Insurance companies

[eddystone]

I'm losing patience with GJW, with whom I have insured for 10 years, telling me my recent out of water survey, conducted by a marine surveyor and covering all aspects of condition, is just a hull survey. I'm therefore looking for alternatives. It will only be Brest-Elbe limits, some singlehanding. The ones I can think of are Noble Marine, with whom I have dinghy insurance, Craftinsure, Haven Knox Johnstone, Towergate and Pantaneous. Any other companies worth considering.

 

[B27]

Whoever it is that does 'dinghyinsurance.com' might be worth a chat.

 

[shanemax]

What type of boat and what value. If its a 60 footer and worth hundreds of thousands you can understand the insurance company asking more questions. If its a 20 year old Leisure 17 then the opposite should be true.

 

[Poignard]

My 28-foot Twister is insured with Noble Marine Ltd. They are easy to deal with and didn't require a survey.

 

[eddystone]

32ft 80s monohull value c £25K.

 

[bill bligh]

I have used Traffords marine in the past. I have never had to make a claim so do not know what they are like if had.

 

[wonkywinch]

The surveyor who checked our boat pre purchase has spent a couple of family generations dealing with marine insurance claims. He warned us off Towergate due to length of times they took to process claims.

We went with Navigators & General who are part of Zurich (and who other brokers also quoted for albeit with their own mark ups, making N&G the lowest price quote for our boat).

 

[Paul1962]

Insurance 4 Boats in Portcawl will be worth getting a quote from

 

[Sandy]

I moved from GJW to Pantaneous two years ago. The outboard and dinghy are included in the cover so this has worked out cheaper. A huge advantage is no silly 'no more than 12 nm offshore unless on passage rule' and no single handed 18 hour restrictions.

 

[coopec]

I'm with New Wave Marine Insurance. Their yearly charge was very competitive but I pay monthly.

I think you'll find all business is done on-line.

Boat Insurance Cover Made Easy | New Wave Marine

 

[Tranona]

I have just been through the process of getting quotes for my 1979 Golden Hind. Without exception every insurer I approached required a recent survey. For years I was with Y Insurance and then Topsail with either HKJ or N&G. The renewal was over £400. I obtained quotes from HKJ and GJW. Admiral would not quote because of low value and referred me to Noble and Craftinsure because the boat is too old. Topsail also gave a lower quote with another insurer, but they required a new survey. Noble and Pants are prepared to quote and will accept the current survey. Towergate would not quote.

My situation is slightly different from most because I require a value far higher than the purchase price reflecting the work I have done on the boat. N&G required confirmation that all recommendations have been carried out and a current market valuation. However with the exception of the second Topsail quote all the others accept the survey and valuation.

HKJ quote was £370 and GJW was £261 which included protected NCB and Legal Expenses which were extra with the others. I have read the GJW policy and it is essentially the same as N&G and HKJ so no prizes for guessing which one I went with.

Insurance is a lottery. My experience (at least on getting quotes) is not a good predictor of what others might experience. As you see, the opposite of the OP. No different from household or vehicle insurance.

So the only advice really is to try everybody. Most of the main ones with decent policies have been mentioned already but would add Bishop Skinner.

 

[Tranona]

I'm with New Wave Marine Insurance. Their yearly charge was very competitive but I pay monthly.

I think you'll find all business is done on-line.

Boat Insurance Cover Made Easy | New Wave Marine

No good if you are in the UK. We have plenty of choice even if some are a bit of a PITA to deal with.

 

[eddystone]

Had forgotten about Bishop Skinner. So far have had quote from Noble after they looked through survey and about the same as GJW. Waiting for quote from Craftinsure and will try BS and Pantaneous.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I never had a problem with HKJ but then again I never bothered them. They did however pick up my insurance after a broker did a runner with my insurance money leaving me unknowingly uninsured for a few months many years ago and didn't charge me for the year. After that I stayed with them for 12 years.

 

[Poecheng]

I have used Admiral for the latest boat. They were a little bit more expensive than GWR but I dealt exclusively with Dave Andrew who, to my mind, was extremely sensible in relation to what was required (eg happy with rig report on 11 yr standing rigging) and gave me some confidence I would be dealt with properly if it ever came to it.

 

[steveeasy]

I'm losing patience with GJW, with whom I have insured for 10 years, telling me my recent out of water survey, conducted by a marine surveyor and covering all aspects of condition, is just a hull survey. I'm therefore looking for alternatives. It will only be Brest-Elbe limits, some singlehanding. The ones I can think of are Noble Marine, with whom I have dinghy insurance, Craftinsure, Haven Knox Johnstone, Towergate and Pantaneous. Any other companies worth considering.

Out of interest, what were they wanting you to provide?

Steveeasy

 

[ashtead]

You have to remember insurance is having a balance portfolio so to some extent what’s low today for one insured might be high for you the next. It’s much more dynamic in motor I suspect but what you dont want is book of like risks hence shop around but just stick with a uk insurer if a uk customer. Most names mentioned are of course brokers -we have just moved to craftinsure but still Zurich paper. Massive difference in price to N&G policy . Just the pricing appetite plus a broker can discount its commission to secure new business .

 

[nevis768]

My 28-foot Twister is insured with Noble Marine Ltd. They are easy to deal with and didn't require a survey.

I had the same experience with same size boat, Mascot 28

 

[Concerto]

The surveyor who checked our boat pre purchase has spent a couple of family generations dealing with marine insurance claims. He warned us off Towergate due to length of times they took to process claims.

We went with Navigators & General who are part of Zurich (and who other brokers also quoted for albeit with their own mark ups, making N&G the lowest price quote for our boat).

I second your recommendation for Navigators and General as I use them. The policy allows me to sail singlehanded for up to a planned journey of 24 hours, which is longer than most insurance companies.

 

[Graham376]

We're with N & G via Topsail and a couple of weeks ago I received quote from Pants which was cheaper than our renewal quote. Checking Pants policy, didn't like a couple of their terms so stayed with N & G. Topsail agreed to reduce their price a little so only about £10 difference between them.