Sea-Safe Ski-Safe Geico AXIS Sullivan & Strauss Sullivan & Strauss Agency pro-rate misleading, obscure minimum, policy cancelation Lake Success, New York
With most insurance there is a reasonable pro-rate policy when you switch insurance companies or after you sell the insured boat for example. Geico pointed me to Sea-Safe for insurance they could not provide. Sea-Safe is really Sullivan & Strauss Agency from Lake Success NY. They operate and SkiSafe.com or Sea-Safe. They are underwritten by AXIS Reinsurance.
Before considering buying insurance from these people at Geico's recommendation, do your homework. Sullivan & Strauss / SkiSafe.com have a thing called "Minimum Earned Premium" that is essentially 75% of the year's policy, even if you switch companies 2 months later.
Versus taking Geico's recommendation to use SkiSafe.com / Sullivan & Strauss, you will find that a little boat insurance shopping with another company / agent will essentially get the same coverage for the equivalent cost of their "Minimum Earned Premium". AND, you will be dealing with a company that has a honest pro-rate rule vs. what I found while switching to State Farm.
If this is how SkiSafe / Sullivan & Strauss / AXIS treats you when simply switching policies, I can only imagine what it would be like if you had to file an actual claim. Do yourself a favor, shop with a reputable insurance company.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Rob M
American Fork,Utah,
They came through for me
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, September 04, 2013
I have insurance with Ski-Safe and had an accident on my boat which incurred about 10k in damage. I paid my deductible and they paid the rest. They came through for me and I'm still insured with them today with intention on finding new insurance. I also found them through Geico.
SkiSafe Jon
United States of AmericaSkiSafe Insurance -- Let's Talk!
#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, August 01, 2011
Frank,
I'm sorry to hear that you were not pleased with the refund received upon cancelling your policy. Here at SkiSafe we cater to the serious boater and believe in long term relationships with each of our customers. That's why we offer discounts for seasonal usage to reflect that plenty of folks don't use their boat year round. Its also why we offer agreed value coverage, towing reimbursement and personal property on most boat insurance policies.
This is also reflected in the minimum earned premium you referenced, which makes clear that our policies are not for someone looking to insure a boat for a long weekend or a month during the summer. We want to insure every boater that takes an interest in protecting his or her investment in the vessel and personal liability year round.
In fact, we try to make this clear by highlighting the minimum earned premium on every quote that a potential customer receives online, via email, over the phone and through the mail. It should also be stated in bold lettering on your declarations page. If this was not the case with your quote or policy, please let me know so we can get to the bottom of it right away and I promise we will revisit the cancellation of your policy.
The good news is that your policy's minimum earned premium is somewhat flexible. SkiSafe recognizes that many boaters will trade in or replace their boats from time to time. When that happens, we will apply the unused premium on your original policy to the new one on a pro rata basis so that you don't lose even a day of the boat insurance you purchased from SkiSafe.
I hope that this gives you some insight into how policy cancellations and refunds are handled. I'm also happy to review this with you again or the next time you're seeking boat insurance.
Best,
Jon S.