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Marine Insurance

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If you don’t already have your carrier credentials, make sure to submit “New Quote Service” form to your underwriter after inputting the quote.

Overview

Our partner carriers have terrific small boat and yacht insurance products. In fact, Progressive is a leader in small boat insurance. So, if you need to cover your client’s Yacht, boat, or PWC, one of our partner carriers is probably the right choice. Below are some of the benefits you’ll find with our partners:

Agreed Value
Total loss settlement on agreed value

With most of our carrier partners, the default settlement for total loss claims is agreed value, with no reduction for depreciation. Some will offer ACV or Partial ACV, either based on underwriting or condition of boat.

Marine Insurance Coverage
Broad marine coverage

With our carriers, the core policy will often include wreckage removal, fuel spill coverage, and, on-water towing coverage (up to a limit). They all offer awesome optional coverages to keep your clients secure on the water.

Marine Insurance Eligibility
Broad watercraft appetite

You can get coverage for sailboats, bass boats, ski boats, pontoon boats, cruisers and personal watercraft like Wave Runners and Jet Skis. In fact, with our partners you can even get coverage for mega yachts. We estimate you can insured up to 95% of the boats you see in the marina, lake or river.

Expert Advice
Expert advice when you need assistance

Our team is quickly become expert for all things boat and yacht, and we can offer you our expertise. If we don’t know, then the marine underwriters with our partner carriers are also happy to lend a hand.

Comprehensive coverage from stem to stern

Marine Insurance
Customize coverage

You can tailor coverage with endorsements to ensure it meets your client’s specific needs. Maybe offer a Captain’s Package for total price protection, or increase coverage limits for on-water towing or roadside assistance.

Wide variety of discounts

Our carriers offer a wide variety of discounts and incentives designed to reward your clients and provide them with additional benefits, while helping you sell and retain policies.


Multi-Policy Discounts – Auto, Home and Boat are better together

Many of our partners are multi-line carriers, that offer boat and sometimes yacht products. This is a great opportunity to bundle more product and get deeper multi-policy discounts. Now, you can get your client’s cars, home and boat comprehensive coverage, and you and your clients benefit from bundling the policy with the same carrier. It will lower premiums, offer convenience and help provide clients added peace of mind when sold as a package.Multi-Policy Discount

Provide the service your customers expect

mobile app
Take advantage of mobile service tools

Today’s customers prefer the option of doing business online. Take advantage of e-signature and ensure your customers are taken care of 24/7 with online access to their account when the carrier offers Mobile, our smartphone apps. Get started today!

Underwriting

With the watercraft, boat and yacht products available through our partner carriers, you can reasonably expect to provide coverage for over 95% of the vessels you see in your local marina, lake, or river.

watercraft infographic
Vehicle classifications

Monoline policies are welcome – most carriers will even write a write a standalone liability-only policy (except for Travelers Yacht). Below is a list of the most common types of boats we can insure:

  • Sailboats
  • Yachts and even mega-Yachts (Not all carriers)
  • Houseboats (Not all carriers)
  • Bass and Fishing boats
  • Ski and wake boats
  • Speed or Power boats
  • Pontoon boats
  • Cabin cruisers
  • Personal watercrafts such as Wave Runners, Jet Skis and kayaks

Certain watercraft – such airboats are ineligible with nearly all our carriers. Want to make sure you can write a boat with a specific carrier, check out the underwriting manual for more details on ineligible watercraft.

Maximum speed

We can underwrite some high-performance boats, but it is not recommended. These boat typically have loss ratio issues and are not, generally, in the appetite. However, we can entertain them on a case-by-case basis. Below is a general rule for speed:

  • Preferable: boast that go 65 mph or less
  • Powerboats or bass/fishing boats may be fine if they are 85 mph or less

Maximum length

  • In the Yacht programs you can write mega-Yachts up to and sometimes over 100 feet.
  • In the Safeco, Progressive, Foremost, Nationwide products, length may be limited to 65 feet or less (see the manual).
  • Depending on the carriers (eg. Safeco), there may be differences in length requirements by state
  • In the yacht programs, we can do values that go up to $2M. These will require underwriter approval.
  • In the normal boat products, limits on value may range between $300,000 to $1.5M.

