Top Ten BoatUS Marine Insurance Program Claims

By Beth Leonard, BoatU.S.
Back in 2005, Seaworthy publication took a look at the top 10 claims for the BoatUS Marine Insurance Program. After eight eventful years (think Ike, Irene, Snowmageddon, tornadoes, drought, Sandy … ), the time seemed right to revisit our findings to see what, if anything, had changed, and what those changes might mean for conscientious boaters.

We analyzed five years of claims, from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012, and ranked loss categories by the total dollar value of claims paid out over that time period. The Top 10 will give you a good sense of where boaters can go wrong, and for each type of loss, we have numerous resources on our website to help you avoid becoming a statistic.

You’ll find the countdown starts at No. 10. You’ll also see two additional numbers for each loss category. The average payout per claim shows the category ranking in terms of the average dollars paid out per claim over the last five years. The 2005 rank shows where that category stood in the Seaworthy Top 10 eight years ago. A few things have changed in that time.

Striking submerged objects has moved down the list; non-hurricane weather damage has moved up. We’ve broken out injury as a separate category, and that has joined the Top 10, pushing theft of equipment off the list. But the No. 1 cause of losses in terms of total dollar value paid out has not changed – and most Seaworthy readers can guess what that is.

10. Lightning
9. Theft (boat)
8. Injury
7. Grounding
6. Collision
5. Fire/Explosion
4. Striking Submerged Object
3. Weather/Wind
2. Sinking
1. Hurricane

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