Not to sound like a shill here, and not to promote any sponsor over one that is not. But…..maybe thats the point….
If you are looking to insure your Antique or Classic boat, there is really only one place. Period. Hagerty Marine Insurance. Could they charge more because of that fact? Well, yes, but they don’t, in fact they spend a huge chunk of there money supporting the hobby and the community that lives on it. Something no other company does. They will insure your small dinky speed boat, or a nice Connie. They will insure the boat in restoration ( The riskyest time of owner ship by the way) or on the trailer on the way to a show….They are truly there when you need them, and there when you don’t, sponsoring shows, magazines, foundations and schools. If you think about it for a second, with all that money being spread around to help, your premium is far less than others that claim to be competitive because they make your hobby…passion, better. The competitors don’t do any of that. Other than Ski Safe who used to run the occasional ad.
So think about it. If all the companies are the same. And they are not, but let’s just say they are. Who helps you when you are not in need? Those are the folks that will clearly be there when you do need them. So for me, it’s Hagerty, hands down, without question. There is a great story going on right now regarding insurance on the Boat Buzz if you want to read about horror stories. Read here.
I have to agree with you on this.I have had my 1954 Century insured through Hagerty for 20 plus years and just added a 28′ Chris to my fleet last fall. Hagerty’s premium was only 87 dollars more for full hull coverage than Boat US had for just straight liability. Boat US wanted a marine survey done both boats (a cost of about $800.00) where Hagerty allowed a yard survey done by a knowledgeable third party (my marina owner) to suffice. Big savings, better coverage.
I’ve never had a claim yet, (knock on a woody) to find out how they pay, but judging from their committment to the hobby I’m not worried about that.
I have had both my wood boats and classic cars insured with Hagerty for several years and have been really happy with both the price and service. It seems to me the restoration shops through out the Country would have a pretty good idea of how the service is when it is really needed. I notice the Macatawa Bay Boat shop (their in progress photos are almost as high as Woodyboater on my digital visit list!) has several references to Hagerty. I would be very interested to hear some input from other shops that may tackle the work to actually fix damage from a claim. They would know best about the service as well as the difficulty in making a claim.
I see responses all the time on other forums saying they use the same local insurance agent that insures their home, car, business, motorcycle, etc. Fixing damage to your prized wooden boat is not the same as fixing damage to a Lexus after a parking lot mishap. For this same reason, I bet there are not many Ferrari’s insured with Geico. I will stick with the company that has the knowledge and passion for my boat and hope that I never need to call them other than to renew my policy every year.