State Farm Insurance Sucks
 

Well after insuring my 26' cat for the past 3 months I was just informed a few days ago that they were cancelling my policy. It took these idiots 3 months to figure out what the hell they had written me a policy on even though I sent them pictures, disclosed horepower ect... Now they say they don't insure cats.

Well the agent I have been dealing with is a good guy and tryed to straighten things out with the underwriters but he was not able to help. He then went to the underwriters boss to try to straighten things out and it must have pissed them off.

I just bought a new Top Gun that they quoted me a price on two weeks ago, and now they said they won't insure that either. Now I have until this weekend to find insurance someplace else. I would not recommend anyone getting insurance through these jackasses. Stick with a company that exclusively deals with boats, it may be a little more expensive but at least they don't have their head's up their asses.:mad:

Sorry to hear of your troubles!:(

Thanks for the tip, though!
See my other post. Maybe you can jump in on the info!
:cool: ;)

I had the exact same problem with StateFarm. They dropped me after 3 months even after getting pics and all.

Call Buzz Fyhrie at Performance Marine Associates in Ft Lauderdale. Im very happy with them.

www.pmfastins.com (954)583-8556

Good luck, Eric

That sucks! Just be glad they said it now. Not when you were trying to make a claim. I just hope that all these other people that have State Farm, Nationwide etc etc with HP boats don't have a problem if they ever need to make a claim. Sure the low rates seem good but what are they really worth?

Damn, now I am really perplexed. I was just about to switch from IMIS to State Farm because they have all my other insurance, and gave me a better deal than IMIS. Now what do I do?

CHILL OUT....DUDE. TAKE A PILL or 2
It isn't like you were not warned....all of you who have HP boats and we now who we are....especially the people who have not told all to their insurance companies. I myself was one for years...getting by on a few hundred a year for insurance and bragging about it. All it took was one incident (to a friend who boats) to see what can happen and leave you out to dry....and I mean dry...like in the middle of the desert. And all we keep hearing about the increases are because of the all famous 9-11. For the last 6 months a lot of members have posted about their insurance problems.......they are not lying..it's all true. So there are insurance compamies that will write your boats. No doubt more money.......but also you should have coverage for the next 30 days after they tell you.....that you are no longer covered...there has to be a stop date.

Just a warning about the fine print...

Many non-marine-dedicated insurance companies have much lower rates because they are property damage policies only(Your boat and possible liability to another boat/dock/etc. and are depreciated cash policies(not agreed value). In a total loss, do you want a check for the cash value of your aged boat in current market conditions or do you want to be able to pay off the loan and replace the boat.

They also may not be aware of salvage, CG, and maritime laws affecting boating. The scariest part is the environmental impact laws.

Many do not know that a simple running aground in some seagrass could cause a bill in hundreds of thousands of dollars to survey the area replace the seagrass. And a fuel spill...forget it, even more money for containment, clean-up, environmental rehabilitation....Beware.

Lookin' for some part-time work.......................?????:D ;)

;) :D

Well can tell you guys about home insurance...sometimes I do insurance work and the big companys like state farm and allstate..... suck...If your house burns theywill barely fix it right...then they will make the contractor pay the bill and say they will repay you as the job goes along...ya right...you have to beg them...meanwhile the homeowner gets the house fixed and may be happy about it but they don't know that the contractor that fixed the place is still begging for their money back that they put up...The best company for home insurance is SAFECO...they go above and beyond with the repairs and will OK repairs that need to be done over the phone....and best of all is that their is no problem with getting paid..

HavasuCat - Call Buzz at PMA. He got my rate down from $3,500 to $1,900 on my cat and it is not a thin policy. He completly understands the high-performance industry!

I have had State Farm Insurance for 3 months now on my 28cig I picked them because they were the only ones that would insure me. I checked w/all the specialty marine companies and various others they all said that they wouldnt cover me because my driving record was too bad (1 speeding ticket) and my age(19) they said good luck finding somebody kid. So when I called State Farm I told them numerous times about the whole age, driving record, fast boat situation and showed them pictures and a copy of a survey and they said no problem. After hearing this post I am going to call and verify my policy again. Can anybody recomend another company if State Farm drops me?

I have State Farm, and yes they know what boat I have. Haven't had to make a claim yet though. I have a friend that took off his outdrive at Cumberland, across a log. State Farm took care of him completely on the repair. That's my storey, so far no complaints.

