I'm in the preliminary stages of researching a boat for next year. I was pretty much only considering a cat (Skater 28, Motion 30, Spectre 30, Warlock 31), but after reading the posts here and elsewhere about non-existent or $4K+ insurance even with my expected 6 months layup I'm astounded.

And even though I spent every summer day on a boat growing up and have driven them for decades I've yet to own one in my name, so I guess I'm considered a rookie by the insurance companies.

At 50, with a clean driving record, I thought insurance wouldn't even be a consideration. But now it's jumped to the top of the list in making me consider whether to buy a boat (I'm not really interested in anything but a perfomance boat and I've kinda' had my fill of Vee's).

So what is it that makes cat insurance so expensive - the comprehensive or the liability? Does raising the deductable to an ungodly amount make insurance reasonable? Can you insure it against theft but not against crashing or sinking, and if so, what would that do to the cost? Are there any other ways of cutting the costs?

Thanks

If you haven't owned a cat before, you're limited to one market & you will be required to attend the Tres Martin Performance Driving course. I write for other carriers besides Markel, but in this situation, Markel is your best option. Don't fall for empty promises by other carriers. Also, Tres's course is not cheap but everyone I have talked to said they were surprised how informative the course was & how much they learned.

I can get you a quote for a boat up to 120MPH. If you are looking at a faster boat contact David & Elton Porter.

The comp portion is expensive. You can get a liability only policy to help soften the "blow". Higher deductibles help but you don't save much over a 3% ded. The total value is another aspect in the $$$ of insurance.

I had a 21' Eliminator cat for about 3 years in the late 80s, then a 31' Chris cat for about 3 years in the late 90s. Both ran about 100.
I'm considering buying another cat.
Anyone know what type of documentation on previous cat experience the insurance companies require to prove "previous cat experience"?
I'm not sure if I have any documentation that I ever owned either at this point.

A boating resume. I can email you one. You should be fine. Sometimes the carrier will require proof like prior insurance, sales agreement, registration etc.

True, someone could lie on the resume. (I am NOT implying that you would - this is info for the minds that begin "turning") If a claim happens an investigation always takes place. If it is found that the applicant lied about his/her experience coverage can (and most likely will) be denied.

Again, with your exp., you will be fine.

BTW, when I sold the Chris Cat around 2000, my insurance was about $500/year. Good driving record on both land and sea.
I'm guessing with recent cat "incidents", it will be considerably higher?
Gary

You are guessing correctly...

I'm right there with you regarding Cats, love the look and the ride of them. I am just going through the insurance issue which is a big Catch-22 with only a few players.

I would agree that recent high profile Cat accidents are gathering a lot of attention, but besides the costs of the boats, why then is insurance on a Jet Ski be so affordable. $5 to 6K a year is what Markel quoted and thats with a 6 month lay-up.

Every week I check the Water Patrol’s website and look at the recent Incident Reports, Jet Ski’s have a much higher incident rate than do any of the High Performance Boats (Cats or V’s). We boat primarily down at LOTO and with the abundance of fast boats you would think they would be involved in more accidents but they are not.

Jet ski’s amount for many more deaths and serious injuries in a given year, all you have to do is see a post that says “Two Boat Collision” and 9 out of 10 times it’s two jet ski’s running into or over each other.

One factor is the cost. Jet Ski's (Wave Runner's, SeaDoo's etc) are a lot less expensive to replace. If you compare the rate on a new "jet ski" vs a new boat, you will see that the insuance per 1K is actually pretty high (higher is most cases). That is not the only reason but it is one.

Thanks for the info Insurance God. Would that be the $1,000 or $2,500 Tres Martin course?

Shawn-
Your company cannot write on the Gulf Coast, is that correct?

Due