Marine surveys

Some carriers will have no limit on age of the watercraft, with the exception wood hull construction. It is common that a survey would be required to assess value and condition of the boat. This will vary on age and value. Surveys may be done by the owner (self-survey), and can be done in-water. However, for older boast is is common to require a full “hauled” survey. As a general rule, expect survey requirements for:

  • All watercraft 30 feet and longer, and/or 15 years old or older
  • Wood boats 5 or more years old of any size
Storage

In general, the carriers are OK with boats kept at the policyholder’s private residence, marinas or similar storage facilities such as a boat slip, dock or other private, locking and fully enclosed garages or buildings. Public storage facilities that are secure, fenced-in and only accessible to renters are also acceptable.

Generally, unacceptable storage includes open-air storage, communal areas, fenced or unfenced mobile home parks, condos and apartment parking lots.

Operator eligibility

Operator eligibility will depend on the size and complexity of the boat. Experience requirements are most common for Yacht policies. See your manual for specifics. However, most customers are eligible for a normal boat policy, so we have the ability to accommodate a broad range of driving experience.

  • In some cases, everyone who will operate the boat must be listed on the policy, including those not in the household who will regularly operate the boat.
  • In other cases, the boat policy is permissive use. Consult your manual before you issue a policy. This is important for coverage.
  • Typically, the principal operators on the watercraft policy must be at least 21 years old.
  • For some carriers and on smaller boats, operators may be at least 14 years old.
  • Operators over the age of 18 must have a valid driver’s license.
  • Operators must have no major accidents on their driving record, no more than one at-fault accident per operator, no more than two incidents per operator and no more than six incidents per household.

mobile app
Dedicated underwriting and support

Have a question about a particular policy risk? No problem! Our team of underwriters is dedicated to helping you get answers and getting your policy issued.

To get in touch, call underwriting at (877) 334-7646 Ext. 106.

To create a trackable ticket, submit a service form:

Policy Service
New Quote Service

Quoting

  • The Basics of Quoting

    You will not be able to get quotes through PL Rating for small boat or yacht programs. If you already have your carrier credentials, you can quote small boat and PWC’s directly in the carrier systems. The following carriers offer small boat and PWC products.

    • Progressive
    • Safeco
    • Nationwide
    • MetLife/Foremost

    If you don’t have direct access credentials yet or are quoting yacht or commercial marine, you will need to complete the quick quote form or application and refer to underwriting using the “New Quote Service” form.

    Pro-Tip:

    As will all lines of business you quote. Make sure you input any new prospect or policy into NowCerts to match carrier download. This will help get your accounts properly assigned so you can view them online, and accounting can match them for commissions.

    Determining Watercraft Value

    • With some carriers total losses are settled using agreed value, while other use ACV or a combination of both. This means it’s important to determine the current value of the boat. For most boat policies, when you set that amount that is the most that the carrier will pay.

      • It’s always OK to insure a watercraft for the purchase price if it is a recent purchase. If carrier system has edits for value, and you get a “value exceeds” message, you may need to obtain a copy of the purchase receipt. There is no need to call for approval if it is a new purchase and the value is supported by a purchase receipt.
      • Other boats should be insured for no more than their current market value plus the cost to replace non-stock permanent equipment (GPS, fish finders, kicker motors, etc.). For larger vessels, you will likely have a survey. This will provide the current value of the boat.

      If all else fails, don’t underestimate the value of a good Google search. You will likely find some comparable boats to assist in determining value. Keep in mind that location impacts value, so search for listings that are near the area where the insured boat is stored.

  • Tips for Accurate Quotes

    Always look to bundle specialty lines (like boat & yacht), you could help your customer qualify for a significant discount and improve your chances to convert your lead. When you’re quoting with Nationwide, Safeco, MetLife and even Progressive, you’ll be able to apply multi-policy discounts within their quote process.

    Ask your customers about their boat equipment. Unattached equipment is specific to the boat but can be moved, for example: anchors, oars or fire extinguishers. Most watercraft policies will automatically includes some coverage (as % of the hull value) in the base policy. However, depending on what your customer has, more coverage may be needed. 

    If your customer is into fishing, find out how serious they are. Fishing equipment is often considered personal effects and have a sublimit (eg. $750 is included in a Safeco base policy). Some people who fish have a considerable amount of expensive equipment and $750 isn’t enough to replace it. In that case, there is a choice to add additional fishing equipment coverage or (look to see if their are special endorsement for fisherman).

    Does your customer travel to Mexico?. For an additional premium, the navigational limit may be extended to include the coastal waters of Mexico. Make sure you provide the accurate limit if you extend the navigation to Mexico.

    If the policy is “listed operator” make sure to include all regular operators of the boats, whether in the same household or not. Typically, the number of operators does not affect the premium. 

