I used to own a company called MarSalvor and we contracted most of the Salvage work for Progressive, Statefarm and several other ins. companies. Usually the terms of vessel salvage are detailed in your policy and can vary from state to state. 3000 to raise a 24' is close to appropriate. Our contract with Progressive paid 105 per foot, plus dry transport, which for a 24' boat, would have been another $ 230.

In Florida, the law dictates that a sinking is a LIABILITY issue and the insurance company is responsible to remove the vessel and mitigate all related environmental impact associated with the incident.

Be careful with many of the chain tow-boat firms. Sea Tow, for example, can be your best friend, or your worst enemy and a lot has to do with the individual operator/ franchisee. I've had the worst experiences in Tampa and the best in Destin/ Pensacola. The difference... the local operators.

PS.. I sold the company to Insurance Auto Auctions in June of last year... It was a good move as the insurance companies are getting harder to deal with as money grows tight.

Heres the info I have gotten so far: The normal rate for a hard job is $150 a foot, boat us pays $75 a foot to their out source.

I am awaiting info on negotiation tactics.

Thanks so much.

I apologize for the late post but this discussion was only brought to my attention today. I would like to clarify that the Tampa Bay area problems Todd mentioned with Sea Tow were with the former owners of the franchise; which is one of the reasons they are no longer the owners.

I purchased this franchise in 2007 after working and running another Sea Tow franchise in New Jersey owned by my father since 1987. I spoke with Todd at length about these issues and thought this was history. I am disappointed that a comment would be posted like this as vague as it is because it is very damaging to me and my employees. I think I am qualified as much if not more than anyone else in the Tampa Bay area to provide these services and do so at very reasonable rates. I have always offered fair pricing and think this is somewhat evident in the fact that between myself and my father, we have been in the marine towing and salvage business for 23 years now.

If anyone has had issues similar to this I would appreciate knowing about them and discussing them further.

I sincerely Apologize to Skip for not clarifying that the franchise I had a problem with had been sold. AND to clarify, I have heard nothing but great things about Skip's operation and the high ethical standards he maintains. Again, my bad.

T.