Insurance Coverage

[Cyber]

Just wondering what companies you folks are using to insure your rides??

Full coverage, both liability & fire/theft/comprehensive.
Any company stand out above the rest??

I've tried researching the topic but mostly U.S. responses.

[MichaelGA]

Your best bet is to get a rider attached to your house and car insurance, usually they will bundle them altogether so it eases the cost a bit.

[StarTzar]

A rider attached to your house insurance is not the best thing to do.
I have recently dealt with Heather Bonadie from Rhodes & Williams Ltd.
The service was fantastic and the price was excellent.

Heather Bonadie
Account Executive
Phone: (613) 226-6590 Fax: (613) 723-6445

[lape0019]

My boat is covered under my house insurance. The positives are that I get multiple discounts and I save about $100.00 a year.

The downside is that if I ever make a claim on my boat, my house insurance goes up...

Take your pick on what you want to do but for me, it was just easier to call my insurance broker and have them figure it out.

[Mick]

A rider attached to your house insurance is not the best thing to do.

this is a statement that needs some explanation

I have multiple cars and my house and various other insurance with one of the largest insurers in Canada. My 17 foot boat with its 115 on the back is fully insured as a rider to my main policy at almost no cost. I'd be pretty hard up to understand how I could get a better deal somewhere else.

[lape0019]

I am sure Frank will respond but look at my post and you will see why it is t the best idea. A lot if people do not want to take the chance that of they make a claim on their boat, that their home insurance will go up... That is enough of a reason for most people to get separate coverage.

[Cyber]

I agree that a 'rider' on the house insurance policy is an arguable point.

I am inclined to think that I will be MUCH more likely to make a claim on my boat insurance than on my home insurance.
It's so easy to tear up a prop/lower unit/boat bottom in unfamiliar (or even familiar ) water, or having "low-lifes"
steal your equipment/motor/trailer that the likelihood of making a claim is much more real than making a claim against
my homeowners policy.
Therefore a few bucks more to have a separate policy doesn't bother me in the least, even my insurance agent who has
our 2 vehicles and the house coverage suggested a separate policy might be in order. (she did offer me a rider on the
homeowners for approx. $60/yr. less than I've been offered quotes on seperate policies)

So what I'm looking for in this post is peoples experiences with different companies who offer Marine insurance, such as
Premier Marine, or brokers who peddle marine insurance, such as Tanner here in Ottawa, Rhodes & Williams as StarTzar
mentioned, and others people have chosen.
My auto/home agent suggested Premier Marine, but I've heard some unfavourable feedback when it comes to actually
making a claim. Does anyone have experience with actually MAKING a claim and getting favourable results??

[Paul Shibata]

As others have communicated the house coverage as thrifty as it may seem is sometimes a false economy. Most people enjoy an almost a 30% claims free discount on their homeowners policies if they haven't had a claim in 3 -5 years. This is a huge discount and can often be equal to an actual marine rider. Having made claims with both before, I have lived through the nightmares of dealing with non-marine people who "covered" my boat, suffice to say "never again"!! I have also made a claim with a true marine agent (Heather Bonadie - Rhodes and Williams) and the service was amazing. This is what they specialize in and they are familiar with what we as boaters in our compressed Canadian season deal with. Furthermore depending upon the policy, most of your fishing equipment is included in your marine coverage which is an unbelievable peace of mind. Lastly the homeowners deductible is often much more significant the difference of which is again equal to your full marine coverage premium. I would encourage you to contact Heather, she is without a doubt the most knowledgeable and experienced marine expert in the industry. They just launched a brand new product which might be perfect for you. The call costs nothing and you can determine for yourself the savings and ultimately who you would like to deal with if you ever had to make a claim. So far, from what I've been told and heard through our membership, every single person who inquired switched, pretty impressive record.

[StarTzar]

I agree that a 'rider' on the house insurance policy is an arguable point.

