subject: Know The Insurance Basics Before You Buy Boats [print this page] If you are currently working on your plan of buying boat, then I would like to ask you if you have given the insurance a serious thought. Insurance is one of those important factors which need to be dealt with seriously from the very first when the plan to buy boats first hit your mind. It is always advisable to buy boats excluding the insurance. You should buy the insurance for the watercraft separately from a different agent and try not to include it in your homeowners policy. Some agents want to sell boats along with the insurance coverage, but make it clear that you are not interested in such a deal.
Choose an agent whom you know personally or you have a reliable reference. Dont visit any random insurance agent as you cannot guarantee yourself the best insurance coverage for the watercraft you are going to buy. Boats or marine insurance specialists are there who can be a good option if you personally dont know some good insurance guy. A reputed insurer will never cheat you. Some boat-owners try to fit their own insurers to sell boats with a commission, dont buy such offers.
Make it sure that the insurance coverage includes pollution hazards, environmental damage, wreck removal or salvage recovery etc. Homeowners policies often do not grant such areas as a part of the insurance. Before you buy boats, make sure to evaluate the value of the watercraft. As insurers take lots of factors into consideration to determine the cost or coverage of the boat, it will be wise to evaluate the same beforehand to be confident and get the best deal. Age of the vessel, type, length, speed, current condition, compliance with Coastal Guidelines of the state or country, primary residence, ownership, cost etc. are some of the points you need to ask the person who wants to sell boats to you.
Remember that every boat has its distinct insurance coverage. Insurance cost and coverage of a typical sailboat or houseboat will not be same for the latest luxury yacht with all the high-tech facilities. So when you are going to buy boats, know its features and negotiate accordingly with the agent. Here one policy does not fit all.
Do not confuse yourself over Agreed Value Vs Actual Cash Value. Depreciation is the main factor which sets the difference between the Actual Cash Value and Agreed Value. Most of the people who buy boats, find it the most perplexing issue to understand. To put it in a simple way, Actual Cash Value policy is better for inexpensive boats as you don't bother much about the total loss including depreciation. Agreed value is suitable for expensive boats where you will agree on a particular value which will be paid whenever your watercraft has an attack. It may be costlier, but at the end of the day, you will find it profitable. Let the agent sell boats insurance only when you have fully understood the coverage, its limit and boundaries etc.
by: Michalis Economides
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