I had similar problems with a claim in 99 and then last year was going to switch eveything cars, houses, boats, motorcycles 2 mill in life insurance and company insurance about 25k per year in premiums and the local agent ran an MVR report all was fine then after cancelling American Family State Farm then two weeks later decided they overlooked a 4 year old speeding ticket and couldnt save on the cars and wouldnt even think about the bike??? Whant a mess and American Family let the whole account walk over the bike insurance (in their defense they said they would insure it for $4300 per year) I was amazed and that went all the way to the top (I was an agent in 97, 98) and because of incidents like this and the aforementioned i resigned.

I just got off the phone with a fellow board member that works for blackadar (sp) (I will let him chime in if he wants to identifiy himself) and sy goldberg. both great guys and I think my problem will be solved shortly. thanks for the advice from others.;)

Wow, some bad state farm stories...

We have experienced just the opposite with State Farm.
We have been with them 22 years, same agent for 17 years.
They have insured both my ZX Donzi's, HP is listed on my policy, we have agreed value on the boat and agreed value on the trailer.
We are also covered for personal injury and liability.

My last claim was a CrabPot (outdrive upper/lower) and they hired a marine surveyor and stroked me a check within 3 days minus my $500 deductible for a new out of the box drive.

I think the key is a good angent, and everyones situation is different, longevity and number of policies are key issues too.
They insure everything from jewelry to my house etc.
Bryan

I've had our boat insured with State Farm for the last couple years. Granted it isn't a HP boat. We claimed some drive work and they responded without any problems. Maybe we have just been fortunate

Had a beer bottle thrown from a parking deck onto deck of my Formula 303. State Farm wrote a check for $1500 and never came to look at the damage.:cool:

I have posted several times that the same thing happened to me. when I was looking into buying a cat I was quoted like $44 a month for full coverage. well needless to say now I am paying alittle more than that. e-mail me if you want the good hook up

I have LIBERTY MUTUAL and am very happy. good prices and they handle claims very fast. They won't take you if you have more than a few tickets though.

Hey Secret....That IS damn fine service...They must think it's cheaper to just cut checks for claims under $2000.00....Rather than send a slacky out on a half day damage confirmation...:D

I hate State Farm - had them for about 12 years on all my cars. Switched everything over to USAA when I got married. (Wife has a military family.) Now, my house, jewelry rider, car, truck, and boat costs less than my last policy with State Farm did, which was just for one truck.

I have state farm on everything. Never a problem.Hit the bottom with my Dozi and they paid dearly. My wife works for an insurance agency now and I won't change.:D

I've had nothing but good luck with State Farm too ! Last year I took my drive out they paid the claim($4500) without even seeing the boat !!!

Knock on wood !!!

Many times it's the agents who'll make or break you ! You'd be surprised what they can do ;)

I have nothing bad to say about the agent I dealt with, he tryed his best to work things out for us. It was the underwriters and their boss that were the problem. The agent is actually a boater himself and was very sorry about the whole situation.

I've had no trouble yet with State Farm, no claims either. They have seen my boat, know it 's 500h.p., 24', 70mph+...$254.00 a year for 16K agreed value on boat/trailer. HAD to get renter's policy(or homeowner) and carry boat as a rider policy, additional $152.00 a year. They have my 88 Sub too, $$508.00 a year for $8K agreed value. On the other hand. My boss was with them for 25+ years but they wouldn't cover his 33' Formula with twin HP500's, SF lost 15+ policies on that one. Strange, they will insure me(31 years old, single ) in a faster, less stable, more dangerous boat, but won't insure a 65 year old guy that's been boating for 35-40 yrs without incident in a slower, safer boat that also had a ferarri, corvette, STS Northstar, 3 other regular cars, 4 seadoos,2 houses, and 3 or 4 businesses already insured with them??? Bad way to treat your best customers.

The bad thing is that insurance companies like State Farm are so big that they don't give a sh!t if they loose several thousand dollars worth of policies from an induvidual because they will make up for it with all new ones they write and sell every other day.

HavCat,

Give Sawyer Cook Insurance a phone call. They have a division that writes nothing but marine policies, and have an A+ rating. I can't recall their underwriter, but when I did the research a few years back, their underwriter has been in the marine insurance business for almost 100 years. They insure your boat for "replacement value," not what some schmuck with a NADA Guide says it's worth. They also have 1st rate service and are located in the Inland Empire.

