I'll be cruising in the Puget Sound/British Columbia area and I'm evaluating whether to get towing insurance via Boatus ($165/year) or SeaTow ($199/year) versus an add-on to my regular marine insurance. My marine insurance provider will provide coverage up to $2,500 per incident and for $1,000 of coverage, the extra premium is around $17/year. Even at the max coverage (say $50/year) its a lot cheaper than Boatus or SeaTow.
I can imagine that a tow from a commercial tow service can add up pretty quickly. I've seen a couple of tow insurance outfits claim commercial outfits charge upwards of $300/hour and that doesn't surprise me.
I imagine that almost everyone that owns an old boat has experienced some unanticipated costs that were a bitter pill to swallow. Just like other types of insurance this is a cost versus risk calculation. So I'm wondering if people that have used Boatus towing insurance have felt like they got their money's worth out of the service. Are there other benefits beyond the basic towing that have proven useful? I'm trying to get a feel about the range of folks that never need a tow or seem to need a tow on a regular basis (so sorry!). If you ever needed a commercial tow and paid out of pocket, what was the hourly rate?
I figure in Puget Sound we're probably no more than a few hours from a dock (okay, maybe not the home dock) under tow. Granted, a commercial outfit will likely start charging when they leave their dock and stop when they get back.
Thanks.
Alan
I can imagine that a tow from a commercial tow service can add up pretty quickly. I've seen a couple of tow insurance outfits claim commercial outfits charge upwards of $300/hour and that doesn't surprise me.
I imagine that almost everyone that owns an old boat has experienced some unanticipated costs that were a bitter pill to swallow. Just like other types of insurance this is a cost versus risk calculation. So I'm wondering if people that have used Boatus towing insurance have felt like they got their money's worth out of the service. Are there other benefits beyond the basic towing that have proven useful? I'm trying to get a feel about the range of folks that never need a tow or seem to need a tow on a regular basis (so sorry!). If you ever needed a commercial tow and paid out of pocket, what was the hourly rate?
I figure in Puget Sound we're probably no more than a few hours from a dock (okay, maybe not the home dock) under tow. Granted, a commercial outfit will likely start charging when they leave their dock and stop when they get back.
Thanks.
Alan