I am inclined to think that I will be MUCH more likely to make a claim on my boat insurance than on my home insurance.
It's so easy to tear up a prop/lower unit/boat bottom in unfamiliar (or even familiar ) water, or having "low-lifes"
steal your equipment/motor/trailer that the likelihood of making a claim is much more real than making a claim against
my homeowners policy.
Therefore a few bucks more to have a separate policy doesn't bother me in the least, even my insurance agent who has
our 2 vehicles and the house coverage suggested a separate policy might be in order. (she did offer me a rider on the
homeowners for approx. $60/yr. less than I've been offered quotes on seperate policies)

Cyber,

Rhodes & Williams are a Renegade Bass Tour sponsor and they insure many of the Renegade members.
I did an awful lot of research before calling them. Nothing but positive feedback.
Never a problem with claims.

Not all insurance company's will add a Rider for a Boat and motor rated over a certain HP.
It certainly is the case for my Ranger Bass Boat and my insurance company.
My home and car insurance agent told me from the get-go that a separate Marine Policy was much more advantageous.

The best thing I can recommend, is that you contact some brokers and get the information first hand.
Nothing beats getting information from someone who knows what they are talking about.
Call Heather Bonadie as mentioned earlier. Her expertise is Marine Insurance.
She will also explain (much better than I can) the advantages of getting a separate policy as opposed to a Rider.

If you do contact her, come back here and post your comments.

Frank Dufour

[RenegadeBass]

http://www.RenegadeBassInsurance.com

As has been mentioned in this thread, give Heather Bonadie from Rhodes and Williams Insurance Brokers a call. You will not be disappointed with the information she can provide for you.

Renegade Bass

[Pepe]

Although I had no reason not to be pleased with my current brokers service the past few seasons, I was concerned with my rate compared to other boaters that I spoke with. I made some inquiries with other insurance brokers for quotes and provided all the necessary details from my current policy so that they could have exact comparisons.

To my surprise, another broker from a different area but with the same insurance company, easily lowered my current rate. The irony is that my current broker supposedly was providing a "discount" for membership with affiliated organizations. I am waiting to hear back from my current agent on why the discrepancy in rates (a favourable savings). Hopefully they can clarify and match - as well, it leads me to wonder if I have been overpaying the past few seasons with them as well.

Make as many calls as you want regarding coverage and rates, even outside your own region. You may be surprised with what you may be saving.

[StarTzar]

Hey Cyber,

Do you have an update for us?
Did you contact Heather Bonadie from Rhodes & Williams?

[Cyber]

I wanna thank you guys for pointing me in the direction of Heather at Rhodes & Williams.

She was extremely knowledgeable & helpful in assessing my needs and finding a company that
addressed my situation & needs and came back with just the right coverage at a very fair price!

I had my 'feelers' out to a wide variety of brokers/companies and for the most part they came back
with higher prices/lower coverage/higher deductibles or some combination thereof. A lot of companies
won't insure my boat w/o a marine survey due to it's age, some companies wouldn't even provide me
ANY kind of quote, and the ones with lower premiums were nowhere near as good coverage as
Heather got for me.
The policy is with 'Coast Insurance', a division of Royal Sun Alliance, and covers everything I consider
important. It has 'agreed upon' value for boat/motor/electronics and trailer, also $5000 for 'personal
effects' (all fishing gear/coolers/cameras/etc.), mechanical breakdown, emergency towing, and of
course $2 million liability.

Definitely a wide range of coverage and policies and price ranges out there, be sure to explore
all your options before signing up for anything.
But I will HIGHLY recommend anyone looking into marine insurance to contact Heather Bonadie
at Rhodes & Williams and I'm certain you won't be disappointed!!

[Wolfy]

Hey Paul,

Maybe you can help shed some light on this for me, seeing as you've mentioned you've made claims in the past. I was at the seminar last night and was indeed intrigued by what Heather had to say, and I will contact her. But, in the past season I had to make a claim, and when renewal time came up so did my rates obviously. They when up almost 1/3 of my annual premium. Needless to say I began searching. Not even thinking about Rhodes & Williams, I stopped after the first 2 companies due to the same response. They had both said that due to my recent claim, they couldn't insure me for 2 years. Have you or anyone experienced this??

Thanks in advance for any Info,

Matt

[BradGuenette]

+1 for Rhodes & Williams! I had to insure the new boat last week and Heather made it a breeze!