Out of water survey

[Tortuga James]

My insurance company informed me yesterday that to renew by 4/22 that I had to have a out of the water survey done. It really torques me that they waited until 3 weeks before my renewal date, and after I was out of the water for all of December and January. All they said was that the survey was a requirement every 3 years to establish condition and value. My premium went up $200 as well.

Carrier is Great Lakes, through a broker in Ft. Lauderdale. Does that sound like normal business practices, or do I have the right to be pissed?

 

[captndale]

All insurance carriers require periodic condition and value surveys. The time between surveys varies with the company and the age of the boat.

 

[Tortuga James]

All insurance carriers require periodic condition and value surveys. The time between surveys varies with the company and the age of the boat.

I understand that and that is not what got me ticked off. It was the 3 week warning.

 

[captndale]

I understand that and that is not what got me ticked off. It was the 3 week warning.

Yes, that is definately short notice. I had the opposite problem last time. I got the letter asking me for a new survey about the same time I pulled the boat out of the water for the winter in November of 2008. I called the surveyor right away so I could get it done before it started snowing. It was only after I got the survey back and was preparing to send a copy to the insurance company that I took a closer look at their letter and saw that they were asking to have the survey completed before the start of the 2010 season.

 

[Akyla]

James,

I have also been required to submit a survey after being insured for a period of time. That is fairly normal and I have been hit with it every 3 to 5 years with past boats. The three week window is not and that is something that would set me off as well, not to mention the cost of the haul and survey. I would consider gving them a call and looking for an extension of the requirement based upon the lead time they gave you. When I was asked for an survey I did so and put them off until after the season and got no flak at all. I did the survey over the winter and that was OK with the insurance.

I have been using Charter Lakes for some time and been happy with the overall cost etc but I have not had to make any claims, so who knows what it will be like if they have to send me money. I joined the NACO group and accessed the insurance at a good price. When I first changed to them the savings and lack of hassle were significant over the previous company.

If you have to do the survey, why not use the survey to shop around for something else and see if you can save some bucks...

 

[Tortuga James]

Thanks Dave. Now I do want to shop around, but my broker is demanding not only that I have the survey done, but that I make a full payment of $3440 to renew on 4/22.

Edit: Ok, I just talked to them, and I have 30 days after the renewal date to complete the survey. Also, I can cancel with a minimum of 25% earned, so basically I could change carriers after 3 months without losing any premium dollars.

 

[tekdvr2]

Can you find a surveyor that is willing look it over in the slings? Cheaper than having to put it on the hard.

tb

 

[SkipperJohn]

My company sent a surveyor to me to do the job. His result was that he found 14 items that he said needed to be fixed. I rebutted and we agreed on 8 of them (3 I was having done anyway). The entire cost was picked up by my company except for the actual repairs. I use BOAT US.