As the weather warms up, many of us head to lakes, rivers, or the ocean to fish, waterski, cruise, and relax onboard a boat, yacht or other personal watercraft. With nearly 12 million registered recreational boats in the U.S.*, it’s no wonder the waterways are a popular place to go. But, before you head out with friends and family, take note of a few important safety tips. 1. Make sure everyone wears a life jacket. Victims drowned in approximately 80% of fatal boating accidents. Of those, 83% were not wearing a life jacket. Insist that your crew and guests all... Continue Reading →

2018 Hurricane Season begins June 1st.  What is your Plan? We hope everyone takes the best precautions they can to protect their property, and then best to just head away from the storm path if you can to protect yourselves and your family.  If you don’t have a plan, now is the time to put one together.  If you have a plan, now is a good time to review the plan. This is also a good time for us to remind everyone and provide you with the best information we can with regards to protecting your boat from damage. As... Continue Reading →

This Memorial Day we at Gallagher Charter Lakes honor the memory of those brave Americans who have stepped forward, put on the uniform of our nation, heroically fought to defend our freedoms, and made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can breathe as free people.  Let us never forget their service, sacrifice, and dedication to liberty.  God Bless these heros!   Continue Reading →

With the unofficial kick-off to summer arriving this weekend, many are planning long days on the boat. It’s surprising that in some states as much as 50% of boats for pleasure use are not insured.  (#uninsured #underinsured) So today, we are going to discuss some points to ponder. Boat insurance is more than covering your $2,000 - $10Million dollar vessel in case of a total loss.  There are agreed value policies and actual cash value policies.  Ask your agent the difference. What happens if you injure someone? I’ve seen it twice, another boat doesn’t see the skier in the water.... Continue Reading →

Hiring the right marine surveyor There are a lot of boats for sale right now and it seems there are a lot of folks out looking to get into boating this year. Anyone who has owned or purchased an older boat probably knows the pains of survey requirements. It’s one of the catch 22’s of owning an older vessel, and it’s often a tough pill to swallow in an all but otherwise enjoyable process.  You know the boat is in good condition so why should you have to pay somebody to tell the insurance company what you already know? The... Continue Reading →

Spring has finally sprung.  Many seasonal “Skippers” are itching to get their boats in the water.  That means all the preseason checks on land.  Oil, fuel, battery, cleaning, put the plug in… Verify your license, registration and insurance are all current. Memorial Day is just around and the corner and for those in the North, that kicks off the unofficial summer boating season.  We all are hoping for warm sunny weather.  What can go wrong? As you load the SUV/Truck/Car;  the cooler full of deliciousness.  Hitch up the boat. Did you inspect the trailer: Inspect the tires!  Look for cracks... Continue Reading →

Claims service should be one of your primary concerns when purchasing any boat or yacht insurance policy. After all, isn’t that the reason you’re buying the policy in the first place?  Here at Charter Lakes we believe claims service is the value behind any marine insurance agency and the policies they sell.  Not to toot our own ‘ships whistle’, but proof is in the pudding as they say, so we thought we would share a few recent email comments from our clients who had to make a boat insurance claim…. “I can’t thank Charter Lakes enough for everything they have... Continue Reading →

The most common problem we see with physical damage claims is late reporting or repairing damage before reporting the claim. This is a serious issue because it violates policy requirements and does not allow the insurance company the opportunity to adjust your claim. When you have a claim or think that you may have a claim it is imperative that certain requirements are followed so the claims process is not jeopardized. They are spelled out in the Duties after an Accident or Loss section of the policy. In this article we review two important requirements of that clause. 1. Notify... Continue Reading →

Over the past 25 years we have seen many boats catch fire and burn for one reason or another, in many cases the reason for the fire is unknown. We recently had a claim where a boat burned to the waterline; the reason for the fire was attributed to electrical failure. During the claim investigation, it was discovered that a fuse had blown in the automatic battery charger and instead of replacing the fuse with the proper replacement, the owner wrapped the blown fuse in aluminum foil and placed it back into the fuse holder. This rendered the fuse (overcurrent... Continue Reading →

Each marine insurance policy written in northern climates (where the potential for freezing exists), has a Lay Up Warranty that indicates the period of time the insured boat is required to be laid up and out of commission. Many policies also specify whether the boat is to be laid up ASHORE or AFLOAT. Making sure your policy accurately reflects the period of time your boat will be Laid Up and whether the boat is laid up ashore or afloat is your responsibility and is as important as winterizing an engine if a loss occurs to your boat during the Lay... Continue Reading →