Novamar InsuranceReviews of novamarinsurance.com

Response from Novamar InsuranceDec 23, 2022

Hello Kevin. Thank your comments however you made a couple of important inaccurate statements that need to be addressed. While it is true that Geico has decided to discontinue distributing their yacht insurance, our office emailed you and the rest of our Geico yacht clients twice about Geico’s changes, plus the non-renewal notice sent to you by Geico also stated they are no longer writing yacht insurance through independent agents. Prior to that decision Geico had made many program changes including no more megayacht, or charter program, much more restricted navigation options, addition of depreciation clauses, no more multihull sailboats, no yachts over 50’ LOA, no older boats, no wood boats, change from marine specialists in their claims department to generalists, etc. Because of these changes, Novamar began de-emphasizing Geico as a primary yacht market for our clients prior to their announcement to only insure boats direct. We felt the changes were not a good fit for most of our clients needs. Novamar employs 3 people previously employed by Geico Marine. They had some good people, but new management seems to be very focused on cutting costs and using more of an automobile insurance model going forward. You can check out Geico’s reviews on TrustPilot and see what their customers think. Our office sent you three replacement quotes from otehr insurance carriers. All other yacht insurers declined to quote due to a Florida mooring location and/or a primary mailing address outside the state of Florida which causes an absentee ownership situation in a hurricane prone state. The most competitive quote we sent you was from an A rated US insurer with a 32% higher premium than your expiring Geico policy – not 300% higher as you stated. Several clients have elected to pay higher premiums with other carriers for various reasons – it’s not all about the premium. Our understanding is Geico is continuing to make changes to their yacht program which will likely impact coverages and premium pricing at renewal next year. As your boat is now over 10 years old, our recommendation is that you have the boat surveyed the next time the boat is hauled for normal maintenance as most insurers that still write yachts in Florida require recent hauled surveys before binding coverage. We do thank you for your past business.

Response from Novamar InsuranceOct 28, 2022

Hello Mr. Fessel. I spoke with the claims adjuster that handled your grounding claim in the Bahamas last summer. She was surprised and disappointed to hear you thought she was rude and unhelpful. She confirmed that she did not ask for you to assume the role of project manager on your own claim. Jerry in our Sarasota office spoke to the underwriting manager right after our office was notified of the claim and got them agree to spend the extra $15,000 or so to tow the boat back to Florida instead of the nearest boatyard in the Bahamas. Over the years, we have witnessed several insurance companies refuse to spend the extra money for a longer tow to a boatyard preferred by the insured, even if the closer yard will take months longer to complete repairs. After reviewing your file, I think the yard, the surveyor, and the adjuster all did a good job getting your boat put back together and operating again quickly. Your policy does include a small benefit for hotel and car rental, and airline tickets, which were all paid.

Response from Novamar InsuranceSep 15, 2022

Thank you for your review and I apologize for the difficulty in obtaining yacht insurance coverage. As our Florida office staff mentioned, available insurance companies offering terms for older boats in Florida with recent claims activity are limited in this tight market. Hopefully the referral we sent you was helpful.