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What proportion of that nonsense was generated by AI? Seriously. I’m not a troll. You can see my name. I looked up the author. Source bias, perhaps. But the author has little to no knowledge of the ins and outs of insurance – especially when it comes to boats. The numbers cited in the article mean nothing. Reading the fine print of each insurance policy would really tell you something. Also, what is the salvage probability for each company?
Again, that is the stuff that Practical Sailor digs into. Why not take a crack at that?
Consider your example: The $2K insurance policy from one group probably is worth that if the company just moves to salvage rather than repair any damage. If you pay upwards of $7K, I suspect the burden to cover the costs – regardless of claim % of value – would be much higher than said low cost policy. Yeah, go with el cheapo (ahem…GEICO, you listening?) and you might be left without a boat for even minor repairs. They are quick to salvage. Then again, I saved me $5K/year. Go me!
So, not to attack the author; I’m sure she means well. Why not a real investigation into those costs? You guys rock at PS and I am sure you could dig deep and find rats everywhere. PS was and is always the source without commercial bias. Thank you for still fighting the good fight.
Yeah, I second Patrick’s sentiments.
There have been better articles on insurance from PS in the past, one of which I participated in via a comment exchange that caused a bit of a kerfuffle with Boat US. I can say that my experience with quoting from the listed vendors is wildly at variance with this article. I received better pricing and far more comprehensive coverage from State Farm, for instance. And significant policy detail variance between insurers means that comparisons just based on price are meaningless. Yet nary a word about this in the article.
Most PS readers are not concerned about factory new boats. A HUGE factor is the insurer’s policy regarding older boats- particularly with GEICO, at least in my experience. A rundown on those and other policies would have actually been helpful.
In my case a number of years back, I discovered when reading my policy that due to age of hull based deduction changes made when GEICO took over underwriting, my Boat US policy provided effectively no coverage for damage to my older sailboat- unless it was a total loss. I’d be interested in knowing if this is still the case, as I’m now looking at another older sailboat.
You are right- insurance is something nearly every sailboat owner needs to deal with. My marina requires a minimum standard. And it can be confusing to figure out, even what questions to ask. But this was…. not helpful.