Insurance for long distance cruising

kevjopenney

kevjopenney

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Joined
9 Sep 2007
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www.mahe36.blogspot.com
Hi,

We are planning a circumnavigation from March 08 and have perhaps naively just started looking into insurance. It came as a bit of shock then to get a very large quote from Pantenaus. We have heard good things about Pantenaus in terms of coverage and reputation, but this really does seem excessive. We are really looking for cover for loss of the boat rather than for lost anchors etc. Can anyone recommend any other companies? Or do others simply go withoutout?

Advice greatly appreciated

Thanks

Jo
 
I think it depends on how you ask for the insurance.

Pantenaus insured me all the way around but I only asked for cover 'leg by leg' not for the entire trip.

I was covered for the Atlantic crossing. Then for the Eastern Caribbean. Next was east coast USA. Then Caribbean to Panama. Then Panama to New Zealand... (There is a very expensive section between the Marquesas and Tuamotu's which you only should have cover for the period you are transiting that) Then New Zealand to Australia I think....

The point is you should only get insurance for the section you are about to sail.. when you get near the edge of that section you then ask for the next section and cancel that which you have done... Some areas and times of year are more expensive than others...

Hope this helps

Michael
 
Me too - Pantaneus made my eyes water but few UK companies cover world wide. However 6 months earlier I had been asking around and Admiral got back to me out of the blue with a quote for the same level of cover £500 cheaper. - Thats Admiral marine in Salisbury not the car lot.
 
Make sure you read and understand the small print with regards to changing sailing areas and reporting safe arrival to the insurance company.

We found we weren't covered in Spain as cover was still in place for us in the Caribbean. Being safe in the Azores does not mean you are safely across the Atlantic. For the ocean passages we couldn't get insurance as we were only two on board, they wanted a minimum of three.
 
You might try Edward Williams Marine Services, Local 24, Puerto Deportivo, Fuengirola 29640, Malaga, Spain. They do insure yachts worldwide.
 
Try Bishop Skinner, they are RYA affiliated, we used to be with Pantenaus and didn´t get any help from them when we needed it, so we didn´t renew our policy and got one from BS for a fraction of the cost
 
P aren't the cheapest but they deliver. I've now made 4 claims (none my fault, I add, it's them others) and had all of them paid quickly with minimum fuss. I'd be interested to hear of the experiences of others when they've had to claim.

I don't what you've been quoted but expect 1.5% of boat's value as a premium from P. Well that's what we paid. It is now about 1% of boat value.
 
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P aren't the cheapest but they deliver.

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I would agree with this. I have only had very minor claims with Pants but they have been very quickly handled and with no fuss. I have only been able to get a very marginally better quote (I do ask every year) from someone else, but it was not worth the bother or risk to switch. I pay about 1% of boat value in casco insurance and then there are the third party and crew insurances that actually are a pittance.
 
Some very sound advice on this thread re splittling your journey into separate insurance parcels.
I am with Pantaneus and would echo the other comments on their good claim performance (we used to be with another insurer until we had a claim against a third party and it took almost a year to get paid out)
In the UK and down to the Med I paid .75% of hull value and could get plenty of other quotes all around the same figure. Now in the Caribbean it has gone up to 1.25% including the hurricane cover and I have yet to find anyone else to insure me out here for much less than 2%, particularly the US based insurers.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Try Bishop Skinner, they are RYA affiliated, we used to be with Pantenaus and didn´t get any help from them when we needed it, so we didn´t renew our policy and got one from BS for a fraction of the cost

[/ QUOTE ]

It would be interesting to know what kind of help you didnt get from Pantaenius. I switched to them this year from Mardon Marine, (Axa), and found them extremely responsive, accommodating, and agreeable to compromise where appropriate.

i.e. my standing rigging is probably 12 years old and they require it to be renewed at 10 years but, rather than force me to re-rig, (which I cant currently afford), or refuse to insure me for rigging failure, they agreed a 50% deductible in the case of a claim.

