+xThanks Michael,
It looks like the safest bet is just to stump up more cash!
Hi Martin and all,
I am beginning to think that self-insurance for the boat is the way to go: get liability somewhere and put what you would spend in a year aside for the boat part of insurance and into investments and keep it separate for when bad luck occurs.
Most of us are pleased and proud to have no claims and it is certainly nice to get a check when bad luck happens, but to regularly deal with increased premiums and changing parameters, not to mention just plain dropped service is exasperating. And that is from companies who actually are trying to work in good faith: there are those who do not and they are only apparent when needed.
I think a good case can be made that the boat insurance part of the equation is a rum deal. I would not like to know what the accumulated total of my premiums has been over the decades, especially if invested, even conservatively, during that time.
I would also think there might be an argument to be made that, for recreational boaters, if you can’t afford to lose your boat, you have too much money in a recreation. Similarly, along those lines, it could be argued that having to have boat insurance is a myth perpetrated by insurance companies: house/home insurance for sure, but not boat insurance.
An ancillary benefit of the above might be that insurance companies get the message that they have to give good service at reasonable prices: I doubt it, but they are way too often objectionable in a myriad of creative ways.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy