Buying insurance on a rebuilt 1978

[ssmith949]

When you have invested quite a sum of money into restoring a classic, how do you go about getting your insurance for the full value. This is my first time doing this.

[fishez4alivin]

In my experience, if you go with a cheaper insurance like whats offered by BoatUS then they will probably give you value of the boat, and with classics, it wont be much. You really get what you pay for and I've had a great relationship with Progressive, I can insure the boat for what i feel it's worth, 15,000, whereas BoatUS wouldnt go any higher then 10,000, also when making a claim on a lower unit, progressive paid the whole bill, whereas with BoatUS they would pay a percentage depending on what the age of the engine was. To me BoatUS is good for guys with new boats, but as soon as you talk about a classic, look what your boat is worth on NADA, then paying a couple hundred more for Progressive is the way to go.

[mwagner]

Thanks for the quick response. I will give Progressive a call and see how to establish a value they will work with.

[jfmacks]

try statefarm.....i insure for $35k

[strick]

I insured my home built Arena Craft thru AAA homeowners insurance. The agent asked me how much I wanted to place on the value of the boat. I told her the replacement cost is $30000 for a simular built boat....so she insured it for a 30000 dollar replacement cost if it were to sink burn etc.. Is there any downfall with homeowners insurance?

Strick

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Every state is different so I can’t comment and be totally accurate on this you will have to check it out on your own. In Florida and in most states YOU CAN NOT ADD THE VALUE OF A ITEM LIKE A BOAT ONTO THE HOMEOWNERS POLICY. You can add the liability coverage of boats under 26 ‘ to the policy but not the collision and comp value of the boat itself. I would call the company not the agent to confirm you can do that in California. You would have to buy a Separate Policy to cover this Boat. Just because the lady said it that doesn’t mean she knows what she is talking about. “Read your Policy”
FellowShip [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Scott]

I talked with our agent about this just yesterday (NJ). If you “wanted” you could only add up to a 20’ boat on the home policy, after that we would need a “Yacht” policy …anything over 20 feet. She said given the age of the hull, over 20 years, the underwriters would need to pre-approve the application. A “professional” survey report submitted to theses writers for approval of coverage of this vessel would be of great benefit in getting the appropriate coverage. Naturally an assessed value would need to be set appropriately ….

We have several “Marine Only” policy writers in NJ ( they are all over the country) …. I spoke with one of them this AM. With this one particular agent Any boat over 7 years would requires a survey by a SAMS or NAMS accredited surveyor. They assess a value, safety etc and set the limits. I would look into someone similar as you will get much more accurate info from them as this is what they do for a living …boat policies. I’m sure its more money ….. but you get what you pay for….I felt real comfortable talking with her as, in my case, she was very familiar and had worked a great deal with my surveyor that did pre-purchase hull inspection, she was familiar with the boat ….even made comments about it [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

The flip side …. Our regular agents ….. well don’t even ask what kind of questions I was fielding from them …i.e. What’s a center console ??? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

As far as the homeowners thing …. A family member had coverage pulled when a claim was made against the policy for legitimate covered damages to the home (fire, Lightning strike ) …I cant imagine what they might do if you claimed loss on the boat …..Don’t know if that would be worth the risk

Like Fellowship says …..Its according to state and insurance carrier