I pay 0.75% of hull value for anywhere within 200 miles of a European coastline, not North of Bergen, (I think it's Bergen anyway).

Cheers

Richard
 
We have just been quoted 0.88% of total value for European Insurance with Pantaenius (currently with Yachtmaster and charged 0.56%).

For our Atlantic crossing next year they have quoted 2.0% and up'd the excess to £2k - but thats for double handed crossing and Caribbean cruising.

Doesn't seem too bad to me - clearly the European stuff isn't as cheap as we get at the moment - but looking at the policy it looks more comprehensive.

Waiting to hear from them on a price for a year's insurance to take us from Caribbean to Australia via Panama (suspect it will be a big quote!)

Jonny

p.s. Richard - yes it is Bergen (according the quote I got yesterday anyway!)
 
We also use Pantaenius and pay 'as you go' by area. We tell them when we are going somewhere, tell them when we get there. They are amazingly efficient and are highly praised by the folks insured by them who got hit by hurricane Ivan. As a general point, I guess it's the old story, if you want to sleep at night knowing the insurer will pay it usually costs a bit more.
 
The 'pay as you go' bit sounds good - they didn't mention this at SIBS. We need to sort our insurance from Dec 07 to Dec 09 (insurance runs out in Dec), the basic plan is:

Dec 07 - Mar 08 On the hard
Mar 08 - Sept 08 European Waters
Sept 08 - Nov 08 Canaries
Nov 09 - Feb 09 Atlantic and Caribbean
Feb 09 - Oct 09 Panama to Australia
Nov 09 - ???? Based in Australia

How far can we break this down and how much notice do you give them?

Thanks

Jonny
 
If my memory is correct they want to be informed each time you do an ocean passage, which may move you to a higher/lower premium area. The premium variations are mainly a mix of risk and variable costs of repairs and, of course, the American's love of suing people.

As such, we advised them before crossing Biscay, then for Portugal to Canaries, then Canaries to Caribbean. If you call them they will explain it all, they are exremely friendly and helpful.

Speaking of America we have it covered on our 'Caribbean' policy. We asked to have it taken off and they said there was no point because there was no additional premium for it.
 
In response to your original question, a fair minority of cruisers do go without insurance, though I can't say I'm comfortable with that idea as many also forgo third party insurance.

Most insurers want to know your cruising area, so 'pay as you go' as it's been referred to is pretty much the norm. We always tell our insurer what are plans are and what maintenance we've had done on the boat and I think this is important to maintain good relationships.

We recently switched from Pants to Admiral, not because we were unhappy with Pants as such (have never claimed) but because I had issues with their new conditions for hurricane cover. We had a civilised debate about it, but in the end they were unable to make the changes I needed. I'd certainly go back if it suited me, but have been very happy with Admiral too - they even emailed me to warn me that hurricane Felix was getting a bit close!

Finally, one way to get the price down a bit is to up the excess (or deductible as US insurers call is). And another is of course to forgo new for old...
 
Hi Kev & Joe why dont you look further afield for your insurance like Turkey. Koc Alliance Sigorta nice people to do World insurance with. And the pay up without the added Hassle No need to look at UK insurance these days thats for the Rich folk check them out and get a supprise .
PS they do it on the monthly,quartley, or six monthly and they are not just for med based crafts.
www.maryandcolin.zoomshare.com www.agloco.com/r/BBCR9025
 
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Finally, one way to get the price down a bit is to up the excess (or deductible as US insurers call is). And another is of course to forgo new for old...

[/ QUOTE ]

I tried that with Mardon Marine. I was pretty close to changing to Pantaenius, but there were a couple of issues needed sorting before they would cover me fully so, a few days before my cover was up, I asked Mardon how much they would reduce the premium if I upped my excess to £750, (I thing it was £400 or £500 or so).

Not something they would consider, I was told in no uncertain terms... didnt even suggest that they would put it to an underwriter. It was more their manner during this exchange that made me switch rather than anything else, (Pants are more expensive, so there was no logic in my final decision making process).

Glad I made the change, although you never know until you make a claim.

Richard
 
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