Insurance

Stemar

Stemar

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On Jissel, I made do with 3rd party insurance. Jazzcat's going to be worth about five times as much, so I'd like to move to fully comp. I tried a couple of on line quotes and neither would offer anything, so I guess it's back to the old fashioned method. However, I'd like to eliminate the dodgy operators and the rip-off merchants, so any suggestions of companies, please. Suggestions for good 'uns to use and bad 'uns to avoid welcomed. If I don't have to go through the faff of a survey, so much the better.

Boat's a 1984 Catalac 8m, and I'd like cover for UK and the Channel.

Thanks in advance
 
Almost certainly you will need an insurance survey and valuation before anybody will touch it.

I have found comparison sites increasingly useless as their algorithms are getting very restrictive. My problem is at the other extreme - high(ish) value and almost all need a phone call to get a quote.

There are 2 choices - a broker such as Curtis Marine already suggested who will search the market for you or a marketing arm of the insurer such as GJW which only offer their own policies. Some brokers like Topsail (often quoted here) only offer a limited range of policies with a small number of underwriters. In the last couple of years the choice of insurers has become more limited as industry losses have been huge, so many have pulled out or consolidated. The key thing is always the policy and they are not all the same, particularly on key things like agreed values.

In your shoes I would talk to well known providers like Bishop Skinner, Haven Knox Johnson, Topsail, GJW, Craftinsure and find out what their requirements are. All of those will offer sound policies.

I have just renewed with HKJ through Topsail, having been with Y Insurance for several years before they were bought by Topsail. Before that I was with Bishop Skinner for 20 years with my old wooden boat and a Bavaria. No complaints about any - but have never made a claim in that period!
 
For the last 10 years or so, I've been using a broker called Nautical Insurance, based in Essex. I chose them initially as they would insure my 20 year old Hallberg-Rassy without a survey. They seem to be sensible people. My current boat is insured through them at about 0.4% of the agreed sum insured.

Nautical Insurance
 
Another vote for Bishop Skinner, who handled my insurance for years, and were extremely efficient following being badly clobbered by another boat in a marina. They never asked for a Survey, but then mine was not an expensive boat. Every 3 - 4 years they would ask for a set of photos to show that the boat was being kept in good condition.

However non survey Insurance has a snag. There will always be a clause along the lines that the owner is required to 'take all reasonable steps' to ensure the boat remains in a seaworthy condition. This puts the onus on you to do just that. In the event of serious accident or write off, its too easy for the insurers assessor and surveyor to decide that lack of maintenance on a specific item falls foul of this clause. A boat was sunk at its mooring during the 1989 hurricane by another boat drifting down on it. The claim was refused because the Surveyor found a significant fault in the steering gear, which the owner knew about, and was arranging to get sorted. The vessel was declared 'not in seaworthy condition', and the claim refused, even though the fault in no way contributed to the loss.

I used to get a 'boatbuilders opinion' report every five years or so. A fraction of the cost of a full survey. I always reckoned that having a second independent professional opinion would go a long way in a dispute.
 
Another vote for Nautical .
They also settle claims under authority from insurers cuts out the broker delay .
Had one claim speedy and fair .
 
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I pay £350 for the same boat model at N&G. When I was broken into several years ago they settled the claim for damage & stuff stolen without fuss. When I bumped the boat next to me and took out a chunk of capping rail when my engine died two years ago they paid his claim ok. They were also fine about all year river trot mooring at Fareham Creek.
 
Comp policies mostly arrive with a booklet of exclusions - lots of them. Boring, but you really have to assess what's on the page against your own situation. A broker will not be exhaustive at this exercise.

There are internal and external risks; a solid maintenance and replacement trail will go some way to persuade that any claim did not arise from lack of normal care. If you don't have a trail of receipts etc you'll likely have to get a surveyor to provide some comfort. But no survey is intrusive - it's best assessment without dismantling.

With external risks, there's the mooring situation - marina best, anchor least, drying out / mooring alongside a busy fairway etc. Then there's your certificated level of experience, crew, sailing area etc.

Third party liability of course.

All the names mentioned above have a good reputation for meeting claims, but many will also apply deductions for contributory factors. In the event of an incident, quality of evidence is vital as is clear attention on the owner's part to minimise the loss.

If you knew all that, fine, just hope it serves as a checklist. Yacht insurance is good value. Going for the lowest quote leaves you asking yourself what joy you might gain from the small premium saving. Put if this way, you might be able to weather a hit to your vessel but damaging a high value third party boat is a life changing expense!

PWG
 
Towergate - YYacht now topsail wanted first go around £390 without legal cover - towergate came in at £295 ish with the same underwriters.
 
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