Opinion wanted

islandhopper00

islandhopper00

Active Member
Jan 4, 2007
2,670
Lake Norman (Denver) NC
Boat Info
240 Sundancer
Engines
5.0L 260hp, BIII outdrive
I have a situation for what I know what I want to do, but not sure I should cut my nose off to spite my face!

So, I have an umbrella policy with my primary insurance company, State Farms. They don't or won't insure my boat....
I have a Declared Yacht policy on my Sea Ray with Boat US. (State Farms used to insure my boat).

Here is my dilemma, State Farms wants my Boat US policy information, for my umbrella policy. I'm sure so State Farms can make sure Boat US pays first before my Umbrella Policy does.
I gave them this information two years ago, and it chapped my butt then. I just don't think it's State Farms business what I do with Boat US. I'm about to tell State Farms I'm not giving them the info. (I have it, but don't want to give it to them) I'm sure State Farms will then cancel my umbrella policy.

So, do I cut my nose off to spite my face. Would you? I've been with State Farms for 20+ years....I know, doesn't mean ****. But I'm tired of being pushed around because people don't do the right thing, so I have to prove I am. What the hell.
 
My understanding is, it is normal for the umbrella carrier to want to see the policies under them.

I also will offer unsolicited advice to check out companies with an independent agent. The big guys usually spend their money on football ads not claims. Check out Auto Owners, Erie, among others with an independent agent. You can also check out Amica directly online. All of these companies were well rated in claims payout and customer service while being priced competitively.

MM
 
Maybe 20 years of business with one company *may* get you some favorable discretion, or it may not. Their behavior indicates they will use every means available to them to not pay out on your umbrella claim. So how much is that 20 years of business really worth?

I would take the opportunity to explore other insurance providers.
 
Generally, an umbrella policy requires the policies it is "over" to have certain limits. My umbrella requires me to carry $300,000 lialbility insurance on my boat and cars. They are asking for the informatiion to verify that the underlying policies meet the limits of the umbrella. You gain nothing by not giving it to them. If your boat policy doesn't meet the minimums specified by the umbrella policy, your umbrella is worthless.

I dropped State Farm years ago when they stopped offering "guaranteed replacement value" coverage under their home owner's poliicies without informing their insureds. I began using a broker at that time. Broker's fiduciary responsibilty is to the insured. A company agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the insurance company. Simple choice to me.
 
There is nobody around the corner waiting on you on this.........

Any umbrella coverage picks up after any underlying coverage you may have on whatever asset you are wishing to cover. Umbrella writers also require a certain amount of underlying coverage. That keeps you from buying 50K liability on your car and writing a $1.0 mil umbrella to get your liability on the cheap. The request for the policy is only to be sure you have the required underlying coverage and you are being asked because you have the boat and umbrella from different agents and underwriters.

I have found that you get a good bit of leverage with the agent if you try to write everything except your boat policy thru him. I use an independent agent who has us with a company that is very selective in order to control risk and we save a lot of premium money that way. It also makes keeping up with things a lot easier since you have only one phone call to make when you buy/sell a car, build a new outhouse, add a barn, etc. The boat in Florida is the only thing not covered by that master policy and all I had to do was tell the agent how much liability I had on the yacht policy.
 
It is normal and customary for Umbrella carriers to ask for and require copies of underlying coverages and policies . They write coverage " over" these primary policies and are dependent on the term and conditions contained in them .
I would not worry about this request. In fact, i'd comply quickly so a not to put up any "red flags" to your Umbrella carrier.
 
Mike - I have pretty much the same setup as you. I have StateFarm for the house, cars and an umbrella and Progressive for the boat. In order for the umbrella to cover the boat, StateFarm (or any other carrier that might have your umbrella) has to know all the liabilities that the umbrella is covering. If you read the fine print on the umbrella, it only will "kick in" after the liability limits for the other policies have been exceeded. So if your boat policy has a $300k liability limit, that would pay first, then the umbrella would pay up to the limit of the umbrella - usually $1m +. So in simple terms, the umbrella is no going to pay instead of your primary policy, only after the primary policy limit has been exceeded. I provide this information to State Farm every year. For some reason StateFarm is not interested in covering boats - their quotes on my boat have been crazy.
 
A few years ago when it came time to renew our insurance policies I decided I'd do some checking around. I checked with several companies but ended up going with Met Life. They now insure our home, condo, three cars, two Boston Whalers and we have an umbrella policy also.

Our Sea Ray is covered by Travelers Yacht Insurance.

Met Life has been great to deal with. We've had one fairly small claim and it was handled very professionally. Same thing for Travelers. We have this claim right now for the electrical issues on Beachcomber. It's being handled very professionally and they have not balked a bit on paying the claim. They sent out their surveyor, he and the mechanic went over the damage, both submitted their reports and Travelers OK'd the claim.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Frank and Bill, State Farms has all my business except for my boat. They had my boat, untill they told me they wouldn't cover my boat anylonger due to the high number of claims from storm damage. I never had any claims. This happened years ago.
So I picked up Boat US and they have been great to deal with, and even write a rider policy to take my 240da to the Bahamas. Not many ins companies will write a rider to cover a 24ft boat to the islands.

Anyways, I complied with their request initially, but now they want to make sure I havent dropped my coverage amounts. Dang, don't trust much. I could understand if I had a huge claim history or questionable transactions in my history.

I don't know why this climbs on my nerves, but it does. I have been a very loyal customer. I think it goes back to having my boat policy dropped by them, for no reason, or worse because other people have had to many claims. I do the right thing, but get punished for the folks that don't.
 
MonacoMike said:
My understanding is, it is normal for the umbrella carrier to want to see the policies under them.

I also will offer unsolicited advice to check out companies with an independent agent. The big guys usually spend their money on football ads not claims. Check out Auto Owners, Erie, among others with an independent agent. You can also check out Amica directly online. All of these companies were well rated in claims payout and customer service while being priced competitively.

MM
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike, might just do that. I've been told to change insurance companies every so often, because loyality isn't rewarded.
 
LTD.330 said:
Maybe 20 years of business with one company *may* get you some favorable discretion, or it may not. Their behavior indicates they will use every means available to them to not pay out on your umbrella claim. So how much is that 20 years of business really worth?

I would take the opportunity to explore other insurance providers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, apparently not much worth to them.
 
IslandTime said:
It is normal and customary for Umbrella carriers to ask for and require copies of underlying coverages and policies . They write coverage " over" these primary policies and are dependent on the term and conditions contained in them .
I would not worry about this request. In fact, i'd comply quickly so a not to put up any "red flags" to your Umbrella carrier.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I understand that the umbrella policy pays above my primary insurance policy, and there are minimums that have to be met.
I think what bothers me is the attitude that I'd better comply with what they say or they are going to red flag me or even drop me. I am supposed to be a perfered customer because I handle my business. I even go to their insurance "check ups" to ensure my coverages are right.

Ah, I probably have to much emotion involved in a business decision...but dang it, it gets my goat! haha
 
Island,

I understand your frustration. I have Allstate for everything. My agent went to high school with my brother & is generally a good guy. When my boat took a lightening hit, I sustained $5k in damage (and that was conservative- repairing, not replacing damaged AC etc) & they paid $2k after deductable & depreciation. Less than stellar. Also, when I notice one of my many premiums is high I call and tell him I'm going to shop around & he looks at my policy & can suddenly save me $1k a year!! I always ask why do I have to threaten to leave to get better rates? I'm just not a fan of any of these insurance companies. Like you, I will be putting all of my policies together & start shopping them when I get time.


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Todd
 
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