Any insurance recommendations (NOT Y Insurance)

[Croftie]

My craftinsure renewal has just come through. 9% increase on last year. Good thing with them is you can check the price easily on line. so I checked as a NEW customer and it was exactly the same price as the renewal quote, so no old loyal customer ripoff / new customer tempting price.

 

[ashtead]

As a Haslar customer I see a discount is being offered by the broker Towergate - not dealt with them as a marine broker so just wondered if anyone has any experience ?

 

[TwoHooter]

In the case of a total loss they reserve the right to replace your boat with an equivalent.

That's in most of the policies. I'm still looking for one that doesn't have that because it would likely be impossible to replace our boat and we might end up with something inferior instead of the cash. Our boat is worth almost as much as our house, so I care a lot about the quality of the insurance cover. I have a long list of other "gotchas" gradually building up. Another which I hate is the right to carry out cosmetic instead of full repairs. I know a boat that was badly damaged when a tender broke loose from another vessel. The insurers would pay only to paint the gelcoat where it was damaged. The owner had to pay out of his own pocket to get the whole hull painted which was the only practical way to deal with the damage. Last year, after we had been hit by another boat while we were moored, our insurer wanted us to hammer a bent stainless steel rub rail "flat" and re-fit it. In the end I persuaded them it had to be new stainless. Most policies seem to be the same - I suspect there are only a handful of underwriters at the moment. Loads of so-called brokers but they are all selling the same policies from the same handful of underwriters. I have given up worrying about the premium, I just need adequate cover. If the premium becomes un-affordable that's a good signal that it's time for us to give up boating.

As a Haslar customer I see a discount is being offered by the broker Towergate - not dealt with them as a marine broker so just wondered if anyone has any experience ?

Towergate are like the others. They aren't a proper independent broker. They don't shop around the underwriters to find the best policy for an individual customer. They sell one policy from one underwriter - I forget which one. I'm not saying it's a bad policy, just that they aren't a broker.

 

[C08]

Craftinsure appear to have an age cutoff at 1990, disappointing.

 

[gordmac]

Renewed with Bishop Skinner six or seven weeks ago, didn't get any paperwork. Sold the boat and have been trying to sort out a refund last couple of weeks. They won't answer the phone or reply to emails. Been with them for years and they seem fine at taking the money!

 

[libertyman]

Y insurance say their unique différence is that, in the event of a claim, they work for the client rather than the underwriter. Is anybody able to comment on how this actually plays out in the real world?

 

[oldgit]

Have been insuring with online companies for over 15 years and last four boats.Discovered that "my" broker was taking around 20 % in commission.
Changed to Craftinsure who placed my business with exactly the same company as the broker was going to use.
Later changed to SAGA.
Have made three damage claims, all my own fault.
I arranged and dealt with everything in order to get back in water ASAP.
Claims were were dealt with promptly and paid without query or fuss.
Cover is more than adequate for my uncomplicated boating needs and all the companies have been happy to modify or increase cover on request with little or no charge.
Suspect it depends on how "hands on " you are if things go wrong or do you want to leave it to someone else.
Being a long way from your boat cannot help.


"Craftinsure appear to have an age cutoff at 1990, disappointing. "

......................................two of my earlier boats with Craftinsure , a Princess 25 and Princess 33 were a deal older than that !

 

[dj43]

bump , aweighting reply

 

[KINGFISHER 8]

I've been with Y for some years and several boats but having read tales of woe about increases on here I've been looking around. So far had 3 companies who won't insure a French registered boat. Any French registered boat owners on here? Any French insurance companies used by anyone?

 

[chillee]

I'm with porthcawl , zero increase for me this year.
Been very happy with them. Super helpful and friendly service.

 

[thejonesey]

Just changed from Y to Craftinsure myself and cut my Premium in half. Y provided great service but it was just getting too much.

 

[kennyh]

I’ve just coughed up for Y again this year after 2 completely unjustified significant premium increases.

I won’t be going for them next year - so will watch this thread with interest.

 

[kennyh]

What is worse is they tried to claim they'd only put the price up by 5% in their original letter

I had a fight with them last year and this year on that very point - saying a “marginal” increase but asking me for a significantly higher one - and I have never made a claim on ANY insurance policy ever ?

 

[TwoHooter]

Serious question. Would it be worth asking a respected insurance provider to come on here and explain what is happening in the leisure marine insurance business? A question and answer session with everyone agreeing (a) not to descend into social media nastiness, and (b) not to start re-hashing old disputes about settlement of individual claims. Keep the discussion to the basics. Here are the questions I would like to ask:

1. What is the structure of the industry nowadays? Who (a) provides (ie: sells), (b) underwrites, and (c) re-insures leisure marine insurance?

