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Boat U.S. Membership and Insurance

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:15 pm
by rap55
Would any of you fellow Trojan owners like to share thier veiw of Boat US. membership and insurance? Need the Pro`s and Con`s from someone outside of the company who has... or has in the past , had dealings with this company.

Thanks Guy`s...Rick / F-36 - Miss Kitty

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:25 pm
by rossjo
TowBoat US is a great setup - best $100/year you'll ever spend. You'll save that 1/3 of the way through your 1st tow! Plus they cover YOU (not your boat), so if you're on a friend's bat and have a problem, they'll tow you (and his boat) home!

Great peace of mind!

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:33 pm
by Tuck
i'm an inland user, and agree with the rossmiester. best money you'll spend. my inland plan is about half of what the coastal/sea going plan, so to speak, is, and well worth it...although i've not had to use it. it's worth the comfort in knowing it's there IF i need it.

the tow boat u.s. franchise here in the chattanooga/lake chickamauga area is based just up the river a bit from my marina. i see them out now and then...all hours of day and night. so i know they're active...here, at least.

as far as the insurance goes...that's a different story. at least it was for me.

i have a 77 f32. i have insurance with statefarm, and it's much cheaper than boat u.s...with a much higher liability policy.

as with everything, best advice is to shop around for insurance.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:07 pm
by Stripermann2
Have their insurance never had to use it.
Have their tow endorsement as well, never used it. Good piece of mind...

I have not heard one bad thing from them. When we had a hurricane back in '03 at the marina, many boats were heavily damaged or destroyed...they were on the scene before the owners were.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:37 pm
by prowlersfish
Good to belong I found there insurance way to pricey to afford other have not found it too high they seem to love sail boats. my started out around 900 with them 2 years later they wanted 3 times that . say I am in a bad area for storms yet did not raise the rate of other around me (sail boats) . I hear there good on claims , but I would shop around .

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:01 am
by alexander38
tow insurance is a must, boatus or sea-tow get with luck you'll never use it.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:08 am
by turtlem1969
before i got sea-tow it seemed like every other trip i was getting towed in for some reason or another, been with sea-tow for two years now and hadn't needed a tow since.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:03 am
by Jerry
I have the Insurance and Towing through Boat US and have done so for most of my adult life. I have never had a tow or an insurance claim so I do not know how they are.
The only time I have gone elsewhere for insurance is when I was running charters. Boat US said they did not offer commercial insurance at that time. I do not know if they do now or not.
I have priced around a few times and have never found anyone that could match the coverage that I was getting for the same price as Boat US.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:11 am
by g36
i have boatus and towing. when i puchased my boat they had the best coverage and price. the towing is definetly worth the price as others have said you are covered wherever you go and it will pay for itself first use. great piece of mind

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:06 pm
by prowlersfish
g36 wrote:i have boatus and towing. when i puchased my boat they had the best coverage and price. the towing is definetly worth the price as others have said you are covered wherever you go and it will pay for itself first use. great piece of mind


Thant one proplem I had with BoatUS I could not go past the N.C. line unless I call and then I had to Pay extra . My curent insurance I am covered any where with in 75 miles of the US

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:03 pm
by g36
my meaning to covered wherever you go meant that i myself was covered even if i went on a friends boat. someone else posted the same comment. i do not know the exact lines of where boat us towing coverage stops. sorry to have not worded it exactly right,geeez

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:01 pm
by skuzzlebutt
I use BoatUS for the towing. I think its 53.00 a year for unlimted towing. Some places on lake erie will do 50 miles and others will do 25 miles of shore. I think they require you to be towed back to their marina though???? Correct me if im wrong. or will they drop you off at your own marina as long as its within reason? And i use PROGRESSIVE for insurance. BoatUS wanted a survey and was about 4x the cost. Progressive did it w/o a survey and was only 100 bucks for the whole year.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:01 pm
by prowlersfish
g36 wrote:my meaning to covered wherever you go meant that i myself was covered even if i went on a friends boat. someone else posted the same comment. i do not know the exact lines of where boat us towing coverage stops. sorry to have not worded it exactly right,geeez

You where talking towing and I was thinking insurance 2 toltaly difrent things sorry

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:43 am
by jddens
I have boat US and towing. What I liked about the insurance was that we agreed upon the insured price, in other words, I insured my boat for what I paid for it. Haven't made a claim or needed a tow but it's good to have the piece of mind............John

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:53 am
by rossjo
Tow Boat US take you back to your dock ... no problem ... have used it several times on my 26 when the ethanol eats my Qjet's seals and dumps raw fuel in/on my engine. I could have taken chances and tried to get home without a fire, but why not anchor and let TowBoat US tow me home safely for free?

If you don't have a membership - they charge something like $300/hour (from the time they leave their dock until the time they drop you off - or return to their dock if your dock is a long way off) and its a 2 or 3 hour minimum, so it pays for several years fees if you use it once.