Their number is (800) 655-2814. I have always dealt with "Gayla" in the marine division.

Congrats on the new Top Gun!

WWW.TOTALDOLLARINSURANCE.COM I believe they just came out with a new CAT POLICY A second company that insures HP Boats would be CAMPISANO MARINE INSURANCE Good Luck!;)

I sent a link to this entire post to my very friendly and helpful State Farm Agent. I asked them to investigate things for me before I switch. In other words, I am going to be a very hard sell for them. I was told that the entire Insurance Industry is 'tightening the belt' across the board, which could be reasons why things like these bad experiences are happening. I am still not sure whether to switch to State Farm or not, but I will keep you all updated on what I find out from the inside.

I've been with Total Dollar the past year and have aways had good service from them. However....

I just got my annual bill and they went up $200/yr. They sent a nice letter saying the cost of business is rising. I've never had a claim in 40 years of boating, boat primarily on inland waters, have a 12 year old boat, and my rate is $1400/yr??. So I'm going to shop and see what happens..

I have State Farm for everything I own. House , 3 vehicles, boat. I have had tickets, accidents, fires, thefts, tornados, and they always took care of me.

I don't understand how they go about approving or disapproving policies. Like the point cwolv made, I too have a '24 boat that runs 70+. That is probably more dangerous than a larger boat capable of much higher speeds.

Dave M.

CHILL OUT????
 

ENTICER,
I for one, can tell you that HavasuCat is straight up with everything. He did tell State Farm everything they needed/asked for and then some. He even sent pictures. HavasuCat (and Ms. HavasuCat) are great friends of mine, and when you tell him to "chill out" without knowing all the circumstances, you really piss me off. Their Cat and their Top Gun are expensive toys to say the least, and when they are counting on an insurance company to protect their assets and get screwed like this, that's not a good feeling. Do you know what it's like to have your insurance co. tell you they are not covering you anymore??? Then squirm to get insurance asap? Especially, since insurance company's don't seem to work on your time schedule. He is just stating his "bad experience" with State Farm, and if you read a majority of the other posts, they agree with him. I understand everyone has their own opinion, but if you don't know all the facts here, don't talk like you do, got it? On a lighter note, Sy Goldberg came highly recommended..... and took care of the problem ASAP. Thanks Sy, now I can enjoy their Top Gun also:)

CIGNIFICANT'S PREMIUM INCREASE
 

I went over the math with cignificant and his premium only increased by $78 and he has the best insurance policy available for high performance boats(CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY,A CNA COMPANY).

I agree w/ Cy, especially since he has the policies in front of him and mine are at home. I rounded $1294 to $1200 and $1372 to $1400 creating a difference (in my simple mind) of $200. Still seems high for a 12 yr old boat..;) ;)

I have Tripple A on all my vehicles and boat. No problems with them and they even cover my stereo on the boat up to 4grand and on my Suburban 15grand for just a tiny bit more.

Here's the main question though.....HvavasuCat, Whats this Top gun you bought? Details man, I want details. You going to take that thing to Havasu? You know the SCOPE guys are going to bombard Sandiego in late July. Everyone's boating down for the weekend from the LongBeach/Newport area.

I just purchased a 33' Powerplay, I had State Farm insure my old boat (25' Whitewater with t/200's) for 13 years with no claims. They also insure both my cars, may house, my jet ski and so on. When I decribed the boat, they were like "sure no problem". So I picked up the boat, trailered it 100+ miles home and used it for two weekends when I got a call on a Friday afternoon from my agent saying "sorry " the home office has declined to cover your boat.

Total Dollar has taken care of me since.........

Mike

HEY LICKITY SPLIT................
 

Congrats on the Powerplay! Let's see some pics :cool:

Tank,

It is a 2001 (hold over) TS, HP 500's, XR's ect... I bought it from DSM and got a great deal (it is still on their web site if you want to take a look "boat of the month"), now I need to sell my cat. We have our house at Havasu, so we are going to use it there as well as off the coast here in So .Cal.

We might run the DSM Poker run in a couple of weeks, and we definitely want to do some of the scope runs. We are having a trailer built for it so for now it is on a DSM shop trailer that is a little beat up. I think we are going to try and go to Havasu next weekend, I hope the trailer makes it.

We ran it up to Newport from Dana Point and had lunch at Woody's last weekend, it was a fun ride. We are definitely interested in running with you guys when you come down to SD. Keep me posted.:cool: