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My recent experience with Progressive Insurance

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/28/2011 : 19:48:12

(Sorry, this is kind of long)

A few weeks back I managed to damage another boat's outboard to the point that it was pretty much irreparable. Totally my fault, and while virtually no damage to my boat (a scratch along the port side that'll buff out), his engine wasn't taking him anywhere. Not surprisingly, he was pretty upset about it and more than a little demanding about getting it fixed. I'm not going to go into the details about that part of the incident, I want to tell you guys how pleased I am with Progressive.

After the other guy (who owns a C-25) turned down my offer of what I thought was a fair replacement engine from a reputable place, he decided the best route was to go through insurance. Fine with me, that's what it's for. In the interim I offered him the use of my Avon's 5hp outboard, but unfortunately it's a short shaft and he couldn't get the prop in the water with his mount.

The accident happened on Saturday afternoon, I didn't hear from him until Sunday afternoon (I'd left a note, told the marina manager about it, and gotten his phone number & left an apologetic message). Late Sunday afternoon, I called Progressive to report the claim. They took all my information and told me to expect to hear from an agent by noon on Monday.

Monday noon-ish, I get a call from the agent, Kate. Very-very helpful, asked a lot of questions about the accident asked me to email her photos of the damage to the other guy's boat, and assured me that because this was my first claim and we are "Diamond Clients", there was no deductible for the repair to his boat, and our policy wouldn't change (we have zero deductible) because of the accident. Woohoo! That meant the accident was basically a free ride AND they'd fix our boat as well.

A couple of days go by and the other guy is getting very-very antsy, the 4th of July weekend is coming up and he had plans to be gone on the boat for it, but if you guys have read any of my posts about how hard it is to get in and out of our marina, you know he's not going anywhere without an engine.

The estimator got out to see both of the boats on Wednesday afternoon and began looking for a replacement engine for the other guy. Fortunately this also stopped the non-stop phone calls and emails from the other guy. He had a Johnson Seahorse 9.9 that was about 20 years old on it, but according to him it was running like a top. But, still, really only worth $500 at the very most. I was worried that he was going to end up pretty pissed off when Progressive just decided to offer him a check for that amount and wash their hands of it.

That worry turned out to be completely unfounded. When the estimator couldn't find a replacement engine anywhere in the Seattle area, he simply went and purchased a brand new Nissan 9.8 for roughly $2.4k and would have mounted it to the guy's boat for him if he could have gotten into the marina. So the guy started out with a reliable 9.9 that I busted, and ends up with a 2011 Nissan 9.8 (almost identical to my Tohatsu, just a few years newer). Needless to say, he's happy about the deal. So was my marina manager, who has taken to asking me if I can hit some other boats as well so they can upgrade their engines too. Funny guy.

So, just this week, we get our latest bill from Progressive, and lo and behold, now we have $1000 deductibles on everything, and our policy went up $173 a year (about a 40% increase or so). This made me pretty angry since I'd been told (without asking about it) that this absolutely wouldn't happen. I wrote to my agent, and voila, all our deductibles are now back down to zero, and our policy has been adjusted back down to actually lower than it was last year (by $7 whole dollars, but still).

I'm not sure you could ask for better service, even with the hiccup about the deductibles and policy cost. All the rest of our insurance is through USAA, but they don't insure boats, so they contract out to Progressive for that. I don't know if that made any difference in how this whole thing played out, but two thumbs up for Progressive.

I want to thank one of our members who was very helpful in offering advice and a friendly ear when I had questions or concerns about the whole process. You know who you are.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9087 Posts

Response Posted - 07/28/2011 : 20:28:11

Kudos, David... I suspect--just suspect--that this played out as it did because you approached the insurance carrier with reason and concern, as you did the "victim" of your accident. I also suspect insurance carriers are happy to have customers who make incidents like this as painless as possible--for example, by leaving notes and informing marina management... Like so many other things in life, when you try to ignore a problem, and then start trying to deny it, and things begin to unravel (like the discovery of the scar on your boat matching the gelcoat on his motor), insurers are faced with much more complicated and expensive settlements.

And you still have to live in the marina.

There's just no point.

Edited by - on

Tomas Kruska
Admiral

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Czech Republic
522 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 03:54:33

Nice story and even better endings.
I suppose that now you have a new friend of that "other guy" :-)

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3477 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 04:57:50

Sweet... so good to hear things worked out. Such a difficult time when you think they might not. I've always been very fortunate with insurance experiences. They have done what they have promised and more.

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 05:58:45

David, that's a great story. I also have USAA insurance with a Progressive policy for the boat and have often wondered if the quality of service from Progressive would match the service of USAA. I'm glad to hear that it did in your case. I hope I don't have any first hand experience but, it's good to know.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 10:57:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I suppose that now you have a new friend of that "other guy" :-)<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Not exactly. He's friendly enough, I guess, now that he's no longer angry about it. His wife / GF just glares at us. Our marina manager has offered to move us to another slip so we don't have to deal with them. I'm not overly worried about it other than being a bit gun shy maneuvering around his boat. If it becomes an issue, I'll take our manager's offer up, but that implies a bit of work (removing and re-installing our dock wheel, same with water hose reel, nothing overly strenuous, just don't want to do it again). Mostly I plan to just ignore them, especially since he can't seem to stop complaining about our insurance taking four whole days to buy him a brand new engine, and then asking who they were so he can get the same insurance.

Edited by - on

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 12:50:21

I too have Progressive recommended by USAA. However, when this policy ends, I will cancel Progressive and go else where, I am researching other companies now. My reasons can be found by either Googling or Binging Progressive's chairman, Peter Lewis. He can certainly do whatever he wants with his money, but he will not be getting one more dime from me. I have also written USAA about Mr. Lewis.