2. A simple internet search tells us how many providers (sellers) there are. But we don't know how many underwriters are left in the market and how does this compare with (say) 10 years ago? Have we reached a situation where all the providers are essentially selling the same 2 or 3 policies from the same 2 or 3 underwriters?

3. Are any of the providers truly independent, and able to search a competitive market to find the insurance policy which is truly the best deal for an individual owner? Or do all the providers have ties of one sort or another to particular underwriters so that, whoever you are, you end up being offered the same policy?

4. Is there really any difference in the way claims are handled by different providers? Is it genuinely the case that some providers can stand up for their customers and fight their corner if the underwriter tries to avoid or reduce the value of a claim? Or is it the case that all providers are subservient to the underwriters who manage their own claims departments?

5 Do loss adjusters play a part in settling claims? Should they? Can they act inter partes as an honest broker when disputes about claims arise?

6. How do the re-insurers and the underwriters apportion risk across the market? Does a superyacht fire costing perhaps $100mm to settle cause a rise in the premiums paid by the owner of a dayboat in the Solent?

7. Some providers are offering special deals, expressed as discounts in premiums, via affiliate schemes. Many marinas have arrangements whereby a particular provider will claim to offer lower rates for berth holders in that marina. How true are these claims? Are the premiums really less for qualifying parties?

Our boat is worth almost as much as our house (I know that because a similar one sold recently, very quickly) so I care about the quality and reliability of the insurance. Other people on here will be struggling to manage their expenditure because of current economic circumstances. And I know of one owner who sold his boat and got out of boating because he was so disgusted with the way his claim had been handled. His boat was worth several million dollars and he simply wasn't prepared to stay in boating with (as he saw it) inadequate insurance. Boat insurance is a big deal for most owners. Can we find someone who really understands the industry who will come on here and help us understand it too?

 

[superheat6k]

Just be careful when they write you a lovely letter explaining they've worked hard to keep the rise to only 5%.

Double check not only what the premium is, but also what value they are insuring. Dropped my insured value by £18k and didnt mention it. WHen I got them to put the value back up to the previous level the yearly rise shot up to 22%.

underhand and disingenuous

I have yet to see anyone confirm they have received this mysterious 5% rise. Most are seeing ~ 20%, so I wonder how they justify this claim.

 

[MapisM]

I have yet to see anyone confirm they have received this mysterious 5% rise. Most are seeing ~ 20%, so I wonder how they justify this claim.

They can't, obviously.
But we live in a world where claiming something matters as much if not even more than actually doing something.
This year, they sent me a renewal proposal where the premium increase was above 40%, together with the notorious letter claiming 5%.
For the records, I had zero claims with them (and any other insurance) so far, in 30 or so years of boating.

After I pointed out to them that on top of being a clearly unacceptable increase it was also totally inconsistent with their own claims, they reviewed the proposal and offered an increase of "only" 20%, asking also to keep that confidential - as if they were making me a favour, or some special treatment.

Eventually, I accepted the revised renewal, mostly because I didn't want to waste too much time on this.
BUT, their approach reminded me of when I visited the Souks of Marrakech many years ago.
Not what I'd expect from someone dealing with the insurance business, to put it politely.
And which I never, ever experienced in my previous years with a couple of Italian insurers, one of which quite likely will get back my business next year.

 

[mcanderson]

I've been with Y for some years and several boats but having read tales of woe about increases on here I've been looking around. So far had 3 companies who won't insure a French registered boat. Any French registered boat owners on here? Any French insurance companies used by anyone?

Try Pants via the Monaco office. When we bought our boat I spoke to them about which flag to have her under and if we kept our new boat as a French Flag then we would have needed to move insurance from Pants UK to Pants Monaco.

 

[Momac]

I have yet to see anyone confirm they have received this mysterious 5% rise. Most are seeing ~ 20%, so I wonder how they justify this claim.

I had 5%v increase this year (in March) but it was something well over 20% the year previously .
When comparing prices from others on a like for like basis I can see prices that are the same or higher . So the increases in premium seem to me industry wide.

 

[MedDreamer]

So, assuming that boat usage is significantly down this year and this is reflected in a reduction in claims, can we expect premiums to reduce next year or at the very least stabilise?

 

[Momac]

So, assuming that boat usage is significantly down this year and this is reflected in a reduction in claims, can we expect premiums to reduce next year or at the very least stabilise?

That depends whether boat use and claims are significantly related.

Neglected or unused boats may be more prone to faults compared to regularly used boats leading to accidents or other losses eg fires or sinking at moorings
Major losses have occurred in the past due to entire marinas being destroyed in a storm - also not boat use related.