This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
Mike wrote:
They don't. Bottom line single handers can't get insurance: ask Russell.
BoatUS had no issues with me single handing, it was a coastal policy anyways.
Once I left the Bahamas though, the few insurance companies that do deal with offshore and international sailing certainly dont take to well to single handing. Most of them allow it but only if no trip takes longer then 24 hours, which pretty much means not going very far. The few single handers I know who are insured simply fail to tell the insurance company they are single handing, if they ever did make a claim (even if it was a boatyard accident) their insurance would be invalidated due to having single handed at some point before beyond 24 hours. So in my mind, their insurance is basicly worthless and even if they dont get caught, it would amount to insurance fraud.
My interest at this point is simply in liability only coverage. But even with liability only, single handing is still an issue with the insurers. You will find most cruising single handers are uninsured. But you would probably be suprised to find out how many cruising couples or families are uninsured as well. Insurance costs are very high when cruising full time and with pretty limited coverage and restrictive policies.
Russell
s/v (yet to be named) Tayana 42CC
s/v Lady Pauline Cape Dory 36 #117 (for sale)
You're lucky. I have used State Farm for more than 15 years to insure my boats....also use them for house, cars, motorcycle etc. Great rates, no hassles. Just called to put insurance on my new boat, and was told that State Farm no longer rates boats in R.I., so the underwriter won't insure my boat....I live in N.H. and they said if I kept the boat in NH or Mass, no problem, but no more Rhode Island.....so I am now scurrying around for insurance....waiting for quotes from Progressive and BoatUS....I guess I should be grateful I don't live in Florida!!
Clay Stalker
Westmoreland, NH and Spofford Lake, NH
I had a Pearson 33 that was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. Mine was one of thousands. The Pearson was insured by Boat/US. They paid the claim, but they refuse to provide future insurance for anyone who had a total loss from Katrina. I think that stinks.
I bought a fixer-upper CD 36 to replace the Pearson. My CD36 (IMAGINE) is currently insured with Zurich for $85,000. The annual bill is $2,307 with a $1,700 deductible. They say this price reflects the fact that my previous boat was destroyed by a storm.
Strangely, it makes no difference that the boat has not been in the water since I bought her. She is in my hangar in Laurel, Mississippi, 100 miles from the coast.
I hate to think with the cost will be when I increase the coverage to $125,000 or so after the restoration and refit. Hopefully the cost will return to a more reasonable level after some years with no claims..., but I'm not holding my breath.
I just received my Boat/US insurance bill and it has not changed in several years and in fact I got a 10% good driver reduction. My guess is that some areas of the country experienced greater losses than here on the Chesapeake therefore the higher premiums.
