Insurance - A new con discovered today

[superheat6k]

So my Insurance is due shortly, so going through the annual round of quote requests from the usual suspects.

Two things stood out from my enquiries with various firms.

Firstly as I am thinking of selling soon I requested a third party only option and was astounded that the price was only ~10% of the comprehensive coverage. So just how many people are actually ever claiming to justify a 10x mark up for own damage ? OK I have had one own boat claim in 30 years of ownership and nil 3rd party claims.

If I take the 3rd party only option I am left with ~ £600 each year to spend on me damaging my own boat !

Secondly the shocker - GJW now require either a £10 admin fee one line or £25 if I request it over the phone - just to provide a quote. As they have consistently been amongst the most expensive at each of the past 2 years quotes I shall not bother with them further. Apparently the fee is deducted from the premium, but not much use when their quote is say £100 or more than the best prices (Craft Insure then Pants).

I did try Amlin following recommendations on here, but their price was ridiculous.

 

[Refueler]

I used these guys when I was UK ....

Basic Boat liability insurance-small boat liability insurance-boat insurance

 

[Hot Property]

So my Insurance is due shortly, so going through the annual round of quote requests from the usual suspects.

Two things stood out from my enquiries with various firms.

Firstly as I am thinking of selling soon I requested a third party only option and was astounded that the price was only ~10% of the comprehensive coverage. So just how many people are actually ever claiming to justify a 10x mark up for own damage ? OK I have had one own boat claim in 30 years of ownership and nil 3rd party claims.

If I take the 3rd party only option I am left with ~ £600 each year to spend on me damaging my own boat !

Secondly the shocker - GJW now require either a £10 admin fee one line or £25 if I request it over the phone - just to provide a quote. As they have consistently been amongst the most expensive at each of the past 2 years quotes I shall not bother with them further. Apparently the fee is deducted from the premium, but not much use when their quote is say £100 or more than the best prices (Craft Insure then Pants).

I did try Amlin following recommendations on here, but their price was ridiculous.

Are you getting another boat Trev?

Or giving up?

 

[rotrax]

Try Porthcawl Insurance Brokers.

Very happy with their very personal service and price.

 

[superheat6k]

Are you getting another boat Trev?

Or giving up?

Not using it enough so taking a sabbatical.

 

[superheat6k]

Try Porthcawl Insurance Brokers.

Very happy with their very personal service and price.

They were the most expensive so far !

 

[PaulRainbow]

Try Porthcawl Insurance Brokers.

Very happy with their very personal service and price.

Ditto for Porthcawl. Just had our renewal for this year, increase was only £5

 

[Moonbeam]

Have you tried Craftinsure? Craftinsure Boat Insurance

We have our current policy, fully comp, with them. Substantially cheaper than anyone else and the policy wording works for us. Underwritten by Zurich, same as Nav & Gen who we have been with previously.

But... I have no clue what they would be like if we needed to make a claim.

I did my research on here and those that have claimed have had no problems.

GJW asking £10 just to give you an online quote is going down the Ryanair route.... not great.

 

[oldgit]

Insured with Craftinsure on 3 boats.

Princess 33.
Previously insured with various "brokers" and then got a quote from Craftinsure, same insurance co as the "very helpful brokers" but 25 % cheaper for exactly same cover.
A short time later,not paying attention and damage to bow of boat and pulpit.
Rang CI. Told to FAX pictures and details and to include a quote. Few days later received a phone call telling me to get the work done and send them the bill.

Later purchased a Princess 35, insured with Saga who THEN sold out to some other High Class Pirates who agreed to reinsure the boat at the same rate as Saga and then tried to increase premium by 40% at the end of the following 12 months.
Back to CI.
Managed to bend prop and shaft including "P" bracket , again told just by CI sort it and send bill.

Latest money pit , insured with CI, and then even they wanted another 10% this year, outraged trawled the brokers and the interweb, every single one wanted around £200 more than CI.
Will be staying with CI.
They have altered a couple of things in the T&Cs on request, if you are a average boat owner have an average boat and do not demand anything that requires a team of legal nitpickers to cover your collection of Rolexes ............... worth a look.
They do not cover wear and tear.

