Sooke Fishing and Marine Insurance

[Rockfish]

I just arranged for boat insurance and was told on an early enquiry that the policy would include coverage for up to $3000 for personal property which includes fishing equipment (downriggers etc.). When I met with the broker I was asked where I was storing the boat on the trailer and where I would be mooring it. When I said the Sooke area, there was a noticeable attitude shift and a mention of a lot of thefts there. When I actually got the quote and asked some questions, it turns out there was a small premium added into the boat portion and the included $3000. coverage for personal items like fishing gear had been removed and if I wanted it back that would be about an extra $100 bucks or so a year. They seemed concerned about the high number of kickers and downriggers that get stolen in Sooke and mentioned they were currently dealing with a claim from some guy who had left his downriggers in the cuddy cabin while his boat was on his trailer. The bottom line appears to be that the insurance companies are wanting to charge about 23% more for the same coverage to keep your boat and fishing equipment moored/land stored in the Sooke area than say Victoria. I think it may have been better had I not advised that my main interest was fishing. When I asked about Beacher Bay they said yea there are problems there also.
Is this new? Is it an emerging trend with insurance companies? Is it really becoming that bad? How do we get rid of the scumbag boat specializing thief’s besides feeding them to the seals?

 

[profisher]

Take extra steps on your own to prevent theft. If you can prove to them that your actions will reduce risk, they may give you a break. Examples: keep boat at home in driveway during winter months when higher theft rates occur, chain trailer wheels up to prevent someone hooking on and taking the whole rig without a lot of effort, remove gear, electronics and keep inside the house when not in use, lock the kicker and riggers to the boat, use specialty fastening hardware that require special wrenches, sockets or drivers to remove. The one I like is make your boat a dog house for the most vicious dog you can find!!

 

[Rockfish]

All good advice. Unfortunatly keeping the boat in the driveway and the vicious dog won't work as I live in a condo, but perhaps a trained 200 lb attack seal would do the trick. How about the night vision motion activated game trail camera idea - na,they would probably just steal it.

 

[Little Hawk]

Rocky:

If it's not too late and this helps you, you might to talk to Adrian (a dude) at Coast Capital Savings (insurance) at Tillicum mall.

My policy has lapsed but they had me set up for about $60/month which included a non-declining payout for hull & machinery and $2-million liability for water-skier's etc. There also were no restrictions on where I could use the boat.

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"