The Fisherman’s Angle – From The Desk of an Ahoy! Agent and Fisherman

I grew up fishing with my family in Florida. My Dad and uncles loved bass fishing competitions, catfishing, ocean fishing, you name it. Florida has pretty much everything and soon I was hooked too. You could say I like water more than land. 

The Ahoy! crew, we’re boaters. That’s what really lured me to join Ahoy!’s insurance team. Boating and fishing are what I know and love.

When I talk to a potential customer, the first question I always ask is, what do you use your boat for? It’s not one size fits all. We tailor the coverage to make sure it fits you. If it doesn’t, what’s the point of insurance?

Fishing coverage, for example, can be raised up or down depending on if you are a casual angler or a serious fisherman. We go up to $2500 of fishing coverage for avid anglers, who will likely have a serious set of rods and reels and a couple of tackle boxes. If you own $400 to $500 poles and you take six of them out to go fishing, you’re exceeding your coverage if you go with the minimum policy, so we’ll raise that coverage.

A typical concern of a fisherman is theft while loading or unloading your boat. Gear and tackle are lightweight, with poles typically in racks or set inside your boat. You may be at a gas station or parking your truck to get in the water, and unfortunately it’s too easy for someone to snag a couple of rods and run off with $1000 of equipment. With Ahoy’s policy, you’re covered both on and off the water. 

Traditional insurance companies don’t specifically name fishing coverage. If they do cover your gear, it’s under a different claim title and then your policy might be raised significantly after you file a claim. That’s why I like Ahoy!, because I’m a fisherman. It’s nice to know my gear is specifically covered - vests, hats, rods, hooks, lures, bobbers, weights - I know exactly how much is covered so I’m not left at a loss.

If you’re not a fisherman, we can remove fishing coverage. Why pay for it if you don’t need it? Leisure boaters will be more interested in personal effects coverage, which means anything you take on your boat that’s not normally there, such as coolers, clothes, grills, whatever it may be. We can increase that coverage if it’s you and your family on a pontoon boat hanging out barbecuing off the side, having a good time. 

On-water towing, that’s something everyone may need at one time or another. You might run out of fuel, hit a sandbar or get stuck in a storm (less chance of those two mishaps if you leverage Ahoy!’s Safe Navigation technology and weather alerts). Something happens on the water and you’re just happy someone is there to help you. That’s what insurance is for, so why should you pay extra for it? 

Something else that attracted me to Ahoy! is the mobile app that gives you an alert if there is a submerged object or shallow water. That makes a whole lot of sense to me because of my own family’s experience when I was a kid. 

We were out cruising on St. Johns River with Dad on a little bay liner boat: me, my older sister and three younger siblings. St. Johns is known for having shallow areas and random sandbars, but my Dad? He was checking how fast we could cruise across the water (50 mph?) when we suddenly met one of those sandbars I mentioned. It was like hitting a wall. All five kids and Dad went overboard and suddenly we were all glad we could swim. The entire front of the boat had a giant gash across the spinner where he cracked the hull. We were all fine, but I can tell you it was awful. We didn’t have on-water towing either. It was a 20 minute ride back to the dock, and we could feel the boat slowly sinking as it took on more and more water. We could have benefited that day from Ahoy!’s Safe Navigation alerts!

Another unique Ahoy! feature is stolen boat retrieval assistance. Ahoy! provides customers with a credit card-sized device that fits in the palm of your hand. You place it in your boat in a secure location, and if the boat is stolen we’re able to activate the device to help find your boat. It doesn’t cost any extra. We provide the technology to keep you on the water longer, and we also benefit from fewer claims to pay - money we plow back into operations to give our customers better service.

Before joining Ahoy! I spent 10 years working as a sales agent in P&C insurance. Boat coverage is similar to auto coverage in some ways, and specialized in many others. On-water towing is like roadside assistance, but you’re floating. Someone on a boat is going to come get you. 

Our fishing equipment and personal effects coverage are unique to Ahoy!, while other elements such as medical payments, property damage, liability, comprehensive and collision damage are similar to auto policies. Your boat is like a floating car but it’s a lot MORE than that. It’s your way to have fun, to spend time with friends and family creating lifelong memories. As an insurance agent, I need to recognize that and offer a personalized plan that will allow you to do so worry-free. And for fishermen like me, Ahoy! offers just that. The coverage, service and technology I need in and out of the water.