Boat insurance in MO

[keyser_soze]

Please feel free to move this post to OT if necessary...

Anyway... my question.... Who do you guys use for boat insurance? I ask this on the MO board b/c one, that's where I live, and two, I know some insurance companies don't write policies in MO.

My next question is - do you as the policy holder have to establish values for the boat, trailer, and motor? I called the people I have car and home insurance through and they said that they required I do that. I have no clue where to start on that. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Speck]

I use State Farm since my home and vehicles are insured there. Yes, I had to give separate values for the boat, motor and trailer when they wrote the policy.

[jimmie]

x 2

[Speck]

You can probably look up the values on the NADA site.

[Krazy]

Like others mentioned you will need to assign an individual value for the boat, motor and trailer. You tell them what you think it's worth.

I learned way too much about boat insurance when Progressive put the screws to me almost a year ago. So first off beware of their low rates and goofy commercials. They may be funny in TV but if they can figure out how to deny your claim they will. I hit a stump and it cracked welds on my transom. The 115hp motor skeg got bent but it still ran. Their opinion was the failure was "manufacturers defect".

I can tell you we hit that stump so hard it almost threw me and my passenger onto the floor from the impact. I believe the lower unit did not get busted up because the motor flipped up on impact. I didn't know a motor with tilt and trim had a release but this Optimax does.

Low rates are not worth squat when you get a legitimate claim denied.

Needless to say Progressive is not insuring any of my boats cars or motorcycles anymore. I shopped around and ended up with All State. I talked to several boat dealers to ask them which insurance companies gave them the most grief on claims and all of them said Progressive was by far the worst. Most of them said All State and American Family were the easiest to deal with.

So choose wisely!

[keyser_soze]

Okay... Thanks for the info guys. I went to the NADA sight, and I can't find anyway to establish a dollar figure for the motor, which is a Mercury Bigfoot 60, 1999 yr model. 2 stroke.

Any ideas on that?

[Sow tamer]

Farm Bureau will also write a boat policy. Like the others posted you will have to give them seperate values. I have not had a boat claim with them but have been easy to get along with on other claims.

[kazualobzerver]

Thoroughly check out companies that have a rider for additional premium or say they offer full new boat replacement value, I hear more unhappy folks there than any other. Here's the thing to be aware of with establishing your own value. They will pretty much let you come up with how much you want to insure the boat for and charge your accordingly on a per thousand basis. But if a loss occurs the adjustors will refer to NADA or ABOS values to declare total they will settle for, i.e. you insure for $5K and pay premium based on that, book says it's worth $3K and you have a loss, guess what they will pay? You got it. You should review your insurance every year to make sure you aren't over paying your premium based on an outdated value. Glood topic. Get a good agent and lean on them to help, a voice on a telephone don't know squat.

[Sow tamer]

Good advice Kazualobzerver.

[CrappieCoz]

I asked my American Family agent about boat insurance and said it was covered with my home owners.