"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
jps wrote in message
.. .
My boat policy is about to renew and I thought I'd do a little
shopping
based on posts I've read about Boat US being a reasonable alternative.

Everything looked pretty much the same (including cost of coverage)
until I got to "uninsured boater" line. My present policy assumes
$50,000 and the Boat US is $300,000. I assume that if my vessel is a
total loss with someone else at fault, the max. payout with my present
policy is $50K (and the boat is worth significantly more).

I'm mystified why my broker would write the policy this way and
disappointed that I didn't see this previously.

Anyone have any insight? Is my broker shortsighted or what?

"Uninsured Boater" coverage does not cover your boat. The hull value
is covered by "Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage", which the Boat US
policy equivalent to Collision and Comprehensive on your car. Just
like if you're hit in your car by an uninsured driver - it's your
collision coverage that repairs your car, not your unisured motorist
coverage.

"Uninsured Boater" covers those damages for which the uninsured boater
may be liable to you, except your boat itself. It would cover, for
example, medical expenses for you if the uninsured other guy was at
fault in a collision.

Okay, I understand but the question remains. Why would my broker write
the policy for $50K "uninsured boater?" If someone were to get hurt,
$50K can get eaten up pretty fast...

Then your liability insurance kicks in. If someone other than the insured
is injured on your boat, it is your liability that works. If you are
injured by an uninsured boater / motorist then the uninsured motorist part
will pay the deductibles, etc from your health policies. And boat / car
damages upto the limits.

jps wrote in message . ..
In article ,
says...
I have had good experience with Boat US. My last policy had no coverage for
non boating personal items. This was an add on. Cost me a $700 video camera
that went over the side, not covered!!

Those sorts of things are usually covered by homeowners policies if you
aren't covered by the boat policy.

The only trouble with that, is the fact that if you have a reasonable
premium, then the deductible is usually higher than the loss!! Also,
the way the market is today, one claim, and they cancel you, and when
you are cancelled because of a claim, it is pure hell getting another
policy.

In article Z6fNb.51451$5V2.66231@attbi_s53, says...
"jps" wrote in message
Okay, I understand but the question remains. Why would my broker write
the policy for $50K "uninsured boater?" If someone were to get hurt,
$50K can get eaten up pretty fast...

The reason a broker would write that policy is it allowed him to give you a
low price, so you would buy the policy from him, allowing him to make his
commission. He did not do his job, and I would look for another insurance
agent and company.

Well, that's not the case here because she had all the rest of my
insurance.

She's since left the firm so I'm going to get some recommendations from
friends and family for a new broker...

jps

"jps" wrote in message
...


Everything looked pretty much the same (including cost of coverage)
until I got to "uninsured boater" line. My present policy assumes
$50,000 and the Boat US is $300,000. I assume that if my vessel is a
total loss with someone else at fault, the max. payout with my present
policy is $50K (and the boat is worth significantly more).

I don't think that is correct, unless you are only getting liability
coverage.

You want to be covered for a large amount of liability, regardless of the
size or value of your boat. I was witness to a 18 foot runabout causing
millions of dollars in damage (it caught fire, drifted into a dock of very
expensive boats).

Depending on the value of your boat (and perhaps the bank) you may elect for
insurance that will cover any damage to your boat, regardless of the nature
of the damage. It could be an accident where you were at fault, storm
damage, theft, etc. This coverage generally wants to be for the true value
of the boat.

Then the insurance companies tend to throw other line items in there. For
example, my BOAT US policy contains:

"Fuel and other Spill Liabilty": This is becoming an important item as the
law enforcement agencies are starting to get tough on spills. I have heard
tales of some very large fines for relative minor fuel spills.

"Medical Payments": if someone gets hurt on your boat (slips and falls)
then this will provide some amount of coverage. If everyone who is likely
to ever be aboard your boat has their own insurance, you can skip this or
make it small to cover their deductable or co-pay amounts.

"Personal effects": if your boat sinks, this covers all the items you had
aboard.

Uninsured Boater: if someone else causes an accident who does not have
insurance, and there are expenses incurred that are not covered by
everything else, then this will kick in. It might pay additional to
medical, personal effects, fuel spills, etc.

I'm mystified why my broker would write the policy this way and
disappointed that I didn't see this previously.

Before you blame your broker, check and make sure what Uninsured Boater
means to them. Perhaps your broker was really doing you a favor by not
providing double coverage.


Anyone have any insight? Is my broker shortsighted or what?

No, I think your broker was doing it right. I am sure if you asked for more
they would gladly provide it, but it may be redundant coverage.

Rod McInnis

jps wrote in message . ..
In article ,
says...
jps wrote in message .. .
My boat policy is about to renew and I thought I'd do a little shopping
based on posts I've read about Boat US being a reasonable alternative.

