Insurance

dhillmyer

New Member
I need to get some insurance on my Laser and need some advice on where the best place to get it is. I had been buying individual regatta policies at the venue for the last couple of big regattas, but I think it's probably way too expensive to do it that way.

Plus, I just watched a new Laser get badly damaged last weekend at a small regatta in a squall and don't want to have to worry about trying to protect/save my boat if something like that should happen to me. :eek:

The Master's Worlds this year are requiring an unbelievable $2,000,000 usd liability policy. Last year at the Asia Pacifics I think they "only" required $300,000 usd. It's getting outrageous.

So... where do you guys get your insurance and what kind of rates are you getting, and with what limits of liability/hull loss/deductible?

I'm in the USA so it'd probably be best for me to get a policy with a USA based company.

Thanks,

Dave
 
Only $2 Mil, public liability? $10 Mil has been the expected minimum PL insurance here for more than a decade and you guys are the kings of litigation.
 
AlanD,

Perhaps for the regatta organizer, "Public Liability" may have the $10mil "normal". I can see that, as they have far more at risk.

The liability insurance I was referring to is individual personal liability which historically has been been not more than $300,000 (until now) for recent large international regattas. (I can only speak for the Asia Pacifics in 2010, and the Masters Worlds in 2009, which were $300,000).

I'm not sure where you reside, but do the large ILCA sanctioned events held in your region require individual sailors to carry $10,000,000 of liability coverage? I can't even get that much on my car, much less a Laser.

But, I do thank you for your reply. :rolleyes:

Dave
 
$10 mil is what we as competitors are required to have for district and above sanctioned events in Australia in most districts.
 
Wow, that seems like a lot. I think those of us in the USA would be hard pressed to find a policy that offers 10 million in liability coverage. The highest liability coverage available to us here in the USA through our national authorities' affiliate is $2,000,000....
 
I just did take a look at the ISAF Worlds insurance requirements. $10,000,000 indeed, and my apologies for insinuating that we were talking about different types of coverage. What does a policy like that cost you guys, individually?
 
I've heard lots of people on here say they have insurance on their Laser, but I'm not really sure why. I live in the US and I've never heard anyone except on this forum talk about getting insurance on their Laser.

Is it to protect you if you run into someone's expensive boat? I would imagine that any policy that pays for damage to your own boat from your own fault would be quite a high premium, or such a high deductible that it isn't worth it except for a total loss.

edit: just for fun I got a quick quote from geico. First of all, I put in $2000 for my value, and they made me put a minimum of $3000, so I did.

$300,000 of liability is the highest they offer, and liability only would be $220/year. That seems ridiculously high. $10m must easily cost $400/year or something. That's almost what I pay for car insurance liability, and I have a much better chance of actually getting in a wreck there.
 
I pay about $300 US for comprehensive insurance which includes $10 mil PL issurance and a $250 excess. I've got the boat which includes two complete rigs, road trailer, trolley, compass, covers etc covered for about $12K. Note our boats cost a lot more than they cost in the US / Europe.

Principle reason for the comprehensive coverage is against theft / total loss. There isn't much on the boat worth making a claim over with respect to broken gear as the excess is fairly high.

Public liability issurance also covers you off the water, i.e when the boats being trailed.
 
As I have a 25 year old boat, I opted for third party only at GBP26 giving GBP 3million cover. Being a great grand master for several years, I don't think I am going to thrash the boat hard enough to warrant a new-for-old replacement policy costing 3x as much. What I save will easily pay for replacements, especially if they are not official parts!!
 
In the UK we have several marine insurance companies that we can choose from to insure our lasers. I'm with one of the more expensive ones (its soo much better than the others its worth it) and that gives me new for old cover on all the boat and equipment including trolley etc. Policy costs about £70 a year and excess is £50 per claim. If you make more than about 3 claims a year (or a really big claim) expect your policy to cost more the next year. Really quick service and usually get a claim decision within a day.
Also gives full racing coverage with I think £3mill third party cover (enough to meet the UK racing requirements anyway)

Maybe there's a market for someone to set up this sort of business in the US
 
I pay about $300 US for comprehensive insurance which includes $10 mil PL issurance and a $250 excess. I've got the boat which includes two complete rigs, road trailer, trolley, compass, covers etc covered for about $12K. Note our boats cost a lot more than they cost in the US / Europe.

Principle reason for the comprehensive coverage is against theft / total loss. There isn't much on the boat worth making a claim over with respect to broken gear as the excess is fairly high.

Public liability issurance also covers you off the water, i.e when the boats being trailed.

I'm wondering if the reason it isn't as popular in the US is because of the laws. Theft is covered under my home owners insurance. Off the water liability is covered by my car insurance (anything being towed counts).

The only things I'm not covered against is damage to my boat/trailer, or on the water liability (may also be covered under the home owners, a lot of stuff is, haven't checked). The trailer is only worth $350 or so, so if I total it it's no big deal. The boat is probably worth about $3k right now, so I'm only at 1/4 of yours. Other than sinking it I'm not sure what could happen that would cost me more than about $1k.
 
Dave,

Try AAA. They have a number of carriers that they use to work up the best deal for you. If you get all of your insurance through them, home, car, boat, trailer, personal liability, they can get you discounts. Get a face to face quote, and it may take a couple of days for them to put together the best deal.

Forget Geico. I went into the local shop and they didn't really want to work with me on a multiple package deal.

You could also try BoatUS if you want to do just boating insurance.
 
The Gowrie Group offer a One Design Insurance program. The link to their website can be found on the USSailing website. When I last renewed I paid $200 for a policy with 1M third party liability and an agreed on value of the boat of $3000.
 
I carry a small amount of liability insurance on my Laser since I race it in big breeze and can imagine things going wrong -- e.g. badly damaging someone's new boat, or someone getting a minor injury.

BoatUS.com has been very easy to deal with, and cheap. (knock on wood) I've never needed to file a claim so I don't know how good their customer service on that end is.
 
FYI, The Masters Worlds just amended their NOR to reflect a lower liability limit(1,000,000). Just bought bought a years' policy for about $275 (including Dolly and trailer for a 2011 boat). Got it from Gowrie Group....
 

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