boat insurance

[olbiezer]

hi was just reading the posts about the stolen boat and everyone keeps talking about insurance. does anyone know where i can get insurance on a jet or v drive boat with ott headers? would love to hear if i am doing anything wrong or what? lol fill me in guys. thanks

[Heatseeker]

Good luck!!!

[Floored]

my beezer is fully covered for 496 a year. Terheggen& Malone in Bellflower, Ca. They paid out over 6k when it got fire damage a year and a half ago and rates didn't go up so they treat me good. ask for margaret.

[riverbound]

I have mine insured through State Farm. No OT headers though.

[moneysucker]

No no's in the insurance world.
Tunnel Hull
OT headers
350+ HP
65+ MPH
Ins. agents laugh at me every time I start telling them about my boat.

[LVjetboy]

No no's in the insurance world.
Tunnel Hull*
OT headers
350+ HP
65+ MPH
Jet drive
*At least small tunnel boats. Larger may be ok with some insurance companies.
I think SuperDave mentioned limited insurance: fire and theft. I haven't found anyone yet who'll write a custom policy for that in NV.
jer

[Floored]

I had to send a pic and they saw the Bassetts, tunnel ram and jet. Its gone up $20.00 in 4 1/2 yrs. I took off the tunnel ram and it didn't go down :cry: but I told them all about my boat and no lies to void my policy. :rolleyes:

[olbiezer]

floored, your boat is titaled as a 96 or what ever (fairly new) mine is a 79 and that about shoots it down then the rewarders and progressived even asked me once if the engine c0ompartment was open.

[dmontzsta]

"Throw it in the gutta and go buy anotha" :D Famous words to live by.

[NAMarine]

My insurance agent asked if it had a car motor in it. Then said they will only insure yamaha jet style boats, but not car motor powered jet boats. That's state farm that I've had for 16 years with only 1 claim.

[badrat]

That's state farm that I've had for 16 years with only 1 claim.
My state farm agent said about the same thing, wanted to know the year and co that built it [ pantera] called back in less than 10 minutes and said they had looked Pantera up on the internet and that all they build is RACING boats ,, so no way would they insure it, but I have 3 classic street rods, and 2 pro street hot rods insured through them, and have for over 20 years,,but it don't matter I guess, Bill

[LVjetboy]

Although insurance companies seem to have no problem with this...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/JetSki.jpg
A global perspective...
"Coroner Christopher Johnson has described the way jet skis are used off New Brighton front as a "recipe for disaster". His comments came at the inquest of welder Simon Tollitt, from Garston, who died last August in a jet ski crash. By early afternoon he had finished riding and was heading towards the shore when he was in collision with another jet ski being ridden by 17-year-old Christopher Jones, from Liverpool.
Pathologist Dr Paul Johnson told the court that Mr Tollitt had died from multiple injuries and that no drugs or alcohol were present in his blood. Coroner Mr Johnson said: "It would appear that there are few, if any, regulations once people are on the river. When you have jet skis criss-crossing each other at fast speeds then it is a recipe for disaster and indeed a tragic disaster happened on that afternoon.
HOMOSASSA - The operator of a personal watercraft involved in a fatal collision on the Homosassa River on Monday tried to turn away from a pontoon boat at the last instant but was unable to do so because he cut power, investigators say.
Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker said investigators haven't been able to interview Clavijo, who was in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital.
Parker said the primary theory investigators are working on is that the two craft were traveling in the same direction when Clavijo accelerated the Jet Ski to pull ahead, then turned back and headed toward the pontoon boat. She said investigators think Clavijo intended to make a close pass to splash the pontoon boat with the Jet Ski's wake and misjudged the distance. When he throttled down, he was unable to avoid the collision.
PHUKET TOWN: Following the death of a 13-year-old German boy on a jet-ski last month, the local office of the Marine Department will meet with the provincial government and other government agencies tomorrow to discuss measures to improve jet-ski safety on the island.
Royal Thai Navy Lt Thongchai Mabangyang of Marine Department Office 5 told the Gazette that the department would propose limiting jet-ski operators to designated areas of Patong beach, with a complete ban on their use in waters off other parts of the island.
He said that the Marine Department, Patong Municipality and the Provincial Government needed better cooperation to enforce existing laws, which require that all jet-skis be registered and all operators possess a minimum Helmsman Level 2 license, a qualification that requires two years’ documented proof of experience aboard a Thai-flagged ship.
Martin County: Martin County rescue workers carry out one of two teens involved in a jet ski accident to the dock behind Martin Memorial Medical Center. The accident occurred between two jet ski boats east of the Roosevelt Bridge in the St. Lucie River this afternoon."
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/JetSki2.jpg
---
They won't insure this...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/DragnPowell.jpg
Dragn jet boat owner 50 years old with clean boating record. Also owns a 27' Sea Ray cruiser...insured. Owner has boated for over 30 years with no accident claims and has Coast Guard course certificate. Owner has also driven autos (most high performance) for over 30 years with no accident claims.
Will they insure my jet boat with me as the only driver? Nope. But they're happy to insure an idiot 17 year old on a jet ski with no history, boating experience or common sense. Or the parents of that 13 year old driving their insured jet ski. Why?
jer

[Sanger Jet]

Insurance companys and Lawyers SUCK!!!............you dry for every nickle they can :hammer2:

[Squirtcha?]

