Oroville - Chico Boat Insurance - Dahlmeier Agency | Dahlmeier ...

You can tell it?s getting to be summer around here ? here?s another story in the paper about two boats colliding on Lake Oroville, one boat totaled and, altogether on both boats, three people injured.

Being a Dahlmeier Insurance agent, whenever I read something like this, my thoughts naturally go to the question of which, if either, of those boaters was carrying insurance. In this case, we happen to know that one of them, Andy, a former sea captain and one of Dahlmeier?s clients, was covered.

From long experience, we in the insurance industry often see families carrying an amount of liability coverage on their auto insurance sufficient to cover major calamities; but when it comes to their weekend pride and joy, the USS Guppy, they figure minimum limits are adequate to them. The last thing that crosses their mind when thinking about their 12-foot yacht is ?What are the chances I could get into an accident with this thing?? When it does cross their mind, the answer they come up with is ?Nil.?

Some even assume the liability coverage on their cars also covers their boats. No way on either count.

The thing is, when we?re talking about liability coverage on anything that can cause bodily harm and property damage, you need to carry insurance with a face value sufficient to cover all or most of your assets. That way, you can feel more secure should an accident result in a humongous court judgment going against you.

Rule of thumb: maintain the same liability limits at home, on the road, on the water, or in the air. Most people don?t realize how common accidents are, especially those involving bodily injury; they even occur while you?re having a good time on the water.

Let?s look at types of coverage you can get in a single policy on your boat:

Hull insurance - This covers physical damage or loss to your boat; its engine(s); equipment and gear essential to operation, whether integral to the boat or not, and maintenance associated with repairing accidental damage.

Additionally, all hull insurance may, depending upon the policy you choose, stipulate an agreed-upon value or an actual cash value (ACV) of the craft when there are accidental damages.

Generally speaking, the policy that specifies up front what will be paid in the event of an accident is the better choice since, if you suffer a total loss to your boat, it pays whatever sum you and the underwriter have agreed upon, not what current market values dictate.

ACV, the less expensive choice, provides less coverage (unless rampant, double-digit inflation breaks out ? something this country has never seen) in that it pays the current market value of the boat or its components because, given normal depreciation, the value of the boat and its components has most likely declined during the years since you purchased, and first insured, it.

Liability ? Liability coverage protects and indemnifies you for claims against you for loss of life, personal injury, and damage to the property of others for which you are legally liable. Good marine liability coverage should take into consideration the unique responsibilities of boat owners, such as the cost of removing your wrecked craft from navigable channels, an obligation that could account for a very tidy sum.

Our recommendation is that you have at least $500,000 in coverage for the liability you could incur simply as a result of an accidental fuel spill.

Boat owners are legally responsible for the cost of containment, cleanup, and environmental damages from fuel or oil discharge that might occur, for example, during a dockside sinking, a fire, or after running aground. Big oil companies are better known for their oil spills than are small boat owners. They?re also known for carrying liability insurance to cover those spills.

Do you have enough insurance to cover the cost of a spill your USS Guppy might cause? If you?re not certain, we would be very happy to take a look at your boating policy ? and chances are you?ll be happy, too.

Dahlmeier Insurance agents are known throughout the insurance industry for outstanding service in protecting Northern California residents, their families, and businesses from financial risk. In each edition of the Dahlmeier Insurer, we relate a story based on our agents? experiences or information from our files. Naturally, no actual names are used nor are true locations presented ? we take seriously our pledge to keep all such information confidential as a professional courtesy to Dahlmeier clients.

Source: http://www.dahlmeier.com/watercraft-insurance/boat-insurance/

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