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PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 11:49 am 
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Location: Northern California
Scuttlebutt has been Boat US renewals have gone up...well I have heard this with fellow keelboat owners.
Get this, my renewal, no claims, no changes and I am in California, aka no hurricanes, it went from $103 to $338! More than tripled!
Who do they think they are? I said I shouldn't be charged for all their Irma and Maria claims. She of course said I wasn't and the cause of increase was the increase in labor rates for boat repairs in California. What a bunch of BS. It is such a shame corporate makes their employees lie for them. I know guys who work independently and at boat yards and trust me the wages have gone up or if so we're talking a dollar or two raise (ex. A bottom painter I know sees $16/hr and the yard charges $100).

Who do you recommend?

Thanks!

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:26 pm 
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If you currently don't use an insurance agency to get insurance I highly recommend it. I used to overpay for insurance and considered insurance agencies an outdated idea in an online world. But when my insurance company I had been with for 25 years (Allstate) suddenly tripled the insurance for my house for absolutely no reason and I couldn't fix the problem myself, I figured what do I have to lose. I called my local insurance agency and within one day they resolved the problem and restructured my home, auto, and motorcycle insurances saving me over a thousand dollars a year. That was 16 years ago and I've been with them ever since. They review my policies yearly and suggest changes to them whenever they see an opportunity to save me money. Every year I write to the owner of the agency thanking him. Anytime you have an insurance question or issue you simply give them a call and they usually resolve the problem in a day or two. If you ever need to make a claim, they handle that too. I haven't had to worry about insurance issues for years.

When it came time to insure my new TI they said since it wasn't a very expensive boat they could simply add it to my homeowners policy for $78 per year which includes excellent liability and comprehensive. That even includes the trailer.

Let an insurance agency help you, if you find a good one they'll solve all of your insurance issues, that's their job. They know how to handle insurance companies far better than we do. They can get the very best prices. They don't even charge, they make money selling policies to various insurance companies and get a commision from them, yet you'll usually pay less than if you try to get the same insurance yourself, especially if you let them handle all your policies. Try it, you have nothing to lose and can decide for yourself if they save you money. I'll never go it alone again.


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 9:15 am 
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Location: Northern California
Thanks but I am not a homeowner so I cannot add onto that, which per my research does seem to be the best deal for Hobie type vessels. I called my insurance that I use for other things and it was more than Boat US. I can up my deductible to $500 and since I had a captains license that will save me a whopping $50, still leaves me at 2.5 times more. I'm going to call around some more this week.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:33 am 
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Location: South Florida
I've had Hobie AIs, an AI 2, and a TI. I've never insured any of them. Just my solution.

Keith

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 2:38 pm 
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Sailorv wrote:
Thanks but I am not a homeowner so I cannot add onto that, which per my research does seem to be the best deal for Hobie type vessels. I called my insurance that I use for other things and it was more than Boat US. I can up my deductible to $500 and since I had a captains license that will save me a whopping $50, still leaves me at 2.5 times more. I'm going to call around some more this week.

Just to clarify I'm suggesting you contact an independent Insurance Agency, not an insurance company. You don't need to be a homeowner to use the services of an insurance agency.

An independent insurance agency will find you the lowest cost solution for your insurance needs at no cost or obligation to you. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose and it may save you a lot of money.


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 3:50 pm 
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Location: Houston, TX
I'm with Keith. I see insurance as having value for the big ticket items in life, the things that will break you should catastrophe occur. If I had a car worth the value of an AI or TI, I would not cover it with collision insurance either. I have never insured my Islands. Is this some form of liability insurance? Even then, don't see these boats doing a lot of damage to anything. Not that this is the right solution for everyone but its my way of looking at it.

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:45 pm 
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Location: North carolina
I planned to keep my policy for 2 years for my AI. $225.00 from Boat US. Goodbye insurance after 2 years of fun with no worries.
I'll look for insurance broker as suggested by pro10 as i think i pay too much in my home and auto insurance from StateFarm.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 5:39 am 
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vetgam wrote:
I'm with Keith. I see insurance as having value for the big ticket items in life, the things that will break you should catastrophe occur. If I had a car worth the value of an AI or TI, I would not cover it with collision insurance either. I have never insured my Islands. Is this some form of liability insurance? Even then, don't see these boats doing a lot of damage to anything. Not that this is the right solution for everyone but its my way of looking at it.

Liability is the primary concern if it doesn't concern you to lose a $6,600 boat. You do need to be careful if you ever take passengers. If someone should get hurt or worse while on your boat, perhaps from a capsize or something, you could easily get sued for a sum of money which could possibly bankrupt you without insurance or at least cost you an arm and a leg.

The other more unlikely scenario is if you got into some kind of a boating accident where someone was hurt or some damage occurred because you were at fault. Like perhaps a power boat had to swerve to avoid hitting you and then ran into another boat. I know it sounds unlikely but out on the water unlikely things have been known to happen. My daughter once got sued for an accident where she wasn't even at fault. Without insurance she would have been in big trouble.

I pay less than $100 for full insurance on my TI, including liability, theft, and fire so that's worth it to me. If you find the right insurance agency, the cost of insurance for a small, plastic sailboat should not cost much.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:10 pm 
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pro10is wrote:
vetgam wrote:
The other more unlikely scenario is if you got into some kind of a boating accident where someone was hurt or some damage occurred because you were at fault. Like perhaps a power boat had to swerve to avoid hitting you and then ran into another boat.


For what it's worth, on the water a motorboat has the legal obligation to yield to a sailboat. I motorboat not seeing you in your TI and swerving, hence hitting someone else is completely at fault.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 7:25 pm 
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atv223 wrote:
For what it's worth, on the water a motorboat has the legal obligation to yield to a sailboat. I motorboat not seeing you in your TI and swerving, hence hitting someone else is completely at fault.

atv223...could you provide the source of your comment here, i.e., who says the motorboat must yield to a sailboat? What state or states does that hold?