Everything looked pretty much the same (including cost of coverage)
until I got to "uninsured boater" line. My present policy assumes
$50,000 and the Boat US is $300,000. I assume that if my vessel is a
total loss with someone else at fault, the max. payout with my present
policy is $50K (and the boat is worth significantly more).

I'm mystified why my broker would write the policy this way and
disappointed that I didn't see this previously.

Anyone have any insight? Is my broker shortsighted or what?

"Uninsured Boater" coverage does not cover your boat. The hull value
is covered by "Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage", which the Boat US
policy equivalent to Collision and Comprehensive on your car. Just
like if you're hit in your car by an uninsured driver - it's your
collision coverage that repairs your car, not your unisured motorist
coverage.

"Uninsured Boater" covers those damages for which the uninsured boater
may be liable to you, except your boat itself. It would cover, for
example, medical expenses for you if the uninsured other guy was at
fault in a collision.

Okay, I understand but the question remains. Why would my broker write
the policy for $50K "uninsured boater?" If someone were to get hurt,
$50K can get eaten up pretty fast...

Okay. I just thought you felt that you didn't have enough "uninsured
boater" coverage based on the value of your boat. I was just pointing
out that they are really not related.

But you still have a good question. I would be guessing - it's
probably just a standard coverage level. What is "standard" often
differs from company to company.

An example of differing standards would be "spill liability" coverage.
With many boat policies that is part of your property damage
liability coverage. If you sink your boat (as a result of your
negligence or someone elses) or bust a tank in your slip and spill a
hundred gallons of diesel in the water, you can be liable for big $$$
in clean up costs. BOAT/US *yacht* policies have additional coverge
just for spills. It's $500K, even if you chose lower limits on other
liability. What does that have to do with "unisured boater"
coverage....?

....Just an example of how standards can be different.

Why did your broker only write $50K on your current unisured boater
coverage? Probably because it was typical coverage level. But
remember that *you* have a responsibility to think about your
coverage. If you didn't think that $50K was enough, you could've
asked for more. Then your broker probably would have explained the
coverage better than I could.

"Calif Bill" wrote in message link.net...
"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
jps wrote in message
.. .
My boat policy is about to renew and I thought I'd do a little
shopping
based on posts I've read about Boat US being a reasonable alternative.

Everything looked pretty much the same (including cost of coverage)
until I got to "uninsured boater" line. My present policy assumes
$50,000 and the Boat US is $300,000. I assume that if my vessel is a
total loss with someone else at fault, the max. payout with my present
policy is $50K (and the boat is worth significantly more).

I'm mystified why my broker would write the policy this way and
disappointed that I didn't see this previously.

Anyone have any insight? Is my broker shortsighted or what?

"Uninsured Boater" coverage does not cover your boat. The hull value
is covered by "Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage", which the Boat US
policy equivalent to Collision and Comprehensive on your car. Just
like if you're hit in your car by an uninsured driver - it's your
collision coverage that repairs your car, not your unisured motorist
coverage.

"Uninsured Boater" covers those damages for which the uninsured boater
may be liable to you, except your boat itself. It would cover, for
example, medical expenses for you if the uninsured other guy was at
fault in a collision.

Okay, I understand but the question remains. Why would my broker write
the policy for $50K "uninsured boater?" If someone were to get hurt,
$50K can get eaten up pretty fast...

Then your liability insurance kicks in. If someone other than the insured
is injured on your boat, it is your liability that works. If you are
injured by an uninsured boater / motorist then the uninsured motorist part
will pay the deductibles, etc from your health policies. And boat / car
damages upto the limits.

Not neccesarily. Liability coverage only covers you if you are found
negligent. If the accident was someone elses fault, your liability
coverage may not kick in at all. So the amount of "unisured boater"
coverage is something to consider.

And "unisured boater" coverage does not cover damage to your boat.
Your "boating and boating equipment" coverage would handle that.

"Curtis CCR" wrote in message
om...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
jps wrote in message
.. .
My boat policy is about to renew and I thought I'd do a little
shopping
based on posts I've read about Boat US being a reasonable
alternative.

Everything looked pretty much the same (including cost of
coverage)
until I got to "uninsured boater" line. My present policy assumes
$50,000 and the Boat US is $300,000. I assume that if my vessel
is a
total loss with someone else at fault, the max. payout with my
present
policy is $50K (and the boat is worth significantly more).

I'm mystified why my broker would write the policy this way and
disappointed that I didn't see this previously.

Anyone have any insight? Is my broker shortsighted or what?

