Do all insurers require a survey?

rumtoddy1 said:
Changed to pantaenius 2 years ago when my previous insurer St margarets only told me at the time the renewal request was sent that they required a survey.
Answered a lot of questions with pantaenius and they covered me straight away.
Yes they may charge a bit more but having now been with them for 3 years they now have extended my cruising grounds to belgiu, Holland etc free of charge. St Margarets used to charge every year for a 2 week extension
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Why would they charge for extension to standard regional cover of Brest to Elbe ? Most Insurers will give Brest to Elbe as normal limits.
 
oldharry said:
Yes, and if it sinks in the middle of the fairway and causes an obstruction you will have to either remove it, or pay the local harbour authority to do it for you. Or they will do it anyway and send you the bill. And divers and lifting tackle along with support boats, tug to remove the wreck once it has been lifted, storage and subsequent disposal of the derelict could all add up to a good few £K's.

Fine if you are willing and able to accept the risk - but a worthwhile saving? Not IMHO.
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Basic Boat Liability covers Wreck Removal ..... check the wording online of their policy. It may surprise you.

This was an argument used by a Broker to me to try and get biz ... didn't take long to wipe the smirk of his face.
 
rumtoddy1 said:
Should have said. French Atlantic coast and all the way up to the baltic is covered now with no additional charge
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Be careful with Baltic Coverage as people like Pant's only cover to 60N .... Alands Isles go more north than that. In fact many don't cover that high N or East ... so check carefully the geographic stated limit.

I had distinct trouble finding anyone to cover the boat to limits I wanted ... and I even approached Cruising Assoc. recc'd Brokers .... finally only 1 Ins. gave the cover I wanted - Nautima, Germany.
 
Maybe you should be looking at cost, mine only cost a couple of hundred for the survey and that included a full repair schedule and a follow up survey to say it had been done.
 
chasmoore said:
My insurers are demanding a condition survey on renewal even though I've been with them for years without a claim. Is this usual? Other insurers want a survey before they will insure me. This will cost about £400+ which I'm reluctant to pay. Is there any insurance company that will insure without a survey?
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OK - I've already answered ... but re-reading your OP ... I have to say :

Regardless of how long you've been insured and lack of claims, any object such as boat, car etc. deteriorates over time whether used, damaged or not. Is it not fair that an Insurer require detail that the risk he is insuring is fair and reasonable ? For all he knows you caould have a keel that's falling off, rudder pintle that's cracked, hull that's got a hole and patched with car filler ..... You may have sailed the boat 1000's of miles - but he hasn't. Owners also tend to have rose tinted specs when it comes to telling Insurance / others of their boats ... knowing there are faults. Insurance Co. is just covering it's risk.

Now I am not saying your boat is in bad condition or unfair risk - but in Insurance eyes ALL are risk.

Now you can ask around and I'm sure locals can put you onto a reasonable fee, recc'd guy ...
Make sure he agrees to have you with him during the inspection, make sure he knows it's an Insurance Cover Inspection - not a full pull it apart jobbie ! Make sure he understands to discuss any faults / areas of concern with you so that you have opportunity to correct without need to put in report. Make sure he agrees to submit provisional report to you before final print - so you again have opportunity to correct / g'tee repair etc.

YOU are footing the bill .... not Insurance Co.
 
Avalon said:
You can get third party insurance from the Basic Boat Liability Company without a survey. You can buy the insurance online (www.basic-boat.com). The insurance is underwritten by Royal and Sun Alliance plc.

This is how I insure my boat, as I resent the requirement to have an expensive survey every few years which would only tell me a fraction of what I already know after owning the boat for some twenty years and sailing her for many thousands of miles.

By insuring my boat in this way I have saved myself many thousands of pounds over the years which can be spent on maintaining the boat and upgrading equipment when necessary.

If I smash up or lose my boat myself, I will have to pay for the repairs - or not have a boat. I would accept that as my punishment for being careless - or unlucky.
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Thanks for this, just insured with them!
 
chasmoore said:
My insurers are demanding a condition survey on renewal even though I've been with them for years without a claim. Is this usual? Other insurers want a survey before they will insure me. This will cost about £400+ which I'm reluctant to pay. Is there any insurance company that will insure without a survey?
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Trouble is we have non- MRINA individuals wandering over yachts, whose only qualification is some night school and paying out for a moisture meter.
 
This is an 11 year old thread!
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Think we've all made mistake of not looking at date top left ..........

Trouble is we have non- MRINA individuals wandering over yachts, whose only qualification is some night school and paying out for a moisture meter.
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So because a person has a piece of paper saying he's member of an Association or Institute makes him an expert ?

I can recite reams of detail about an example person - he's written books ... gets quoted by some as the BEST since sliced bread ... has 'qualifications' that look impressive but in fact are provided by self interest group ... the guys a total crook and a menace to Survey world.

Yacht Surveys are not something laid down like Mathematic Rules ... surveys are individual and require understanding of so many variables that no Association Examination can hope to cover.
I employ Superintendents and Inspectors all over the world - they are employed NOT by what piece of paper they put in front of me - but by referral and experience. They are also told directly to learn from each survey as well ...
 
My local firm of Brokers (Yachtmaster of Woodbridge) simply require a condition report from a recognised boatbuilder on a five yearly interval. Since the boat is winter stored out of the water and under cover this is not a problem .
They are very good too in that they remind me with at least three months notice when this is due .
 
My last survey was 2007 and not been asked for one since. N&G who are not the cheapest but are good to deal with and do pay out claims. That is on a 45 year old catamaran!
 
Interestingly our insurers asked for a survey this year. The boat was last surveyed fifteen years ago so I couldn't grumble too much. They put the boat on 3rd party damages only (for £100 a year) for the few weeks it took for the survey to be done and sent to them. They immediately put the boat back on full liability. I can't really complain...
 
C08 said:
My last survey was 2007 and not been asked for one since. N&G who are not the cheapest but are good to deal with and do pay out claims. That is on a 45 year old catamaran!
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And it was N&G that refused to pay out for me when a newly-purchased 23' cruiser split the hull along one of it's bilge keels when drying out at the mooring. When challenged as to the 'seaworthy condition' of the boat I had no survey report to prove to them the satisfactory condition of the boat at the time of purchase.

Goodbye ££££ of saved money :( I won't be reinsuring with them ever again.
 
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