Thought this was kinda interesting. From this thread "the stolen boat post" I applied for insurance via email. I was almost surprised that they even got back to me. The discussion about insurance is towards the bottom of the page.
Insurance discussion from Stolen Boat thread (http://www2.***boat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33640&page=2)
As you can see from the $ value that I posted, I wanted to insure it for what I have into it, not for what it's actually worth. Apparently they don't do that and it can only be insured for whatever the market value is.
Now..............my greek's a little rusty...........can someone interpret what she's saying here.
Daniel,
These are, as you probably know, totally custom, go-fast, high
performance ski boats for which no statistically credible resale value
references exist. They cannot be evaluated sight-unseen; they can only
be appraised on-site, one at a time. Even if they were stock production
boats, though, the age of this example would make anyone's statistically
derived estimate "iffy", at best, anyway, and the 2000 engine
replacement is another consideration for which there is no appropriate
means of adjusting sight-unseen. For statistical purposes, any powerboat
has to be presumed to be in good operating order, regardless of how it
got or remained that way.
This boat could just as easily be badly overpriced at $2,000 as perhaps
somewhat undervalued at $8,000.
We would, therefore, strongly encourage an informal "sense of things"
pre-survey prior to making any marketing decisions.
Marine insurance should be considered a cost of owning and operating a
boat. A free quote is available from the BoatU.S. Marine Insurance
Department by dialing 1-800-283-2883. Please refer to Source Code 8000
or the Value Check program.
Special note;
The value estimate above is based on research and experience of BoatU.S.
staff. Again, recognizing that the range of values among older boats can
be huge, depending on the degree of preservation, customization,
restoration, etc., BoatU.S. recommends that you make arrangements for a
marine surveyor to provide a report on the condition and value of the
specific vessel within the overall context of the local market prior to
marketing it for sale. See http://www.boatus.com/insurance/survey.htm
for a marine surveyor referral list. This is a list of marine surveyors
approved by BoatU.S., and they're posted geographically.
Regards,
Sandy
-----Original Message-----
From: danimal2@earthlink.net [mailto:danimal2@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 09:39
To: ValueCheck
Subject: Value Check Request
Year: 1976
Length: 18.5
Builder: Kachina
Model: Custom
Engine Make: Ford
Engine Year: 2000
Engine Type: IB
Propulsion: Jet inboard
Fuel: gas
Number of Engines: 1
Engine HP: 500 (I didn't list the 150 hp nitrous kit)
Exhaust: open headers
Speed: 83 mph (speed is without nitrous)
Location: Arizona
WaterType: freshwater
Name: Daniel Haase
Insurance value requested: $10,000
One thing's for sure............they weren't gonna sign me up over the phone, or by email.

[sanger rat]

The problem is that they have no way of putting a value on our old boats. Untill that happens we are SOL. If and whenever that happens the value will go up just like old cars.

[Squirtcha?]

Yupper. Went to the link to find out about having my boat appraised (or whatever) and the closest one is in San Diego. That's a pretty good jaunt just to find out my boat aint worth squat on the open market, or to the insurance company.

[olbiezer]

ya closest survey guy to me is 150 miles away in golfport ms. like u said dan........hell of a junt for the obvsious. lol

[LVjetboy]

Dan, I don't think the sticking point's a survey, even though Sandy implied that. The sticking point will be speed, drive type and size...then maybe hull age. On the phone you may get a different story. I got a quote by mail (from another co.) for $2,200/yr back when my top speed was 85 mph, was ready to go with that but when I talked to them and mentioned N2O I got the BIG NO.
I'm pretty sure if there's a claim, insurance investigators know what those plates under the carb and bottle do.
And so far, every co. I've talked to won't write custom policies...like towing and theft coverage only. Seems that would answer their on-water safety concerns but they're not interested.
jer

[LVjetboy]

