HELP! WE NEED INSURANCE!

Hello everyone. We are Mark and Sue Boyter. We are about to join the Island Packet Family as we have a new 439 under construction: 439-09, "Redeemed." Everyone we have met who is even remotely associated with IP has been extremely friendly, welcoming and informative. That includes factory workers and owners alike. 

We need to secure insurance, so we thought we should ask the experts on which carriers you would recommend. And, who to avoid. We have limited sailing experience, but we hope to make up for that somewhat with training. We are both going to attend the 90 day (in residence) Chapman's School of Seamanship, graduating just before "Redeemed" launches in June. We fully understand that boat insurance has hardened in the last few years for sailors of all experience levels. 

Also, we are going into this with eyes wide open. So any words of wisdom that you have for a couple of newbies will be well received. Many thanks in advance for your advice and we look forward to meeting you all on the water. 

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Mark and Sue Boyter
SV "Redeemed"
 

Good morning, Mark & Sue.  You're definitely going to need to work through a broker/insurance agent.  When we insured Gracefull in March 2020 none of the companies we spoke with directly would work with us as individuals directly for anything over $300k, even companies with which already had a relationship (USAA and their partners).  We wound up with Geico, but a month ago they sent cancellation notices out because they've apparently decided to drop marine insurance.  Now we're with Progressive (a USAA partner who insures our other boat, but wouldn't talk with us directly).  The broker/agent told us that the market is in turmoil right now.

One potential complication to be aware of is the cruising grounds you need coverage for.  We plan to spend several months in the Bahamas next winter, and Progressive offers a rider to permit cruising to the Bahamas, but with a proviso that the stay has to be 30 days or less.  We don't intend to touch U.S. soil every 30th day, so we're going to have to find someone new before we go.  Broker/agent told us to seek better coverage next December/January, just before we head over because everything is likely to change by then.

Broker we're working with is Wallace Welch & Willingham in St. Pete.  w3ins.com.  We've been happy with them so far.

Thank you so much Lawrence. We will contact Wallace, Welch and Willingham today. Since we are in Largo often to visit the factory, we can easily jog over and meet with them in St. Pete.

Yours is not the first warning we have had about how much WHERE you cruise will affect your ability to get insurance. I am sure that we will get a in depth education once we start talking to the brokers.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. This is as topic that every cruiser on every forum is interested in. It is an universal problem.

Regards,
Mark

Hi Mark. John here. Our 439 hull (#19) will start getting laid up in November, next month.  ‘Saw Redeemed on the island packet YouTube channel. Fabulously done!  Bravo and congratulations!

‘Wondering how you made out with insurance. We’re facing the same challenge.

I have plenty of sailing experience and have tested out of all the certification requirements on the occasions that I’ve chartered on the Pacific, Chesapeake and in the Caribbean..

Do you mind sharing any details re your search, vendor, deal, or otherwise?

-John

WE FOUND INSURANCE!
Many thanks to those of who you who responded to our request for insurance information. Darrell Allen of IPY recommended Russell Jamieson, Vice President of Atlass Group.

Russell was able to find us insurance even with our lack of experience. He is a full service broker who even helped us with our dingy. Russell helped me with a hurricane plan well ahead of Hurricane Ian. Along with help and advice from IPY and the Harborage Marina, our stout little ship came through fine.

Russell Jamieson, Risk Strategies with Atlass Group. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., telephone 321-459-1471.

Please tell him that Mark and Sue Boyter sent you.

Once again, thank you to all who offered advice. We look forward to being out there with you soon.

Fair Winds, Following Seas,
Mark and Sue Boyter
IP 439 #9
"Redeemed "

As a follow-up on this:

It turns out that Geico did NOT stop covering boats--they stopped using independent agents, but were still writing policies for people who contacted them directly.  Perhaps Wallace, Welch and Willingham told me this and I misunderstood or didn't take note; perhaps they didn't.  I simply don't remember hearing this and have nothing in my notes from the time indicating Geico was still an option.  W3 ended up placing us with Progressive, which was fine by us as they cover a Morgan Out Island 28 we still have (and are seeking a buyer for, so if you know anyone . . . . ).

Regardless, with a plan to go to the Bahamas this January, we found that Progressive would only cover us for 30 days.  We could have to return to U.S. waters every 30 days--it was recommended that we buy fuel or in some other way obtain documentation that we had come back--and then go back to the islands.  That was not an option we found acceptable.

So, after a little research, we found that Geico would cover us, and would allow purchase of a rider giving us coverage for 120 days at a time in the Bahamas.  The rider is around $100, about 4% of the annual premium.  So that's who's covering us now.   (The Geico rep told me that some agents were less than clear about Geico's continuing to write marine policies, perhaps because they wanted to continue earning commissions.)

I did contact Gowrie Group about the Jackline program.  (I used their website, though, forgetting that Hayden provided a POC.)  We didn't qualify because we (a) aren't full-time cruisers, and (b) keep our boat in FL during hurricane season.

Thanks, Redeemed. Russell helped us too. Super professional and detail oriented. Recommended. - John, 439-19 - Providence.