Insurance Companies

[Herndonpro]

I am thinking about switching to Progressive for my boat insurance. They are about $80 cheaper for a year than my current company. Any one have any bad experiences with progressive? I have no complaints about my current company, but all I have ever done is pay them money, I have never had to make a claim, but I guess that is a good thing.



HP

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Usually you find out how good your insurance company is when you have to get a claim paid (unfortunatly). Like you, I've never had a claim and I'm with State Farm.



TOXIC

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I think that Progressive does a great job in advertising to the fisherman and their boats. The other companies (State Farm, Geico, Allstate, etc.) rely on all their other insurance products and don't generally push their boat insurance. I have always been with State Farm (retired two agents) but have EVERYTHING wrapped up with them. Never had a claim either so can't tell you anything about their service.

 

[P.J. Porento]

I had to file a claim last year due to rough water on lake michigan it tore my 911 up pretty bad but i have nothing bad to say about State Farm. They had me get an estimate for the fiberglass repair, trolling motor, fish finder, broken rods, and tackle. I faxed it to them on a Thursday morning and Friday morning the adjuster called and said the check was in the mail and by Tuesday I had a check for 5000.00 to fix the boat.

 

[joe haley]

I've got State Farm and never had a claim denied in 30 years



JD

 

[pete hanford2]

I have had no problems with state farm as well.I knocked the lower unit real good this year on the river and needed a new lower unit and i called them and got an estimate and in no time i had a check to start getting it fixed and when it is done. I will receive the rest of it of course after i pay the deductable.

 

[Steve Hutson]

Like others, I've never made a claim on my boat ins. through Allstate. They have always been "Johnny on the spot" after a couple of car wrecks and one tornado related home owners claim.



Take this for what it's worth as I don't have Progressive Ins, nor do I have any close friends with it. I have heard from others that they (Progressive) will cancel you in a heartbeat if you file a claim and that they will do everything in their power to get out of paying. Like you, I thought about changing, but I continue to stay with Allstate for their being really good to us after the tornando and a couple of wrecks. I know that I probably pay more, but that alone keeps me with them.



Steve

 

[Mike O'Connor]

When I lived in Maryland, I had everything insured by State Farm. Here in Florida, they won't insure my home and the boat insurance was 3 times higher than the quote I received from Progressive.

I've never had a claim w/ Progressive, but boats, especially bass boats are their niche market.

 

[First Sergeant]

I have State Farm and they are great



I had a claim in July 06. My PT165 was totalled out. They paid my claim. I am now in a 2007 PT175. They insured my new boat, no questions asked. They even beat my other company (USAA). I have been with them for 16 plus years for my cars and house.

 

[Larry Harp]

I have no personal experiance with Progressive so I really can't speak for or against them. However, I can relay my experiances with State Farm. I've been with them for around 25 years and over those years I have filed five or six automobile claims and four or five homeowners claims. One of them was a real doozy when a pipe broke in my attic and flooded my house. State Farm has paid off like a rich uncle. Never a whimper or a quibble. When the pipe broke my agent and his wife were like counslers helping us through getting a motel for a couple of days until the clean up crews could do their job. I have never had a boat claim with them but if they treat their boat claims like they do home and auto claims there shouldn't be a problem.



When I was in the carpet and floor covering business I used to deal with a lot of people who where having similar problems that I had with water damage to their carpet and other floor covering. The one consistant thing I noticed was that folks with either State Farm or Farmers had the easist time with their claim. It seemed to me that Allstate and Shelter were the worse.



Harpo

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Like a couple of other's, I have State Farm also.. Though they worry me a bit. My old agent retired just at the time I bought my Tin Pro-17 Tracker. The new agent asked me all sorts of questions about the boat and then told me that my home owners insurance covered everything, including gear and anything else I had in the boat. I got me renewal crap from Motor Vehicle Administration for my trailer. Not remembering what insurance numbers I had to enter on the forms, I called my agency and my agent was out. So I talked to an assistant who looked everything up and told me I didn't have any insurance on my boat. Then what was I using to get my plates the last two years I asked. She was as mixed up to me. When my agent came in he said he didn't understand either and after I stopped screaming, I got and paid for the coverage I thought I needed.. I only paid for six months because I'm going with someone else if I can find someone decent. No insurance for almost three years. RATS@!!...

 

[Herndonpro]

Thanks for the info. guys, I may get quotes from All State and State Farm, before I decide.

 

[BJ Laster]

We've been with state farm for a long time. Great company. When I bought my 901 I had to insure it with 300k liability insurance for tournaments and my state farm agent said that State Farm wouldnt cover it if it was damaged in a tournament beacuse of fishing for money. I looked at both Boat US and Progressive. Boat US was more expensive but I've heard nothing but good about them. Progressive was great to work with and got the coverage I need plus they will cover it fishing any tournaments.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Also look into Angler's Advantage if you are fishing tournaments....

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

I use Anglers Advantage, but have never had a claim.

 

[Mark Gross]

DO NOT USE AMERICAN FAMILY !! Remember your house insurance may cover you But only the other people or other property . Not your boat or your person .So ask lots of questions when they tell you your house insurance covers you !



I'm still waiting to go to court and its been 2+years and counting ! All I want is what the insurance company owes me.............. and my attorney's...............and the haspital...........and my doctors........and my therapist..............and etc. etc.etc etc.



They denied my claim before I was even conscious .



I switched my car to Progressive it was a lot cheaper and I've been real happy.

I switched my house to USAA it doesn't get any better than that.



A lot of insurance companies are good at paying the small claims right away. By small I mean their idea of small. 10- 20 k .