Insurance companies have no problem insuring your typical show room new poker run speed boat like this...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/Cigar1.jpg
With a couple of these packed in the back pushing near triple digits...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/Cigar2.jpg
Yet a similar speed boat cut a 31 foot cruiser in half near Ft Lauderdale, FL...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/Cigar3.jpg
...killing all six people on board the cruiser, injuring the people on the speed boat, totaling both the cruiser and the speed boat, and damaging a nearby dock. With all that power and kinetic energy potential to do damage, are these poker run speed boats any safer than a small jet boat? Not to mention property damage costs for just one accident often more than the cost of a house. Theft coverage? Yet insuring a boat like this...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/LowFreeboard.jpg
...according to them? An unacceptable risk. Maybe I shouldn't complain. After all, with no accidents or theft yet knock on wood, I guess they're saving me money.
jer

[Devilman]

I've got a 1977 CeeBee Avenger, BBF, OT headers... I got a quote just recently, $241 a year insured for $8000. The main thing they were concerned with was top speed of the boat. When I told him "62-65mph, something like that", he said, "No problem, when you get in the 70-75mph range, they start getting concerned". I'm in south Tx. If somebody's interested, I can call and try to get a little more info regarding coverage... :cool:

[LVjetboy]

Insurance companies have no problem with this...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/BassBoat.jpg
"Bullet test pilot Paul Nichols and I blistered the rippled surface of Knoxville, Tennessee’s Cherokee Lake at well over 100 mph at least a dozen times in a fully rigged, production-weight Bullet bass boat complete with trolling motor, batteries, gear and tackle.
Nichols piloted our test Bullet <my note: Bass Boat> a very well set up 20XD model rigged with a new Mercury Racing Pro Max 300X, to a radar and GPS-recorded 104-mph top speed on Cherokee Lake.
Why go after such lofty top speeds with a production bass rig? Because we can, and — like those who tackle Mount Everest — because it’s there. The highest top speed recorded in these pages in years past was also achieved by a Bullet with Nichols at the helm, but those 117-mph passes were recorded with a race-weight hull, Mercury Drag outboard and little else aboard. In short, Bullet President Bill Hill and Vice President Teresa Anderson-Barnes wanted the title of “Fastest” to be without strings. They wanted to claim the honor with a production-weight hull rigged for fishing with a driver and passenger aboard and a stock production outboard for power. Before this test, we listed our fastest production rig as a Stroker 21 that we showcased in the March 1998 issue, with a top end of 97.7 mph using a stock Mercury Racing Pro Max 300. That test was in standard BWB format, where we measure fuel consumption, acceleration and top speed with two aboard. Bullet wanted not only to beat the Stroker’s speed, but to eclipse the 100-mph mark (and then some) so as to make the new record difficult for anyone else to break."
Just to fish? Insurance companies have no problem with a bass boat capable of 80 + mph from fishing hole to fishing hole yet they have a BIG problem with a jet boat capable of 80 + mph, like that...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/BirdsEye.jpg
jer

[cave]

Awsome pic Jer. When I lost my insurance in 03 I was told it was because of my OT headers. I paid 501 a year for boat & trailer insurance. I was covered for 15000 on the boat 2500 on the trailer and up to 100000 medical for passengers.
I cant get no insurance now so if the boat isnt running right its back to the trailer. Kinda sucks. But Oh well.
I was told that the bass type boats have floatation. This makes the insurance companies feel better.
Boatus.com never even returned my email when I sent them the picture. :(

[Unchained]

The whole insurance industry is about taking advantage of the consumer with the least possible payout.
Their rates are so high that a group of people could be self insured now.
If 500 boaters put in $ 1000. / yr for insurance you would have a pool of
$ 500k the first year.
IF among those boaters the total claims amounted to 10% or
$ 50k then you would still have $ 450k in the pool.
The next years premiums would add another $ 500k to the pool.
Interest would accumulate on the money in the pool.
Eventually there would be no need for additional premiums and each boater would own a percentage of the pool.
Members of the pool could have a $ 2k deductable so small claims wouldn't affect the pool.
The money in the pool would be for liability claims and property damage claims
only so if someone wipes off his outdrive or drives his boat up on the rocks he can eat it himself.
If someone is drunked up and crashes his boat he would forfeit his place and not be a member any longer.
Of course this is really simplifying the process but a Qualified group of Safe boaters with a good driving record could do this.
Administrative costs of course would be a factor but you can get the idea.
The same scenario applies to other types of insurances.
Large corporations have been self insured for years.

[Hotfish]

State Farm insures my boat: 79 Kachina with ot headers for 21 bucks a month, but will only give 5500 for the boat if something happens to it. Better than nothing.