    Include any boat claims as well as the auto driving merit for the listed operators. Merit activity does not affect the premium it only affects eligibility. Do not include COMP claims.

    Identification numbers for the hull, motor and trailer are not required for a quote. The are likely required to issue the policy – so be prepared to get this information.

    Trolling or kicker motors are considered permanently attached equipment so they may not have to be listed separately. Just increase the hull coverage amount to include them.

  • Adding Violations and Accidents
    • Accidents and Violations

      As you gather information, you’ll indicate reportable accidents when quoting in the carriers quoting systems. If you don’t have the exact accident information, such as the date, input whatever activity information that the customer discloses to you, but be sure to explain to them that the information needs to be verified and that their insurance quote is subject to change.

      Activity information required varies by state. For specific state requirements, refer to the Driving Record – Accidents, Convictions and Claims section the carrier manual.

      Order Reports tab in Quote & Issue

      To aid you in presenting an accurate quote to your customer, you can order an MVR and CLUE report when quoting in most carrier systems. Incident information from the reports is typically automatically applied to the quote & application. Before issuing the policy, compare and reconcile reports against the driving activity information you previously entered.

      Modifying or deleting incidents

      During the quoting process, you may choose to delete incidents provided on the reports – if proper documentation is provided (such as a letter of experience from a prior carrier or a policy report). You can also modify or delete incidents in certain situations:

       Problem with incident from CLUE  Permitted Action  
       Driver listed on the CLUE report is incorrect  Change to other listed driver
       Driver is no longer in household  Change to driver out of household
       No Fault on part of insured driver Change to No Fault (allowed for some, but not all claims)
       Vehicle not owned by insured at time of loss Delete claim
       Claim payment higher Agent may increase an amount of claim payment but may not decrease amount
       For conviction date states only (CA, CO, IN, MI, ME, NV, NY, NC), the listed incident of same date has higher surcharge point  Delete incident

       
      Note:

      • Documentation is not required for all CLUE-reconciled accidents, only those deleted during the quoting process. It’s possible documentation may be requested during the reconciliation/review  process after issuance of the policy if information on the reports is inconsistent with listed activity.
      • Customers can correct any driving records by contacting Lexis Nexis at 888.206.3652.

      If you have additional questions, contact your underwriter.

  • Getting a Bindable Quote
    Tips to help get a bindable quote

    For members still in the initiation period, or if you require the assistance of our underwriting team. We make getting a bindable quote easy. However, you need to remember, this is a two-way-street and we can only provide you quick service when you provide all the information. Below are some tips for assuring that you get a fast turn-around on your new submission service request:

    • Make sure you input you clients information in PL Rating (personal lines) or Insureon (commercial lines) before you reach out to your underwriter for assistance.
    • If you’ve made assumptions in your PL Rating or Insureon quote, please let you underwriter know when you send in the service request.
    • If you have supporting documents, like a signed application or photos, include those with the service request.
    • Submit a New Quote Service request form. This will create a tracking ticket and keep your request on-track.
    • If your request has a special priority, include that in the form comments and we will do our best to accommodate.

Yachts

Members have access to three excellent yacht programs, two offered through market leaders Travelers and Markel American, and a third with Safeco. All three programs offer board coverage, competitive pricing, and excellent service for your private client and marine enthusiast clients.

Depending on the program, and in addition to some of the benefits outlined in the overview, the yacht programs offer liveaboard, limited charter, and a wide range of length and value options, as well as houseboats.

Yacht Insurance Quote
Getting a quote and applications

Most yacht programs are submission based and require underwriting approval or review. To begin the quote, simply complete the application or quick quote below, and submit to underwriting using the “New Quote Service” form. If you have direct access to Travelers and believe you will do more than an occasional application, direct access can be provided for quoting.

Applications & Quick Quote:
Safeco | Travelers | Markel | Quick Quote Form

Yacht Quote Process
The Yacht Application-to-Issue Process

In some instances, newer yachts will fall within our binding authority. However, with many applications (especially older yachts) there will be underwriting review. Afford the time to get you policy fully vetted by underwriting. Expect the process for an application-to-issue to follow these simple steps: (This process can range from 1 – 7 days depending on all responses promptly provided)

  • Quote/Application submission to IronPoint or carrier underwriting
  • Quote completed, indication shared back to producer for review with insured
  • Producer indicate bind request
  • IronPoint underwriting or carrier will issue policy

Underwriting Eligibility and Highlights

  • Owner Eligibility

    The following are generally not acceptable in any of the yacht programs:

    • Owners, insureds and operators with excessive marine losses.
    • Owners, insureds or operators under 18-years (25-years of age with Travelers).
    • Applicants convicted of felonies.
    • Absentee owners (may be approved if submit to underwriting with some carriers).
    • Applicants convicted of felonies.
  • Boat Eligibility

    The following eligibility rules provide a guide to what boats are ineligible. For the full list of ineligible boats, see your manual. These rules designed to help with the most common eligibility rules. The following are generally not eligible with our partner carriers:

    • Boast used for commercial purposes.

