Insurance Problems with EU Boats

[Baggywrinkle]

My boat is UK registered, I'm an Ex-Pat in Europe and my boat is in the Adriatic.

My boat insurance company contacted me by E-Mail as my policy is up for renewal at the end of June .... here is what they wrote ....

Mr xxxxxx

Thank you for insuring your boat with us during the past year.

We are contacting you to advise that your policy is due for renewal on xx/06/19 but we are no longer in a position to offer policies in a currency other than Sterling and your policy is in Euros at your own request.

We confirm that cover will remain in force until its conclusion, the policy will then lapse and you will be required to place your business with another company.

Thank you for your custom and should you require any assistance or to contact us please email .....

I phoned them up and was told that due to Brexit, from now on, they are only able to offer policies to UK residents and/or UK registered boats and the currency used for estimation of value must be pounds sterling and can no longer be Euros.

Fortunately, as the boat is UK registered and I will cope with the value expressed in pounds rather than euros (the boat and all its's equipment receipts are in euros)

The downside is I will carry the exchange rate risk instead of the insurer should a payout ever be made.

Anyone else in the same situation might want to proactively contact their UK insurer.

 

[davidej]

We had a major standoff last September trying to negotiate a winter layup in Germany . The yard wanted us to have third party liability in Euros while the UK underwriters would only agree to Pounds.

 

[bedouin]

Without a Brexit deal in place they are rather in limbo.

I think the difference in currency is not the issue, but the fact that you are resident in EU-27 is a major issue.

Unless the insurance is based on an agreed value then you don't have an exchange rate risk. The ins co will pay out the true value of your claim and the currency in which they do so should not impact that

 

[[70521]]

As I said in the other forum.

They are only moving the risk of a gain/fall in the £ to the € to you. Simples.

Why should they lose money because you don't want to pay in £?

 

[Baggywrinkle]

As I said in the other forum.

They are only moving the risk of a gain/fall in the £ to the € to you. Simples.

Why should they lose money because you don't want to pay in £?

If the boat hadn't been registered in the UK they would have not insured it at all, pounds or euros, made no difference. They have somehow been forced to constrain themselves to the UK market with valuations and payout in pounds whereas before the serviced the EU market with valuations, payouts and premiums payable in pounds or euros with no restrictions on residence or registration.

 

[Bobc]

I have been told that a lot of UK insurers are shying away from insuring boats in the Med, as they have had far too many claims from there compared to other places.

I suspect this is your insurer basically saying "we don't particularly want your business because it's not good business for us, so we're going to make it difficult for you so you go and find someone else",

 

[duncan99210]

The problem is down to 2 elements. First off is the currency issue: at present with a single market, there’s no barriers to the movement of credit over frontiers, so it doesn’t matter which currency your boat is valued in or what currency you pay your premium with. In a future world, this easy crossing of frontiers may not remain in place, so insurers are looking to minimise their exposure to Euro risks by moving policies into sterling.
The second element is also down to the uncertainty about the future of the insurance market post Brexit. Under EU rules, UK insurers can provide cover for any EU risks they choose to accept. However, post Brexit they will probably find the,selves shut out of EU markets and only able to offer insurance to either British owned or British registered boats.
Both of these elements will tend to lead to the situation the OP has found himself in.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

I have been told that a lot of UK insurers are shying away from insuring boats in the Med, as they have had far too many claims from there compared to other places.

I suspect this is your insurer basically saying "we don't particularly want your business because it's not good business for us, so we're going to make it difficult for you so you go and find someone else",

When they found out my boat was UK registered and I was happy with a policy in pounds sterling, they were happy to renew. It's still in the med.

Holiday home policies from UK providers are having similar issues, and my german friends with UK based financial products are being informed of moves to EU based firms.

Seems to be a financial services issue.

 

[chrishscorp]

When they found out my boat was UK registered and I was happy with a policy in pounds sterling, they were happy to renew. It's still in the med.

Holiday home policies from UK providers are having similar issues, and my german friends with UK based financial products are being informed of moves to EU based firms.

Seems to be a financial services issue.

I did flag this up in one of the brexit threads in the lounge and some muttered something about project fear.

This is not the article i linked to in the thread but it has much the same material, basically it affects pension annuities, Insurance and any finacial services offered by a UK company if we become a third country and you are based in the EU.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...K-expats-pensions-stopped-no-deal-Brexit.html

 

[PabloPicasso]

How do you register a boat in the uk?

 

[PabloPicasso]

The problem is down to 2 elements. First off is the currency issue: at present with a single market, there’s no barriers to the movement of credit over frontiers, so it doesn’t matter which currency your boat is valued in or what currency you pay your premium with. In a future world, this easy crossing of frontiers may not remain in place, so insurers are looking to minimise their exposure to Euro risks by moving policies into sterling.
The second element is also down to the uncertainty about the future of the insurance market post Brexit. Under EU rules, UK insurers can provide cover for any EU risks they choose to accept. However, post Brexit they will probably find the,selves shut out of EU markets and only able to offer insurance to either British owned or British registered boats.
Both of these elements will tend to lead to the situation the OP has found himself in.

 

[prv]

How do you register a boat in the uk?

If you live in the UK, either on Part 1 or Part 3 of the UK Ship Register. Part 3 is simple to do online: https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/ssr/ssr/

If you live elsewhere like the OP, only Part 1 is available to you. It's more complex and expensive and you probably need a surveyor to come and pointlessly measure how much cargo it can carry . Start by sending in this form: https://assets.publishing.service.g..._App_to_Register_a_Vessel_on_Part_1__002_.pdf

Pete

 

[Baggywrinkle]

If you live in the UK, either on Part 1 or Part 3 of the UK Ship Register. Part 3 is simple to do online: https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/ssr/ssr/

If you live elsewhere like the OP, only Part 1 is available to you. It's more complex and expensive and you probably need a surveyor to come and pointlessly measure how much cargo it can carry . Start by sending in this form: https://assets.publishing.service.g..._App_to_Register_a_Vessel_on_Part_1__002_.pdf

Pete

Yep, you need a surveyor to give you a registered tonnage value and measure your boat, but the hardest part of getting Part1 for me was chasing down all the owners and sales invoices from the day it was built .... which the ships registry insisted on. It was originally sold through a leasing company in Austria which changed hands during the lease, and then on to a Charter company in Croatia .... I don't know if you can get Part 1 without this paper-trail, perhaps some more knowledgeable people have had different experiences.

 

[BrianH]

Yep, you need a surveyor to give you a registered tonnage value and measure your boat, but the hardest part of getting Part1 for me was chasing down all the owners and sales invoices from the day it was built .... which the ships registry insisted on. It was originally sold through a leasing company in Austria which changed hands during the lease, and then on to a Charter company in Croatia .... I don't know if you can get Part 1 without this paper-trail, perhaps some more knowledgeable people have had different experiences.

The ownership trail was reduced in 2010 (I think it was) to five years only. I registered my Italian-berthed boat on part 1 then as I had owned her for that length of time. My bill of sale was enough to prove that.

There are accredited surveyors in various countries so that access for one need not be onerous and the tonnage measurement process is trivial. Yes, all together it was expensive but a lot less so than for a 'flag of convenience' for those of us who do not wish to illegally use a UK address for Part III, SSR.

 

[[70521]]

How do you register a boat in the uk?

If you live in the UK, either on Part 1 or Part 3 of the UK Ship Register. Part 3 is simple to do online: https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/ssr/ssr/

If you live elsewhere like the OP, only Part 1 is available to you. It's more complex and expensive and you probably need a surveyor to come and pointlessly measure how much cargo it can carry . Start by sending in this form: https://assets.publishing.service.g..._App_to_Register_a_Vessel_on_Part_1__002_.pdf

Pete

And is only needed if you plan to take the boat overseas.

 

[BrianH]

If you live elsewhere like the OP, only Part 1 is available to you. It's more complex and expensive and you probably need a surveyor to come and pointlessly measure how much cargo it can carry .
Pete

"Probably" is not accurate, you definitely will need one. And not so "pointlessly", as I was informed the whole point is to be sure the vessel actually exists and conforms to the registered details on official records - unlike Part 3 where any dimensions can be used.


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