Ask an attorney who's a good insurer. when your talking hundreds of thousands of dollars .



GOOD LUCK,

M2C

Mark

 

[mike chip]

if you qualify try usaa. by far the best price i got for my boat.

i had progressive, but after the first year my rate went up 60 bucks, i had no claims but they wanted to raise it for some reason.

mike c

 

[Jim in VA]

Mike brings up the good issue of how insurance companies set rates or rate increases. I found out not too long ago that insurance companies can set rates based on a credit reports. Seems totally unrelated to me, but apparently the practice is pretty widespread. Needless to say, consumers (as a group) aren't too happy. There have even been lawsuits with two cases going all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases this term where consumers are challenging this practice. The cases of Geico v. Ajene Edo and Safeco v. Charles Burr will be heard during this current term in order to determine how much of the insurance companies' "system" for scoring policy holders based on credit reports must be disclosed to the insured.



Funny how something seemingly totally unrelated can affect insurance rates. Shop around!

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Just to add fuel to the fire, a low credit score / big credit risk, in my mind would be more likely to have a false claim? I know thats not always true. But I am sure that is an issue? I don't want an Olympic urination match (I still think thats funny) but to me it makes since. Stuff happens, I know that but what about all the fraud that people claim and we pay for month by month?



BF

 

[Ken Sabin]

Everything I own is insured thru State Fram. Ive made claims before-House, Auto, and they have paid up with out a blink. I once had a tackle box stolen from my truck. I had a check in hand for $650 in 3 days, no questions asked.



They may cost a little more, but you get what ya pay for !

 

[Aaron Scott2]

Bruce is right. People with poor credit are not as good a risk to ins companies. If companies could not use credit in their rating then the good credit customers will see thier rates go up. As far as claims, read your policy. Each policy tells you what is covered and what is not, and each company will vary on this slightly. If you are with a good company, stay with them. When it comes down to those gray areas of coverage, customers who have shown loyalty to the company will have a far better chance of having a claim covered. Do not jump companies just because your company may take a slight increase. The longer you are with a company the less likely they will drop you in the event of a claim. Take a higher deductible to reduce cost and do not put in small claims. Most ins companies underwrite more against frequency of claims than the one claim in 10 year customers.



Again, read the policy, it is the insurance bible. Every agent/claims adjuster will defer to the policy to what is and what is not covered.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Ken - How 'bout I "kinda" steal your tackle box and WE claim it on your insurance company and split the $850 bucks! Did you have to itemize everything? LOL

 

[Jim in VA]

So folks that are a bit late on payments now and then are a bigger insurance risk? At what point does not having a "perfect" credit score hurt you? Many folks are literally a single paycheck away from not being able to pay bills. I know of several friends that have had problems with their employers (one including the federal government) where a paycheck was delayed or passed to the next pay period. Fortunately, they had family/friends or savings to help cover temporary shortfalls, but that doesn't mean everyone else is as fortunate. Seems to me that insurance companies should not be dinging these folks or painting them with the broad brush of "scam artists" or potential crooks because of this. At the very least, the insurance companies have to make available for public scrutiny the methods they are using to set rates based on credit scores - including thresholds, methodologies and justifications.

 

[Aaron Scott2]

Insurance companies do not use credit to determine one's ability to pay their bill. It is used(among many other variables) to help predict future losses from a potential customer. It is not how rich or poor an individual is, it is how they manage their money. I have seen many well off folks pay a higher premium than the lower income folks because of the way the algorythms(sp?) are used by the insurance company.



If you do not agree with companies using credit, you can find some that do not use it. However, if you manage your finances well you will find better rates with companies that do use it.



I agree that insurance companies should disclose how they use credit to help set thier rates.

 

[Herndonpro]

Anyone ever use or have any experience with United Marine Underwriters? They have given me the best quote so far.



HP

 

[TRCM]

OK, the other post got me to thinking (bad thing I know) about my policy.

I have a stated value policy for the boat trailer, and if they are totaled, that is what I will be paid.



BUT, it seems that if just the trailer is totaled, they only pay market value minus depreciation.....same thing if just the boat is totaled.



Let's say for instance, that my boat is worth 25,000, and my trailer is worth 2500 right now, both brand new.



2 yrs from now, someone destroys my trailer while I am fishing. They will take the 2500 for the trailer new, depreciate it 500, and pay me that number minus my deductible of let's say another 500. I only get paid 1500 for the trailer, and now I don't have enough money to get a new trailer, cuz they cost 2500.



Or the boat gets totaled and not the trailer, they then take the 25,000 for the boat, and lop off 2 yrs of depreciation @ 5,000, and then my 500 deductible, so that I only get 19,500 for the boat. Again, not enough to buy a new one @ 25,000.



So it seems to me the only way to get the stated value on the policy with my current company, is if both the trailer AND the boat get totalled at the same time.



Again, talking to the agent, if they are both totalled, I get paid 27,500. If just the trailer is totaled, I get fair market value (new - depreciation-deductible), and if just the boat is totalled, I again get fair market value (again, new-depreciation-deductible).



That sounds like a sneaky way to not pay the full value, as the odds are pretty good that one or the other will get totalled, not both.



It's also got me thinking I need to switch to another company, one that gives a stated value for both the trailer and the boat individually.



BTW, the company I am currently with is Progressive, so you may want to call and talk to your agent if you use them as well.

 

[Mini]

Take a look at BoatUS. They have a towing package if you get stranded AND a tournament re-imbursment package. If your boat is in the shop and you pre-paid a tourney, you can get your entry fee back!



Mini