[olbiezer]

hi i volenteer to collect that 500,000 dollars send it and i will send u back my cell phone number for claims!!!!!!
send to Swindle You Ins co
c/o olbiezer

[olbiezer]

hey lvjetboy great lookin ride there, always like red and black on a boat. course the wifes atonamey in the pics dont hurt. keep up the pics

[probablecause]

I could not find the boat in your pic...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/LowFreeboard.jpg
:rollside:

[cyclone]

State Farm insures my boat: 79 Kachina with ot headers for 21 bucks a month, but will only give 5500 for the boat if something happens to it. Better than nothing.
Interesting. I've been with State Farm for 14 years and my boat policy was cancelled last year because of the over thet transom headers. I wonder why you're able to get your boat insured?

[diggler]

The whole insurance industry is about taking advantage of the consumer with the least possible payout.
Their rates are so high that a group of people could be self insured now.
If 500 boaters put in $ 1000. / yr for insurance you would have a pool of
$ 500k the first year.
IF among those boaters the total claims amounted to 10% or
$ 50k then you would still have $ 450k in the pool.
The next years premiums would add another $ 500k to the pool.
Interest would accumulate on the money in the pool.
Eventually there would be no need for additional premiums and each boater would own a percentage of the pool.
Members of the pool could have a $ 2k deductable so small claims wouldn't affect the pool.
The money in the pool would be for liability claims and property damage claims
only so if someone wipes off his outdrive or drives his boat up on the rocks he can eat it himself.
If someone is drunked up and crashes his boat he would forfeit his place and not be a member any longer.
Of course this is really simplifying the process but a Qualified group of Safe boaters with a good driving record could do this.
Administrative costs of course would be a factor but you can get the idea.
The same scenario applies to other types of insurances.
Large corporations have been self insured for years.
I'm in.... who's going to put this together?

[Heatseeker]

State Farm insures my boat: 79 Kachina with ot headers for 21 bucks a month, but will only give 5500 for the boat if something happens to it. Better than nothing.
You're lucky, but I'd bet that if you put in a claim, they'd drop you immediately after.
My old insurance guy(I dropped them after they wouldn't write a policy on my current boat) said that the average burn claim from a headered boat(jet or v-drive) runs around $100k, making them a bigger risk for the insurer than they are worth. The speeds jets and v-drives are capable of scares them also. Therefore, the industry as a whole is leaning toward not writing policies for header boats.
I still don't understand why the speeds the bass boats are capable of doesn't scare them, like LV mentioned before. Part of it may be that the bass boats are running significantly less HP than most of our boats. I know that insurers have a HP to length formula they use as a policy guideline.
The best thing most of us can do is to boat very carefully and keep our fingers crossed. Kind of a lousy way to go, but it seems like it's the only answer(at least from my perspective).
Reality sucks!

[LVjetboy]

"My old insurance guy said that the average burn claim from a headered boat(jet or v-drive) runs around $100k, making them a bigger risk for the insurer than they are worth."
What the h*ll? If I tattoo myself it's my fault not the insurance company. If my pax tattoo's themself it's also partly my fault for not warning them and making sure they don't touch...or throw a wet towel over it. Or run water injected with TBC and it's ouch not plastic surgery. Why is the world populated by litigious idiots?
Either way, what stops insurance companies from writing a no header burn coverage clause? How freakin' hard is that? Or for that matter an optional towing, fire and theft coverage only for OT fast boats?
jer

[Unchained]

I'm in.... who's going to put this together?
I've got my $ 1,000 ready, so that makes two of us and we just need another 498 boaters. ;)
Or we can up the anty to 10k each and then we only need 50 boaters.
I think that an agreement could be drawn up by an attorney and administered by an accounting firm. The agreement would have a maximum payout per claim just like any other insurance policy. That way no claim would be able to clean out the insurance pool. (A pool cleaner)
When I review how much I put into insurance(s) as compared to what claims I've made (almost none) I conclude that it's been the biggest waste of money I've ever done.

[Heatseeker]

When I review how much I put into insurance(s) as compared to what claims I've made (almost none) I conclude that it's been the biggest waste of money I've ever done.
It's kinda like extortion...

[Squirtcha?]

Originally Posted by Hotfish
State Farm insures my boat: 79 Kachina with ot headers for 21 bucks a month, but will only give 5500 for the boat if something happens to it. Better than nothing.
Interesting. I've been with State Farm for 14 years and my boat policy was cancelled last year because of the over thet transom headers. I wonder why you're able to get your boat insured?
I've got State Farm insuring a car, a truck, and my house and they refused me. Not because of the speed, horsepower, nor even the OT headers (they actually saw the boat in their parking lot). They refused me because my boat was one year too old. Their cutoff at the time was 1977. (Big shrug here) Not sure what the big deal is with the year, but that's what they told me. :confused:. This was a few years back so things may (must) have changed since then.

[Hotfish]

I think part of it is that my dad bought it new in 79 and when I bought it from him, I used the same insurance guy. We never had a claim against the boat either.