      Note:
      Both Travelers and Markel allow limited charter. There are limits in the number of passengers, number of days per year, and only for the purpose of “incidental” business uses. See the manuals if you are unsure. If your insured exceeds these rules, see the commercial marine section.

      .
    • Racing and multi-hull sailboats boats.

    • Houseboats with a coastal exposure. (Inland is generally acceptable)

    • Boats insured for more than their value. (Travelers)

    • Liability only and physical damage only risks. (Travelers and Safeco Only)

    • Boats that are being held for sale

    • Yachts that exceed a specific maximum speed according to design or the advertised capability are ineligible.

      • Yachts under 30′ – 75 MPH (For Market 75 MPH is only available if Center Console)
      • Yachts over 30′ – 55 MPH (For Markel the max is 65 MPH)
  • Length and Value

    Generally speaking, there is no length limit with Travelers or Markel. With Safeco, the length is limited to 40 feet.

    For Markel, the maximum value is $3M. Travelers will has no official limit to the value, however; all risk over $350,000 are reviewed by carrier underwriting for approval. Safeco value is 100% up to underwriting discretion, per the manual $300,000 is within IronPoint authority.

  • Surveys

    As yachts age, their components and machinery degrade. This degradation is more pronounced in watercraft due to the environment where operated and regular use. Additionally, the yacht will begin to depreciate.

    The condition and the value of the yacht is is best determined by a current “condition & value” survey performed by a competent, unbiased, and accredited surveyor.

    When is a survey required:

    • At 10-Years – Salt Water
    • At 15-Years – Fresh Water
    • Survey’s can only be 3-years old at new business
    • At renewal, a new survey may be required if the previous survey is over 3-years.

    Refer to your manual for rules when a survey may be waived, or when a self-survey is sufficient.

  • Determining Value

    The market value of the yacht should include the hull, motor and all equipment permanently attached. If there is a trailer, the value should be listed separately. To validate current market value, please consult one or more of the following sources:

    The Yacht Value should not exceed the purchase price. A Marine Survey may be required to substantiate the value of the vessel.

  • Payment Plans

    The following payment methods are available with various down payment rules (see carrier manuals for specifics):

    Installments
    Method
    Fees
    Carrier Rules

    Paid in Full

    Electronic or direct bill

    Varies by carrier

    Insured pays in full at policy inception. Note: with Markel there is grace period to issue payment after policy issuance.

    Monthly

    EFT, Recurring Credit Card, or Direct Bill

    Varies by carrier

    For Markel this may only be available if paid via EFT.

    Various Intervals

    EFT & Direct Bill (Varies by carrier)

    Varies by carrier

    Markel offers a range of traditional 2 thru 6 pay options. (See manual)

Commercial Marine

Our carrier partners have expensive commercial marine experience, they fully understand the risks and liabilities that marine business owners are exposed to. As a result, our carrier partners offer your clients customizable, affordable insurance coverage for most marine operations. Let us help you find a policy that can help provide your clients a little piece of mind.

Below are some of the risk you can quote:

  • Rental facilities – manual and fishing boats, houseboats, runabouts, and personal watercrafts
  • Charter – includes guides, bareboat, sport fishing, dinner cruises, water taxis, and sightseeing excursions
  • Bed and breakfast boats – coverage for floating bed and breakfasts that usually do not move from the dock including yachts, trawlers, sailboats, and houseboats
  • Boat clubs – formal clubs, associations, or timesharing groups
  • Boat schools – vessels used for instructional purposes in conjunction with a formal school
  • Commercial fishing boats – includes small, family-run, commercial fishing operations
  • Owner/operator vessels used in a light commercial capacity including:
    • Artisan
    • Camp or youth organization
    • Corporately owned, client entertainment, or employee use
    • Dock or shoreline construction
    • Environmental
    • Fish farm
    • Photography
    • Real estate
    • Safety or security patrol
    • Transport – worker or materials
    • Marina-based weed control and work boat

Service Request Forms

  • Policy Service
  • New Quote Service
  • New Help Desk Ticket

Read Me: Service Requests