[C320-list] GEICO

[Ken]

I’m on the east coast too and with zero claims.  I inquired with geico why my rate went up significantly (~25%) this year.  I suggested the storms or claims in the area.  They said It was none of those reasons but rather “it just costs more to insure an older boat”.  Who knew my boat could age so much in one year. 
Ken

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 21, 2022, at 1:45 PM, Bruce Heyman <BruceHeyman at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi All,
> Thanks for bringing up the insurance issue.    I too have Geico and have seen their premiums go up significantly in previous years.   When I called to understand I was told that it was due to all of the named storms on the east coast.   Somerset is being hauled out next week so I just arraigned for a survey to do a survey so that I can shop our policy around.
> Thanks,
> Bruce
> 
> Bruce Heyman
> Somerset #671   San Pedro (LA) California
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of windswept at stx.rr.com
> Sent: Friday, August 19, 2022 7:00 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com; c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] GEICO
> 
> Some time ago we compared insurance coverage and premiums charged.  Maybe it is time to revisit this subject.
> 
> In the meantime I would like to share a couple of recent situations with Geico.  First, I had the unfortunate experience of having my boom break in June.  I will forgo the details at this time.  I decided to file an insurance claim understanding that it was a longshot.  Geico agreed to pay for a replacement.  I am not sure what tipped the decision in my favor.   I do have the rig inspected on a regular basis and submitted these records which do not indicate any issues with the boom or attaching hardware.  Maybe I got a favorable report from the surveyor.  There is certainly ample verbage in the policy to support Geico denying the claim.  While talking to the surveyor he mentioned that multi-line companies like Geico are not renewing policies on boats 30 years or older.  Windswept is a 1995 so I have a couple of more years before facing this situation.  I have been suspicious that with Geico premiums have been rising faster than with competitive companies which seems to be supported below.  It might be worth thinking in terms of it is not when but if we go ahead and pay for the insurance survey in order to switch to another company.  That said I have always held the view that premiums should not be the sole deciding factor in what insurance company to select.  How well they pay claims is at least as important in my mind.  I am not saying that my singular experience with Geico is representative of how they pay claims in general.  I may have just been lucky.
> 
> Larry
> 1995 C320 #246 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Doug Treff
> Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 10:02 AM
> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] GEICO
> 
> I bought my boat (1996 hull 350) 10 years ago and signed up for Boat/US insurance.  For the first 3 years, my premium was virtually unchanged, and I had no claims. in my third season, Geico took over the underwriting of the policies for Boat US. The following year, my premium went up by close to $200. That pattern continued each year. It seemed like they knew I would need to pay for an insurance survey to switch companies, and they increased my premium by slightly less than it would have cost to get a survey. After several years of steady increases, I decided to shop around and make the switch. I jumped to a new insurer last year and found a policy that was significantly less. The new premium was about 60% of the Geico renewal. Factoring in the cost of the survey, I broke even last year and started saving money this year. The new company renewal premium this year was only a $47 increase from last year. I'm now saving about $400 per year compared to what my last Geico quote was. The sent me a "we want you back" email this year and I clicked on it to see what the premium would be. Ridiculously high compared to my new coverage.
> 
> Much happier after escaping from the Lizard!
> 
> --
> Doug Treff
> doug at treff.us
> 
>> On Thu, Aug 18, 2022, at 10:44 AM, pat reynolds wrote:
>> After paying about $500 for the previous years premium I received a 
>> bill for $1200 for the following year for $54000 coverage.  I spoke to 
>> someone in India who had no idea why.  Since I didn't feel the boat 
>> was actually worth that much I suggested dropping the coverage to
>> $45000 and voila my premium went back down to $500.  Two years later I 
>> received notice that my coverage was now $38000 with an increase in 
>> premium.  As of today I am still seeing boats my age listing in the
>> upper 40,000 dollar range.   I think that little gecko has a devious 
>> mind, maybe an offspring of Chuckie
>>    On Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 05:01:22 PM CDT, Allan Field 
>> <allanfield47 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I have been with Boat/US insurance, now managed by the stars at 
>> GEICO, since 1988 with never a claim.  My policy just came up for 
>> renewal with the Agreed Value dropping by 10% from $125,000, as agreed 
>> to when this policy was taken out in 2016, to $112,500 . My 
>> understanding of Agreed Value is that this is an amount agreed upon 
>> between the insurer and the insured with depreciation not taken into 
>> consideration. I called GEICO and was told that underwriting was 
>> basing the new Agreed Value on what the boat would sell for now. I 
>> asked to talk with underwriting but was denied. I then brought up the 
>> fact that this change did not align with my understanding of the 
>> definition of Agreed Value. I told the agent that I could not buy this 
>> boat again for $112,500. So the agent went to her sources but could not find anything in her books for a 2006 Catalina 387!!! But underwriting could???
>> The agent and I both went on-line and searched C387's for sale, found 
>> about
>> 5 or 6, and all listed in excess of $135,000 with one close to 
>> $150,000. We then "agreed" that the Agreed Value of my renewal policy 
>> would be $135,000, the premium increase was about $67, and she sent me 
>> a revised Declaration Page.
>> 
>> On a side note, I don't get GEICO's best premium rates because I pay 
>> cash for my cars, I don't have any other insurance with them, and I 
>> don't have any debt including revolving credit debt!!!
>> 
>> The take home message is that if you are with GEICO, read the policy 
>> renewal declarations very carefully! I only focused on the math due to 
>> the adverse notice regarding not getting their best rates, something I 
>> had never noticed before.
>> 
>> Allan S. Field
>> Sea Shadow - C387, #103 (formerly C320, #808) Columbia, MD
> 
>