Ah, those summertime toys we all love to play with. Boats, ATVs and motorcycles give us hours of fun when the sun shines and the weather is warm. But with autumn rapidly approaching the number of days that we can use these adult diversions this year is rapidly coming to an end. What is not going to end however, are the premiums for the insurance coverage you have on these machines.
Boats, bikes and other recreational vehicles represent a hefty investment and the prudent owner has them covered for both liability and damage. But in the off season you are not likely to be sued for smacking into another boat while yours sits in the garage or other storage facility so why are you paying for liability insurance?
The same logic might apply to all the coverages you have on your seasonal toys and you might be thinking that you can save some money by dropping the insurance and then picking up a new policy next season…and you might be right…or wrong.
Saving insurance dollars
If you cancel coverage during the off season you will most definitely save by eliminating the cost of the monthly premium. Keep in mind however, that when you cancel a policy you have no coverage if your vehicle/boat is damaged by fire or vandalism or is stolen. If you park your toy in the garage don’t look to your homeowner policy to cover it. Typically homeowner policies do not cover any vehicles that are required to be registered by the state.
In addition to loss of coverage you may lose out on tenure based benefits like disappearing deductible or accident forgiveness if you cancel your coverage. If you receive a multi-policy discount that involves another policy/policies other than your recreational vehicle you’ll want to find out how it will be affected if you drop your recreational vehicle/boat policy.
Cancelling coverage is a gamble. Still it doesn’t seem right that you pay full boat (pun intended) for insurance on seasonal vehicles when you are not using them.
There’s another way to save on your recreational policies without cancelling them. Work with your agent and adjust the coverages on your policy to reduce its cost. Lower your liability to the lowest amount required by law. Your boat won’t be sailing so you are unlikely to need uninsured boater coverage. Your property damage coverage is driven in part by the amount of your deductible. Bump that deductible up to lower your premium.
Adjusting coverages allows you to save money, retain some coverage and does not impact on tenure based or multi-policy benefits. It’s a smart way to go.
Remember, before you roll that boat down the launch next season make certain that you have adjusted your policy back to its original levels of coverage!
