INSURANCE - POST # 34 (6 OCT 2016)

Applying for boat insurance, or a boat loan, you are asked all sorts of questions about “your” personal qualifications to own, pay for, and operate your boat . . . assuming you own a under 100 foot, uninspected, non-charter pleasure craft, you get the feeling the questions are being asked by a US Martial, or a court judge.

Where I began to chuckle each application, was their repeated interest in "how many" . . . boats you have owned, how "big" they were, how long you owned them for, and how many boats you have operated. These are asked in a “we will disqualify you for the wrong answer” manner, but are obviously needed (in some way) to assess whether they should loan you money or insure your boat..

Part-time, or newby boaters might not think a thing about this type of question, but, I took offense.

Lets rephrase the questions to fit the general public:

Question: Have you ever owned, tried on, or worn a pair of shoes ? if so, please tell us how many shoes you have worn, what size they were, what type and color they were, what material they were constructed of, for how long you owned each pair, why you bought them, and where you went with each pair.

Did you ever damage or lose a pair of shoes (like scuff them, break a heel, or snap a shoe string) ?, from whom did you buy each pair (be specific = store, salesman name, date, cost, method of payment)? and, where did you store each pair when not wearing them ?  (be specific, you will need to confirm, verify and document each pairs history).

Is this a quiz ? is it an Alzheimer’s test ? I hope you kept a “Shoe Logbook” of your lifetime shoe purchases, and can remember the wearing, use and etc: (doesn’t everyone keep notes on where you wore what ?) . . .  do I include “booties” (before I wore shoes ?) what if I forget a pair ? do I need sales receipts or photos for each pair ?  do shower thongs count as shoes ? will the shoe police get me?

Totally stupid, and having no bearing on my ability to "pay back" a loan, or, how safe a boater I am for insurability (especially if I "owned" the boats outright, and possibly had "no" insurance on them at all.

apply this mentality to a used car purchase, and insurance application.