Sorry, this is rather long, but everyone with Allstate Insurance ought to read this.
I currently have Allstate Boat-owners Insurance on my '98 Champion and have had it since 1999/2000 when I bought the boat. Have been paying premiums for full replacement cost coverage. I have never in all that time put in a claim for anything.
I fish Lake Ray Roberts almost exclusively. I have just taken the boat in to Classic Fiberglass for them to give me an estimate on buffing out 13-14 years of scratches and when checking the bottom of the hull they found 2 small spots of damage that Chris said were most likely caused by tree stumps.
The boat does not take on any water at all. I've never hit a stump while moving at any speed as I don't tournament fish or need to be anywhere fast when I'm not going in what I've found to be the "boat lanes". Yes I've hit things going slow but most have been to the motor. The damage was probably caused by trying to rock it off a stump when hung up while using the trolling motor.
Chris @ Classic then asks me if I had Insurance and I said yes. He said that I would have to initiate a claim to take care of those 2 spots. So I tried doing that today. The agent's name on the policy was not the person who sold it to me (he's been let go) and she didn't know about boats and told me I had to call the Allstate claims 800 # anyway. I got through to someone who said she didn't know much about boats either but that I had to have a date of damage in order to put in a claim and then of course they would have to inspect it. I told her I didn't know a date and that I was not going to lie just in order to put in a date for the claim. She basically told me no date, no claim, no deal, sorry. I asked her then if that every time I got hung up on a stump and wasn't sure of any possible damage that I would have to take it somewhere and make a claim or keep a date record of all those times? I got a ...well-ah-... type answer . Of course on a lake like Ray Roberts that would be at least once, or more, times a week. Finally in frustration, and beginning to steam , I was afraid I would say something nasty, so I hung up.
I called Chris again and told him what had transpired and that I would take care of all payment and wanted to get the boat taken care of and in line for the repairs and detailing. He said that it should really be something they should take care of, especially since I had never had a claim.
What does having a date have to do with something like this? I feel I've been ripped off big time and want to cancel the insurance policy.
By the way, Chris, who deals with boat insurance companies all the time, recommended State Farm, Progressive, Safeco, and Foremost (Farmers) as the best, in that order, to deal with for claims.
Serious questions, recommendations, similar experiences, and possible ideas are now gratefully accepted.

Boat US Insurance. They know the boat industry. Totalled my Nitro last year and they couldn't have been better to work with.

If they want a date then I would just give em the date your tech noticed the flaws. That's when you became aware of it. Don't stress. After getting over this hurdle and a swing by look see by the agent you should be good to go. Keep it simple but make sure your tech has discovered everything necessary to prevent holdups later in the repair process. I had a similar claim once. My boat broke loose in a storm and washed up on the rocks. I put in a claim for it which included the same stuff you mentioned, a nick here and there over the years. My agent sent a $6K check and never came to see the boat. We sent pics that satisfied them.

Most insurance policies have provisions that stipulate that a claim needs to be filed promptly. Review your policy and look for the clause that's titled "Duties after an accident or loss". Information is needed (ie date, location, details etc) to file a claim and start the process and also determine coverage under that policy term. In this case since you did not know when or where, I would recommend you call Allstate back tell them where the boat is located and give them the date of loss when Chris notified you he had found it. Let the claims adjuster do the rest.

I am insurance agent myself and I have several satisfied customers whether its insuring their boats, autos or homes. I feel your frustration when an agent does not know their product, as far as boats and covering them I have that hands down being a competitive angler I know the language you might say.

Good Luck and let us know how it all plays out.

Debra

Give them a date and get the claim processed. You are not telling anyone a lie. Just tell them that xx/xx/xx is the best guess you can give as to the date. All insurance companies require a date for a claim.

You are getting all worked up over nothing. You paid for the insurance so use it.

I thought you told me it happend Saturday.

Just play the game.

They are looking for a DATE OF LOSS....give them a date....If you get them several DATES then you have several deductibles.

Pick one date u were there and give it to them man. Let them pay!

Just give them a date. After repairs call Karen at State Farm.

play the game - pick a date

Give them a date, let them repair the damage and then look for another insurance source that is very familir with boats, motors, and trailers. I have Foremost; had a claim on my beyond repair damaged trolling motor, they took the information by phone, looked on line for cost of replacement and I ended up with a new 36V Minn Kota Fortrex. It cost me my deductible and by the way, Foremost considered it to be electronics so no depreciation on the old motor.

+1
I think if your worried about lying this is probably th most honest way possible to handle the situation! Good luck!

This. But really, I see you complaining in the future with the next compnay you go with. Customer satisfaction is directly linked with the comprehension of the product they bought, sounds like your understanding of what you have is low, I may be wrong.

All these years with that boat policy, you ever read it? Not being a smarta.. just wondering.

I have State Farm insurance on my boat. When I was at Falcon last October I ran over some angle iron. It was not leaking so I waited until around Christmas when I knew I would not need the boat and brought it up to Classic in Denton. Chris did the estimate which he sent to the State Farm claims adjuster. They mailed me a check (less my deductiable). No problem.

My insurance is high though. I pay $72 a month on a 2005 BassCat cougar w/225 Pro XS. I do only have a $100 deductiable. That is probably part of the reason it is so high. Got to look into that.