"Uninsured Boater" coverage does not cover your boat. The hull
value
is covered by "Boat and Boating Equipment Coverage", which the Boat
US
policy equivalent to Collision and Comprehensive on your car. Just
like if you're hit in your car by an uninsured driver - it's your
collision coverage that repairs your car, not your unisured motorist
coverage.

"Uninsured Boater" covers those damages for which the uninsured
boater
may be liable to you, except your boat itself. It would cover, for
example, medical expenses for you if the uninsured other guy was at
fault in a collision.

Okay, I understand but the question remains. Why would my broker
write
the policy for $50K "uninsured boater?" If someone were to get hurt,
$50K can get eaten up pretty fast...

Then your liability insurance kicks in. If someone other than the
insured
is injured on your boat, it is your liability that works. If you are
injured by an uninsured boater / motorist then the uninsured motorist
part
will pay the deductibles, etc from your health policies. And boat / car
damages upto the limits.

Not neccesarily. Liability coverage only covers you if you are found
negligent. If the accident was someone elses fault, your liability
coverage may not kick in at all. So the amount of "unisured boater"
coverage is something to consider.

And "unisured boater" coverage does not cover damage to your boat.
Your "boating and boating equipment" coverage would handle that.

If the other person causes the accident and is uninsured, then is very
likely that your liability coverage is going to kick in, if anybody besides
you on your boat was injured.

"Calif Bill" wrote in message ink.net...
"Curtis CCR" wrote in message
om...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...

Then your liability insurance kicks in. If someone other than the
insured
is injured on your boat, it is your liability that works. If you are
injured by an uninsured boater / motorist then the uninsured motorist
part
will pay the deductibles, etc from your health policies. And boat / car
damages upto the limits.

Not neccesarily. Liability coverage only covers you if you are found
negligent. If the accident was someone elses fault, your liability
coverage may not kick in at all. So the amount of "unisured boater"
coverage is something to consider.

And "unisured boater" coverage does not cover damage to your boat.
Your "boating and boating equipment" coverage would handle that.

If the other person causes the accident and is uninsured, then is very
likely that your liability coverage is going to kick in, if anybody besides
you on your boat was injured.

Only if those people on your boat make a claim that you are legally
liable. Generally that would mean they have to claim that you were
negligent in some way. If that happens, it may have to go to court
before your insurer pays.

But this may be where I have something wrong. I am not sure if
uninsured boater coverage pays you and anyone on your boat, or just
you. The meat of description of the uninsured boater coverage on my
policy is (caps are my emphasis):

"...we will pay for the damages which, because of bodily injury
recevied aboard the insured boat, YOU ARE LEGALLY ENTITLED TO RECOVER
from the uninsured owner or operator of another boat that collides
with the insured boat.

"'Ininsured boater' and 'uninsured owner or operator' mean an owner or
operator of a boat other than the [insured boat] who is leaglly
responsible for the collision, and:

"A. to whom no liability policy applies; or B. who cannot be
identified (such as a hit-and-run operator)."

Liability coverage mainly says:

"...we will pay damages and any costs ASSESSED AGAINST YOU... for any
claim for suit covered under this policy for bodily injury or property
damage for which any INSURED BECOMES LEGALLY LIABLE though ownership,
maintenance or use of the insured boat. We will settle and defend as
we consider appropriate any claim or suit covered under this policy
which asks for these damages..."

As I said, your guests would have to make the claims, and possibly sue
you. the insurer could defend against the suit. Could make
friendship with your guests dicey - ya think? You can't make a
liability claim against yourself. If another boater was at fault, the
insurance company would have a case NOT to pay through your liability.

And by the way - you can't simply accept liability in advance and
expect the company to pay. There are usually exclusions, like mine,
that say something like, "We will not provide liability coverage
for... liability which has been assumed by the insured under a
contract or agreement..." (Though they usually will cover liability
under storage and slip rental contracts.)

"Medical Payments" coverage is more likely what would kick in if you
have it. It would probably kick in first as there is no assumption of
fault associated with it.

I used to think the same way you do about my auto insurance. But if
your liability coverage is going to kick in when uninsured boater or
medical payments runs out, why have the latter coverages all?

My agent straightened me out on that when I asked. Your liability
coverage only covers you when you are at fault. Uninsured
boater/motorist provides coverage when someone else is at fault and
doesn't have insurance or otherwise can't pay. Medical payements
coverage provides coverage without assigning negligence to anyone.

Boat US reduced my coverage to "dockside only" after my claim from Izzy
was processed. For the privilege of this reduced coverage I loose the
10% no claim reduction and my new premium for my February 1 renewal is
up about 10%. So for this reduced coverage which translates into their
reduced exposure my new premium is about 20% higher.

Ron

I don't recieve e-mail at this address because of spam. E-mail me
at crtsrATmsnDOTcom.