Insurance Renewal Query

[Ian_Rob]

My boat insurance is due and the brokers sent the renewal documents yesterday. What is covered is scheduled - Hull & Equipment, Dinghy/Tender, Outboard , Personal Effects, Special Equipment etc.

Not sure what ‘ Special Equipment’ means, I checked the policy wording document, where it is defined as: Items of electronic equipment or other items of equipment that You own and want to specify in Your Schedule, that You use on Your boat.

Surely this doesn‘t include a boat’s electronic navigation equipment which I have always assumed is covered under ‘Hull & Equipment’? Does anybody separately list and pay an additional premium, to cover their navigation equipment?

 

[jwilson]

Not in any way an insurance expert but I would have thought that permanently installed instruments and chartplotter etc were not items "that You use on Your boat" but part of the boat itself. An expensive Macbook or high-end camera however might be items "that You use on Your boat".

 

[awol]

Here's a radical idea - instead of asking an internet forum why not ask your insurance company what they mean by "special equipment"? You could get 2 positive outcomes - 1) you will be in no doubt what your insurance covers and 2) you can post the result on here and scare the bejusus out of all those who think they are fully covered.

 

[Ian_Rob]

Here's a radical idea - instead of asking an internet forum why not ask your insurance company what they mean by "special equipment"? You could get 2 positive outcomes - 1) you will be in no doubt what your insurance covers and 2) you can post the result on here and scare the bejusus out of all those who think they are fully covered.

That is precisely what I did. I advised my Client Manager that I was planning to install a radar and AIS next spring and his e-mailed response is: ‘Do you want to add this to the policy from inception or are you looking to wait a couple of months after the policy has started and pay an extra amount on a pro-rata basis?’

I only told them this because a] I wasn’t sure and b] I wanted to be completely upfront with them for my own piece of mind.

Has the equipment I have had on board for the last 12 years not been insured??

 

[awol]

That is precisely what I did. I advised my Client Manager that I was planning to install a radar and AIS next spring and his e-mailed response is: ‘Do you want to add this to the policy from inception or are you looking to wait a couple of months after the policy has started and pay an extra amount on a pro-rata basis?’

I only told them this because a] I wasn’t sure and b] I wanted to be completely upfront with them for my own piece of mind.

Has the equipment I have had on board for the last 12 years not been insured??

My apologies. I would have expected my insurers, Pantaenius, to regard fitting Radar and AIS as safety items reducing, rather than increasing, their risk exposure. I would not have expected a premium increase but I do inform them of any substantive changes to the boat, e.g when I fitted a new engine.

 

[Ian_Rob]

My apologies. I would have expected my insurers, Pantaenius, to regard fitting Radar and AIS as safety items reducing, rather than increasing, their risk exposure. I would not have expected a premium increase but I do inform them of any substantive changes to the boat, e.g when I fitted a new engine.

Yes exactly, navigation equipment is so fundamenatal to a boats safety and in the interest of the insurers that I am surprised by what they are saying. i was just curious as to whether anybody else has come across this situation? I have e-mailed them back and we will see what their response is.

 

[Tranona]

My apologies. I would have expected my insurers, Pantaenius, to regard fitting Radar and AIS as safety items reducing, rather than increasing, their risk exposure. I would not have expected a premium increase but I do inform them of any substantive changes to the boat, e.g when I fitted a new engine.

But insurance is about money and if you have just spent £5k on radar etc you need to ensure that the agreed value is sufficient to cover this. It is irrelevant that it has aa perceived impact on safety - the same would apply to a new engine. When I have completed the refit on my GH I will submit an itemised list of the expenditure as evidence to support increasing the insured value. Some of the items will of course be replacement of worn or defective bits, some will be enhancements and others complete new additions. The revised value I seek will not therefore be as high as the total expenditure but will reflect the enhanced market value - supported by a valuation from the surveyor, who will also confirm that all the work recommended as needing immediate attention has been carried out.