 

[volvopaul]

Really £10 for a quote !!!! Won’t belong before they are bust , I was with GJW last boat I had , now back on the boat hunt bit won’t be bothering with them.

 

[superheat6k]

Have you tried Craftinsure? Craftinsure Boat Insurance

We have our current policy, fully comp, with them. Substantially cheaper than anyone else and the policy wording works for us. Underwritten by Zurich, same as Nav & Gen who we have been with previously.

But... I have no clue what they would be like if we needed to make a claim.

I did my research on here and those that have claimed have had no problems.

GJW asking £10 just to give you an online quote is going down the Ryanair route.... not great.

Indeed I am with them, but always have a look around. Having only had one claim and with CI, their response and support was excellent, indeed they put me back on standard terms after just 2 years, not the normal 5 years from the claim. What shocked me with GJW was being expected to pay £10 online or £25 by phone just to get a quote.

 

[jakew009]

I am with GJW and just did a quote for a random boat I made up, no fee charged and I got an instant quote at the end of the form.

Was it possibly because your boat is a bit unusual and they were going to have to “go to the market” to find someone to insure it?

In defence of GJW they were the cheapest quote I had (cheaper than CraftInsure), their website / online system is easy to use and most importantly for me they did not want a stupid survey just because the boat was more than 20 years old.

Their policy wording seems fairly sensible to me, it’s an agreed value and they did not charge when I needed to leave my boat in the water for longer than it was meant to be in for.

 

[oldgit]

It does pay to shop around and suspect your choice depends on how comfortable you are regards purchasing "services" from the internet.
Bricks and mortar have got to be paid for, somebody needs grasp that High St vs Amazon nettle ?

 

[jfm]

So my Insurance is due shortly, so going through the annual round of quote requests from the usual suspects.

Two things stood out from my enquiries with various firms.

Firstly as I am thinking of selling soon I requested a third party only option and was astounded that the price was only ~10% of the comprehensive coverage. So just how many people are actually ever claiming to justify a 10x mark up for own damage ? OK I have had one own boat claim in 30 years of ownership and nil 3rd party claims.

If I take the 3rd party only option I am left with ~ £600 each year to spend on me damaging my own boat !

Secondly the shocker - GJW now require either a £10 admin fee one line or £25 if I request it over the phone - just to provide a quote. As they have consistently been amongst the most expensive at each of the past 2 years quotes I shall not bother with them further. Apparently the fee is deducted from the premium, but not much use when their quote is say £100 or more than the best prices (Craft Insure then Pants).

I did try Amlin following recommendations on here, but their price was ridiculous.

Just on your first point about the price of 3P vs price of hull insurance, I think that is generally the case. On my new boat I have different underwriters and policy docs for the two elements (as is common enough with larger boats) so I can see the two prices. The 3P is 3.3% of the total premium, while the hull insurance is the rest. Both policies provide good cover imho.

 

[Tranona]

Third party premiums are not directly related to the value of boat, but more to the type of boat and area of use. This is what makes overall premium as a %age of boats value misleading on lower value boats. For example my current boat has a value of £36k and the premium is £276 (0.75%) but my previous boat was £100k premium £450 (0.45%). The oft quoted 0.5% as "norm" seems to hold true around £100k and from there as the third party element is fixed and hull/machinery linearly related to insured value. Interestingly when I was with Bishop Skinner they used to provide the breakdown in their quotations/renewals. Don't know whether they still do.

 

[Momac]

As per the post #12 earlier I tested the GJW online system to obtain a price and there was no charge.
The result was a higher price than the premium I paid for HKJ cover in March but that doesn't mean the same will apply to everyone.

 

[andy59]

Just renewed with Curtis Marine (under HKJ umbrella) , very happy with only £10 increase on last year

 

[madabouttheboat]

I've taken the decision to go 3rd party only with my latest boat. The capital cost was relatively low and the requirement for a full out-of-the water survey that pretty much all insurers insist on for boats of the age, and the premiums charged over and above 3rd party, probably mean I will break even in a few years, as long as I don't suffer a total loss. Fingers crossed, but with 25 years of fully comp insurance premiums paid previously, and not a single claim, I think its a gamble i'm prepared to take. £70 per year.