No houseboat insurance, how do we get insured?
by Nancy M
(Garner, NC)
Steel Hull Lazy Days Houseboat Helm
We have a problem getting houseboat insurance for our Lazy Days Houseboat.
We spent 3 years totally rebuilding our 1966 steel hull Lazy Days Houseboat. It is a beautiful house boat, all newly refurbished, and equipped with all the necessary safety equipment.
The problem is, we can't get houseboat insurance for it. No one will insure it, even for only liability.
Help, does anyone else have insurance for an older steel houseboat, and with who????
We are ready to take it to the marina we have been paying for, and now we are landlocked.
Thanks, Nancy.
Reply - Answer
Well Nancy, I can understand how you feel, since getting turned down for houseboat insurance, especially after spending 3 years totally refurbishing it, can be really frustrating.
Now let's take this one step at a time:
1) Does the houseboat have a current survey, either before the renovations, or since completing all the refurbishing work? Insurance companies generally need a current marine survey.
2) Are all of the "recommended repairs" from the survey been completed or taken care of? In other words, does it get a clean bill of health, survey wise?
3) Some of the insurance companies are giving older steel houseboats a bad rap. They see them as "end of life" models with a large liability attached to them. However there are hundreds, if not thousands of older steel houseboats presently insured.
4) You can have a look at our houseboat insurance page to get the names of some of the better insurance companies.
5) This one is a "personal note" from me:
I'm sure all houseboater's will agree that there's some unnecessary negative labeling going one in the houseboat insurance industry regarding older houseboats, especially when they pass a marine survey.
Lastly, I'm sure some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat insurance experiences and companies for you.
IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com
