Check your policy to make sure you are receiving all the possible discounts that may be available to you.  Such discount as

Multi-policy discount: Many insurance company will provide you a discount off the cost of insurance when you insure your auto, home, condo, apartment or powersport vehicle.

Boater safety course discount: Earn a personal watercraft insurance discount when you complete an approved water safety course.

Uninsured or Underinsured boater coverage for personal watercraft or Jet Ski insurance helps cover damage to your PWC, Jet Ski, motor, trolling motor, trailer, permanent and portable equipment in the event of a covered accident.

Check with your insurance policy to confirm if it has On-water towing and labor. On-water towing and labor option helps cover towing expense and other emergency services if your boat becomes disabled on the water.

Boats and personal watercraft can be a big investment, but if you love being out on the water, you know it is worth it. So protect your fun investment with coverage that’s designed with the boat lover in mind. Not with some standard coverage or add-on to your Homeowners insurance.

Get the Boat insurance that goes beyond standard. Something that gives you the options you want, all in one package.

An Insurance ID card is issued by your insurer and contains basic information about your insurance policy. Some states require you to keep an insurance ID card in your vehicle.

An insurance adjuster is a person who works primarily outside of an office and often meets personally with the public. Field adjusters can conduct face-to-face meetings, negotiations with claimants, scene investigations, and damage inspections.

If you do not current have emergency road side services you may want to look it it. Emergency road services coverages provides protection for problems that are not typically handled by your auto insurance, such as:

*   Being locked out of your car
*   Towing not related to an accident
*   Having a dead battery re-charged
*   Inflating a flat tire
*   Filling an empty gas tank.

Collision coverage pays for damage to an insured vehicle when it hits or is hit by another car or object, or if the car overturns. This coverage is subject to the terms, limits and conditions of your policy contract.

Ask your insurance agent if your personal watercraft insurance comes with accident forgiveness. In most states, if you have been accident-free for three to five years, you may qualify for a Accident Forgiveness program. That means the insurance company will not add a surcharge to your premium after your next at-fault accident and you will get to keep any of the good driver discounts you have earned.

In early December last year, something went wrong with a drawbridge and it dropped down onto a 161-foot superyacht, fortunately not injuring any of the crew members on board.

The Rockstar, worth a reported $21 Million, was being towed through the causeway near the Miami-Dade mainland when the terrifying incident occurred. There were reports that the Rockstar had just undergone refurbishing and painting at a cost of over a million dollars. At first it was unclear to onlookers whether the yacht had crashed into the bridge or if the drawbridge had crashed into the yacht. Some witnesses felt that high winds and rain might have contributed to the accident.

Surveillance footage confirmed what had transpired: as the superyacht passed under the Broad Causeway bridge, the east half dropped down onto the Rockstar’s upper deck. An investigation will be conducted to determine why that side of the drawbridge malfunctioned.

Watching this beautiful superyacht’s upper deck get bashed and crushed makes you immediately wonder how much the repairs will coast.

Indeed, this type of accident underscores the importance of having adequate yacht insurance to guard against damage that could occur unexpectedly. There was no word on how badly the bridge itself was impaired, but the mayor of Bay Harbor Islands Village Town Ronald Wassen praised the quick actions of the experienced bridge operator.

In later news reports, Wassen confirmed that preliminary reports suggested that the brake on the drawbridge failed. He said if the bridge operator had not remained calm and acted quickly, the damage could have been much worse.

This incident is one of those times when it doesn’t take much imagination to consider liability implications had any of the estimated 15 people on board the Rockstar been injured or killed.

The owner of the Rockstar is Russell Weitner, the man at the helm of Rockstar energy drinks. He issued a statement after the incident, stating: “Thank God nobody got hurt. It could have been a tragedy due to the city not maintaining this bridge correctly. A few seconds earlier and it could have hit and crushed the steering station where the captain and crew were.”

It turns out that the town council had only just approved spending $11.5 million to repair and upgrade the 60-year-old bridge, deemed functionally obsolete by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Work to fix and improve the drawbridge is scheduled to begin this month and is expected to take 18 months to finish. The work to be completed includes reinforcing supports and updating the electrical wiring and decking.

Global Marine Insurance proudly represented recreational boating and yacht insurance at the recent 55th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

From October 30th to November 3rd, the seven show venues in the heart of Fort Lauderdale were bustling with activity at this popular annual event for marine aficionados.

All facets of recreational and commercial boating could be found in 3 million square feet of exhibit space, everything from motorboats, high performance boats, and trawlers to sportfishing boats, sports yachts, and mega or super yachts. Not to mention yacht insurance and other marine service providers.

Our boating and yacht insurance professionals were, like the other attendees, pleased to witness the renewed confidence in the American yachting market. One of the best signs that the domestic boating industry is recovering from the downturn of past years is the number of new boats unveiled at the show.

Good news travels fast, as yacht brokers toured qualified buyers through showings with reasonable expectations for signed contracts to follow. This lends credibility to reports that the American market for large yachts is not only back, but driving global sales.

Show organizers seemed as pleased by the big crowds and increased sales at the 55th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as our yacht insurance team and other exhibitors.

If you’ve never been to what those in the community affectionately call FLIBS, and are uncertain whether we’re biased in our opinion about the value of this boat show, you can check out the reviews on Yelp. Reviewer R.B. from St. Petersburg, FL called it a must go show, saying, “Whatever class or style of boating you’re considering…it’s there.”

Marcus from Fort Lauderdale wrote that as a lifelong boat enthusiast, his opinion is that FLIBS is the best boat show. He noted: “It’s huge, like really huge, but easy to get around and more concentrated in a single area than other boat shows. Also, it offers a greater variety from the little inflatable right on up to the $27 million dollar mega yacht.” Not only did he enjoy seeing the boats, but all the accessories and other services – ranging as he says, “from deck shoes to the latest in HD radar and night vision.”

The captain of another vessel involved in a 2012 maritime disaster, Hong Kong’s worst in decades, was acquitted of manslaughter Saturday but convicted on a lesser charge.

The Sturgeon Bay, a 140-foot Coast Guard icebreaker, has been clearing paths through the crystallized river so that boats carrying supplies can reach the communities counting on them.

Have you or your marine business insurance provider ever considered the risk of environmental liability?

According to news reports in recent years about the costs of environmental liability for businesses that must pay hefty fines and clean-up costs for water pollution. Recently, XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxonmobil, reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pay $2.3 million in fines and another $3 million to clean the waterway it polluted.

When considering marine business insurance, marine business owners need to analyze risk exposure like an environmental strategist.

Typically, the focus is on clean-up costs in the event of a spill or wreckage that releases toxic pollutants. While this is important, it’s not the only risk for liability. There are many other considerations for claims and costs should your marine business be involved with any incident that leaves you opento to damages. These include third party:

● Bodily injury
● Damage to property
● Business interruption

These are not the only potential costs that could be included in marine business insurance coverage. After an accident or mishap that has implications for the environment, there will inevitably be costs for legal defense, environmental investigations, and potentially even public relations management.

Every marine business owner needs to take the time to consider and analyze the unique risk for environmental exposure faced by their business, be it a marina, boatyard, manufacturer, or charter company. Is it worth the risk of having to pay out of pocket for environmental liability and clean-up should something go wrong? Is it feasible to expect the business to survive the financial hit this would entail? Or should you acquire comprehensive environmental liability insurance that is designed to cover the actual risk faced by the business?

The reality is that every marine business owner could be impacted by environmental exposure. It is important to properly assess risk and take steps to have a strategic plan in place to respond should the situation ever arise.