you have an insurance co willing to write?.. ask them for a recomend on who to do the survey..

If you have no insur co in mind, I would take a walk down to the commercial docks where the charter boats dock. They have insurance, ask around. Also ask for a surveyor recomendation.

Just a observation about the forum members, I see this topic come up from time to time and NEVER have I seen a recomend as to WHO to call, which leads me to one conclusion, people here have NO insurance, or at best an add on to a homeowners policy. I will admit that I have never had insurance of any type on my boats, and with the results I see here, looks like it's gona stay that way.

[Elcoholic]

I agree. I, too, have never had insurance but I now find myself owning a boat worth much more than I can afford to lose. (It's nice to have that problem, actually.) Every insurance company I have talked to basically wants the boat to be in such Bristol condition that there will be virtually ZERO RISK to them. Of course, they still intend to charge me as if it had a cardboard bottom. Wooden boat owners are meticulous in the care of their vessels. I think insurance companies are "missing the boat."

[David W Pratt]

Heritage has been good to me. They have ads in WooidenBoat.

[George Roberts]

Gary E ---

I expect that the people who have problems finding boat insurance would have problems finding car insurance if the state did not force them to have it.

I can call my insurance agent and get any type of insurance within days if not hours. Part of prompt service by my agent is me actually buying insurance not just shopping for insurance.

[Katherine]

Haggerty and Heritage are the only ones I've seen who specialize in insurance for wooden boats. My Owens is still being worked on at Mom and Dad's. Since I've legally sold it to them for $1, it gets covered under their liability policy. Because of the Semi trucks and misc. equipment, Dad carries a multi million dollar liability policy.

[Elcoholic]

I can appreciate how an insurance company SHOULD treat long-term customers with a little extra service. However, I have been with State Farm for 36 years and they're "NOT INTERESTED." So much for loyalty.

[cmorse]

I have found insurance through Anchor Marine Underwriters Inc. (206) 273-6996 They brokered a policy with INAMAR, which is referred to in an article on insurance in our host's current issue. My vessel was built in 62 and though it underwent substantial work in 2000, enough to be considered a rebuild, they still consider the original date for insurance purposes. It was insured by them with the previous owner as well, and I know for a fact that they broker insurance for a number of wooden boats. Northwest Yachting also lists a number of other insurers who advertise that they insure wooden boats. My two prior boats were insured by Allstate but they were Devlin composites and less than 10 years old. They did it with no questions asked, just wanted the survey but 10 years was their break point when initiating the policy. The folks who bought my Surf Scoter had insurance with State Farm immediately, without a survey. State Farm took my survey, which was 2 years old at that point. Both of these were/are used in Alaska. INAMAR is also sticking with me when we move the current boat to Alaska. They haven't objected to its location. Hope this provides you with a little more information.

[nutmeg2go]

Heritage was both friendly and accommodating. A brief survey for value (done by seller) and a few photos were all Heritage required (though the boat doesn't have motor or electronics)

[Gary E]

I just read the online issure article about insurance.

Ummm...did anyone else get the impression that they will sell it to you MAYBE, and they are gona make ya jump thru so many hoops and restrictions and pay a high price for it so that it's no wonder to me why wood boats are seldom insured?

I am not talking about the classy ones that live on trailers and are hauled from show to show and are seldom actually used, but I mean power boats that are over 20 yrs old and in decent condition.

[paladin]

I have had the same insurance on Tana Mari sice she was built.....didn't have the other boats covered....BUT....when I went to fill in the areas that I intended to sail, problems arose...
I eventually went with Lloyds...I cost me a couple of grand to have Lloyds rep to check at every stage of the build because I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing....and the boat has been checked every two years and passed each time. When the boat is in home waters the cost drops...when we go offshore the price varies depending on where....
On my meager retirement(s) I can afford the boat, but not the insurance, so that's why I would charter for 30-60 days every year...
and as a personal aside...State Farm is probably right there with no insurance for being worse than nothing.....

[ 06-17-2005, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: paladin ]

[Noah]

For inshore work, State Farm has been fine. They payed up when my Hinckley was dinged total damaged was $14K. I have heard many other sailboat racers say the same thing about them. They really aren't as bad as you would think.

Plus, they never asked for a survey of any kind...

[Ian McColgin]

Back to the survey, the guy's nuts.

I've seen a surveryor pull as many as 100 fastenings on a 60' fully keeled boat and that was a lot, required by evidence of an indifferent partial refastening some years earlier.

Find a real surveyor.