Keith

PS There is the salient comment, "He was right, dead right" regarding right-of-way.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:19 am 
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I'm fairly certain that fundamental basic right of way is international boating law - the vessel with the greater ability to maneuver must give way to the vessel with the lesser ability to maneuver. With both a sailboat and a powerboat underway, unless there were mitigating circumstances that prevented the powerboat from maneuvering ie. a large vessel in a narrow channel, the powerboat must give way.

You may read about this in more detail here, but you can also find it pretty much anywhere boating rules are discussed. https://www.boatus.org/study-guide/navigation/rules/

From that website directly

The Pecking Order

There is a "pecking order" that can be used as a simplified memory aid to determine right of way for vessels of different types. Get very familiar with this list, as it is important to understand it thoroughly. The lower most vessel on the list is the give way vessel, and must stay out of the way of vessels that are higher on the list.

    Overtaken vessel (top priority)
    Vessels not under command
    Vessels restricted in their ability to maneuver
    Vessels constrained by draft
    Fishing vessels engaged in fishing, with gear deployed
    Sailing vessels
    Power driven vessels

Chekika wrote:
PS There is the salient comment, "He was right, dead right" regarding right-of-way.


Regarding this comment, I never said you should blindly trust right of way rules and ignore a powerboat bearing down on you nor did I even imply that. I brought this up in opposition to your justification to have liability insurance, to protect yourself from a powerboat swerving around you, crashing and suing you. I won't cross a road in a pedestrian crosswalk if a car is speeding along and not paying attention, but I also won't add a rider on my insurance in case this person swerves to avoid me and wrecks their car, they have no legal basis to sue me.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:50 am 
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atv223 wrote:
I'm fairly certain that fundamental basic right of way is international boating law - the vessel with the greater ability to maneuver must give way to the vessel with the lesser ability to maneuver. With both a sailboat and a powerboat underway, unless there were mitigating circumstances that prevented the powerboat from maneuvering ie. a large vessel in a narrow channel, the powerboat must give way.

You may read about this in more detail here, but you can also find it pretty much anywhere boating rules are discussed. https://www.boatus.org/study-guide/navigation/rules/

From that website directly

The Pecking Order

There is a "pecking order" that can be used as a simplified memory aid to determine right of way for vessels of different types. Get very familiar with this list, as it is important to understand it thoroughly. The lower most vessel on the list is the give way vessel, and must stay out of the way of vessels that are higher on the list.

    Overtaken vessel (top priority)
    Vessels not under command
    Vessels restricted in their ability to maneuver
    Vessels constrained by draft
    Fishing vessels engaged in fishing, with gear deployed
    Sailing vessels
    Power driven vessels

Chekika wrote:
PS There is the salient comment, "He was right, dead right" regarding right-of-way.


Regarding this comment, I never said you should blindly trust right of way rules and ignore a powerboat bearing down on you nor did I even imply that. I brought this up in opposition to your justification to have liability insurance, to protect yourself from a powerboat swerving around you, crashing and suing you. I won't cross a road in a pedestrian crosswalk if a car is speeding along and not paying attention, but I also won't add a rider on my insurance in case this person swerves to avoid me and wrecks their car, they have no legal basis to sue me.

OMG, this is getting way off the topic. This is not a discussion of who has the right of way in any given situation, it's a discussion of having insurance or not. You have to be extremely careful in internet forum discussions, say one wrong word and the topic goes right off the rails.

My point was that accidents can and do happen on the water and even a small plastic sailboat could be liable. The swerving example was nothing more than one (poor) example, but yes that too could happen if you're perhaps in the wrong place like in someone else's right of way in a constricted area. The point is that something can happen on the water in which you can be liable and it could cost you tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars if a fatality is involved. Is it likely, no. Is it possible, yes. It's up to you to decide if a couple hundred dollars is worth protecting your life savings. For me this is a no brainer.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:30 pm 
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Im with USAA and my TI falls under renters insurance which i pay about $10 a month which includes all my military ta-50 gear, and high value items. Maybe you can look into that.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:21 pm 
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pro10is wrote:
OMG, this is getting way off the topic. This is not a discussion of who has the right of way in any given situation, it's a discussion of having insurance or not. You have to be extremely careful in internet forum discussions, say one wrong word and the topic goes right off the rails.

My point was that accidents can and do happen on the water and even a small plastic sailboat could be liable. The swerving example was nothing more than one (poor) example, but yes that too could happen if you're perhaps in the wrong place like in someone else's right of way in a constricted area. The point is that something can happen on the water in which you can be liable and it could cost you tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars if a fatality is involved. Is it likely, no. Is it possible, yes. It's up to you to decide if a couple hundred dollars is worth protecting your life savings. For me this is a no brainer.


I take it you're an insurance agent.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:07 pm 
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atv223 wrote:
pro10is wrote:
OMG, this is getting way off the topic. This is not a discussion of who has the right of way in any given situation, it's a discussion of having insurance or not. You have to be extremely careful in internet forum discussions, say one wrong word and the topic goes right off the rails.

My point was that accidents can and do happen on the water and even a small plastic sailboat could be liable. The swerving example was nothing more than one (poor) example, but yes that too could happen if you're perhaps in the wrong place like in someone else's right of way in a constricted area. The point is that something can happen on the water in which you can be liable and it could cost you tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars if a fatality is involved. Is it likely, no. Is it possible, yes. It's up to you to decide if a couple hundred dollars is worth protecting your life savings. For me this is a no brainer.


I take it you're an insurance agent.

Not even close, I'm an engineer.


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