Jerry:
A $ answer to your question requires some perspective, as well. As you would suspect, insurance carriers assess risk when determining premiums, and risk can (overly) simply be put into an equation of insured boat value X risk for the geo. area in which the boat will be covered X experience of the crew. Then a major storm hits an area plentiful in boats (Charleston & Culebra, PR with Hugo, several storms & Simpson Lagoon, St. Martin FWI, S. Miami & Andrew, and the FL Panhandle & Opal all spring to mind) and losses force an upward adjustment for us all, since we''re all part of the same general pool. Or as trends become obvious, carriers will simply exempt coverage for certain areas, which may cut off one otherwise chronic source of losses. Cuba, Columbia, Haiti and Nicaragua (and sometimes Costa Rica) are all areas where most insurance carriers today just don''t offer coverage. And when a carrier does offer coverage in one of those areas (e.g. Hamburg Insurance & Columbia), they exempt piracy, theft and related losses from the policy''s coverage...which is of course some of the reason we buy insurance to begin with.
Here''s one gross estimate: folks in the Caribbean with $100-150K boats and 2% deductible pay in the $2k-$2500/year range. Obviously, everyone''s take on this estimate can vary but I''d suggest you compare it with coverage in the U.S. territorial waters (the premium there should be roughly $1500-2000/year range) and then factor in open ocean passages, far fewer nav aids with less reliability, and almost no man-made protected harbors (tho'' obviously some naturally protected anchorages scattered about). In the U.S. almost all boats'' physical safety is directly tied to the strength of their dock lines; outside the U.S. it has to do with anchor gear & the savvy & care of the crew deploying it...a big difference. Personally, I find the add''l premium cost reasonable given the conditions the insured boat must face.
And Boat/U.S. refuses non-U.S. coverage (with the exception of a rider to the Bahamas), to my knowledge. They simply don''t want to be that vulnerable.
Jack (who isn''t related to anyone in the insurance business...)