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 13:06:48

You mean that he gave money to liberal causes and the ACLU? Or that he has peculiar tastes in art? Or, is it the MPP?

Edited by - John Russell on 07/29/2011 13:08:38

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 13:59:37

David, so glad it worked out. Someone made out like a bandit.

Steve A

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 14:51:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 You mean that he gave money to liberal causes and the ACLU? Or that he has peculiar tastes in art? Or, is it the MPP?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Or maybe he's a stinkpotter.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 19:19:30

Good for you At Ease, I have not googled Mr Lewis and don't care, but if you care then you should respond anyway you like.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9087 Posts

Response Posted - 07/29/2011 : 20:46:31

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by RhythmDoctor
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 You mean that he gave money to liberal causes and the ACLU? Or that he has peculiar tastes in art? Or, is it the MPP?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Or maybe he's a stinkpotter.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Yup--we're all liberals! Actually, I think it tends to be the other way around. A hyper-conservative friend--a quintessential stinkpotter with a big sportfisher--says "blow-boaters" are "different." He prefers to be in a marina with just stinkpots, which amazingly is an option here.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 07/29/2011 20:47:30

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2011 : 13:38:04

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2011 : 16:49:08

Started to respond then decided to shut my mouth.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2011 : 23:01:06

Ahem...steering the thread somewhat back on track...

Here's a photo of the new Nissan Progressive bought for him, complete with 4 bladed low pitch prop. As you can see, he's treating it well judging by the mud or whatever it is on his skeg, and it's in roughly the same position his Johnson was when I bumped into him. Our marina manager's talked to him about keeping it tilted down so it doesn't stick out in the fairway, for comparison you can see my Tohatsu (exact same engine except for the decals) in the foreground in the shallow water position. Had his Johnson been tilted down, it's possible I wouldn't have even touched him judging by the light scrape down my port side. It's still totally my fault, but I can be grumpy about the circumstances, can't I?

And here's a photo showing how close our boats are, notice the complete lack of fenders on his:

Do I sound sanctimonious?

Edited by - delliottg on 07/30/2011 23:08:11

TCurran
Admiral

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USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 07/31/2011 : 04:29:16

Dave, sorry about the crappy neighbor, a good dock mate always makes the sailing day a better one. Did not know the political leanings of the Progressive guy, I also have Progressive, through USAA. But, between this story and the recent experience of a sailor at my marina, might have to overlook politics (and the annoying commercials). I hate insurance companies, believe they practice legalized extortion, but on both claims (yours and the one here) the agents went out of their way to take care of the insured, not the insurance company.

Good luck with the neighbor.

Edited by - on

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1797 Posts

Response Posted - 07/31/2011 : 08:19:33

I went with Progressive for my boat insurance ten years ago and while never needing to file a claim it's great to hear how accommodating they were for you. It sounds like the agent(s)/adjuster(s) know something about boats as they went above and beyond in looking for and then acquiring a suitable outboard. While I hope to never find out, I am glad I am with a solid company!

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 07/31/2011 : 10:07:39

IMO anyone who goes sticking his extra long shaft Johnson out in public areas deserves to get it banged!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Edited by - TakeFive on 07/31/2011 10:10:32

aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2011 : 06:00:00

Had the same experience with USAA/Progressive several years ago after my boat was struck by lightning and two weeks later, by a power boat at night. My only complaint was that the adjuster had virtually no experience with sailing vessels of any kind. I had to explain how the lightning strike destroyed all of my electronics and holed the hull. But then, I had to explain marine law to the sheriff deputy who investigated the accident. The Coast Guard only accepted jurisdiction in the main shipping channel so the sheriff's office ended up with the case.

At any rate, I was very happy with the efficiency and speed with which Progressive setled the case. i've been with USAA for almost 30 years and don't plan on changing any time soon.

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3477 Posts

Response Posted - 08/01/2011 : 10:15:26

I fear my "dockmate". Can't wait till his boat sinks. I've had to tie up his boat on several occasions. Mine is damaged from his.

I'll have to take a picture of it and show you. What a landlubber.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/21/2011 : 20:18:41

Well, looks like I'm about to lose a "dockmate"...

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/2713894573.html

Guess I more than doubled the value of his boat for him...

Wonder if he'll clean it up before trying to sell it. I was down there yesterday and the boat hasn't moved once since the weekend after the accident. Same beer cans in the cockpit, the only change was he's plugged in his shore power, which I found dangling in the water and re-rigged for him.

An hour with a pressure washer would make it a lot more presentable. We've talked about buying it to flip it, but I've got no idea of what kind of shape it's in, the only thing I know for sure is probably in good condition is the brand new Nissan.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/22/2011 : 07:25:09

Ahhhh...perhaps that explains some of his grumpiness. If you decide to flip it, I'd have a friend handle the negotiations.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/22/2011 : 10:24:45

Yeah, I've thought about that flipping idea a bit more. Judging by how the above water parts of his boat look, I'd imagine the underwater is even worse. Having been through cleaning the bottom of my boat after only 20 months in the same water, and since he says the boat's been in his family since 86, and he apparently doesn't have a trailer, I'll bet he's got barnacles the size of silver dollars, and mussels big enough to make a nice chowder.

I'd imagine if the boat could be had for about $3k, you should be able to sell the Nissan for $2K and part out the rest, but it seems like a lot of hassle, plus you'd still have the barnacled & mussel salad hull to deal with. That'd end up costing cash to dispose of, plus a trailer of some kind would have to be found, as well as someplace to keep the boat while you're parting it out.

Sounds like a good problem for someone else to solve.

Edited by - on

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