We got an email from our insurance company, Yacht Insuror, that they would no longer be able to cover us because they had to declare bankruptcy. We had 30 days to find new insurance or pause our sailing until we found a new company. After 30 days, our current insurance would be null and void. Talk about stressful!
Not only did we have to stress about finding a new company, but we also were worried about our timeline to head south. Most insurance companies want to see the hull before agreeing to cover you, so we were thinking that we would have to Hull-out for a period of time in order for them to assess Calypso.
We spent some time shopping around and our broker helped us to find a few options.
We ended up getting 3 quotes, 2 of which we hated and I’ll tell you why:
The first one was for $10,000/year and would only cover us in US waters. Well, you know us and we are itching to adventure away from the US again so that wouldn’t work.
The second one was also for $10,000/year and would cover us in the US and the Bahamas, but in the Bahamas we were only given a 3 month window that we were allowed to be there. So, we could go there but then have to turn around and get right back to the US. Again, definitely not the plan for the Lazy Geckos.
The third one our broker found for us and we ultimately chose. The company name is Concept Special Risks Insurance, and the coverage is for the east coast of the US, the gulf coast of the US, the Bahamas, and the Carribean Sea. The exclusions are Cuba, Columbia, Hati and Venezuela and we are not to exceed 250 miles offshore.
For this coverage, they offered a standard and a premium package.
The Standard is $10,000/year and they would replace anything broken/damaged but at the depreciation value. This means that if our radar is damaged and 5 years old, we get a check for the depreciated value instead of the cost to get a new one in its place.
The Premium package is $11,000/year and they will replace things as new-- with no depreciation.
It was a no-brainer for us to go with this company with the premium package. So for the year our total cost came to $11,012.
Typically we get the question of, wow why is insurance so expensive?? Well, cruising vessels are always more expensive than the recreational boater. There are a few reasons for this. One, we are living on our boat so we need the coverage on it to be year-round. Two, Calypso is a large and expensive boat and three, we love traveling to many different places!
Another thing you should know is that even with the exclusions, that doesn’t mean we can’t travel to those places. Let’s say we wanted to go to Cuba for 2 weeks. We can get what’s called supplemental insurance for those 2 weeks so that we are still covered during that time.
We are so happy that we have coverage for next year and love the company we picked. We think it is a great price for all the coverage, and with the supplemental insurance it’s not a big deal that we have those limitations. YAYYY another crisis averted! Our old insurance ends on the 7th and the new insurance begins on the 7th so we are completely covered, don’t have to take our boat out of the water and can seamlessly continue our way down south!
Until next time!