On the topic of insurance....

[alt]

Anyone ever heard of Munich Re Syndicate Limited?

My broker in Ireland has them as my under-writer.

I will admit, I renewed in a bit of a rush last year (wanted to get on the water) and didn't look at the under-writer.

This year, after many topics on this forum, I will research the under-writer and their conditions before renewing.

 

[silverdee]

Munich Re are massive but all that matters is your policy terms. I am a fan of WHY or is it Y insurance helpful and right wording.

 

[alt]

Munich Re are massive but all that matters is your policy terms. I am a fan of WHY or is it Y insurance helpful and right wording.

I went to Y for a Quote, not sure if they'd cover Ireland.

Excellent e-mail communication, very competitive quote.... Tomorrow when I get a chance i'll go through the policy details.

I have to admit, got a bit of a laugh that their intro line was "Our excellent reviews on online forums" (sic) .... Ironic that it's because of these forums that I e-mailed Y for a quote!

PS. Can someone confirm (I don't want to mention usernames) that Y are not an under-writer? From the feedback here I thought they were under-writers, but from their communications it seems not.

 

[petem]

I went to Y for a Quote, not sure if they'd cover Ireland.

Excellent e-mail communication, very competitive quote.... Tomorrow when I get a chance i'll go through the policy details.

I have to admit, got a bit of a laugh that their intro line was "Our excellent reviews on online forums" (sic) .... Ironic that it's because of these forums that I e-mailed Y for a quote!

PS. Can someone confirm (I don't want to mention usernames) that Y are not an under-writer? From the feedback here I thought they were under-writers, but from their communications it seems not.

They are a broker not an underwriter. As per their website, they use a variety of underwriters.

 

[jfm]

Y are more than a broker: they represent one underwriter group mostly and have delegated authority to issue policies. Nothing unusual about that. That main underwriter is one of the big Amlin syndicates at Lloyds so you have no material underwriter default risk.
In my view Y's policy terms are excellent (see previous threads for detail) and I have insured my boat with them for several years, since pantaenius changed their policy for the worse ( in my opinion). I don't think there are any terms in the general market better than Y's, and there are plenty that are worse including the big GJW's, again in my view. I say that particularly because in a case of total loss GJW (and some others) have a right to hand you a secondhand boat of their choosing that merely has to be similar to the one you lost but can expressly be a bit worse. That might be ok if you're insuring an old banger, but NFW for a valuable boat where what you want in a total loss is money.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Another vote here for Y. Good customer service, the policy terms seem fair, and the price was agreeable. Not had to claim so can't comment on that.

No connection.

 

[alt]

Y are more than a broker: they represent one underwriter group mostly and have delegated authority to issue policies. Nothing unusual about that. That main underwriter is one of the big Amlin syndicates at Lloyds so you have no material underwriter default risk.
In my view Y's policy terms are excellent (see previous threads for detail) and I have insured my boat with them for several years, since pantaenius changed their policy for the worse ( in my opinion). I don't think there are any terms in the general market better than Y's, and there are plenty that are worse including the big GJW's, again in my view. I say that particularly because in a case of total loss GJW (and some others) have a right to hand you a secondhand boat of their choosing that merely has to be similar to the one you lost but can expressly be a bit worse. That might be ok if you're insuring an old banger, but NFW for a valuable boat where what you want in a total loss is money.

Hi JFM, thanks for input. I was indeed referring to your posts but I didn't want to be mentioning usernames... this is how I came across Y. I wasn't sure if they'd cover Rep. of Ireland (but they do!).

They have provided me with a quote which is better than what I paid for 2017, so i'm assuming it will be a better quote than my renewal.

I will read through the policy before committing, but assuming the policy is the same as the ones talked about on the forums here in the past, I hope i'm in good hands!

 

[MapisM]

I was thinking to post a thread related to my recent experience with Y, but since the topic suits also this thread nicely, here's my 2c.

First of all, a bit of background:
I've been boating for 3 decades, and I never had any insurance on my boats other than TPL, which is mandatory in IT.
I suppose that this will sound unusual if not even crazy to most of you folks, but actually I'm far from being alone down here, for the very simple reason that IT insurer only offer full coverage at ridiculously high premium prices.
Actually, that wasn't a bad choice in hindsight, considering that I never had any TPL claims, and the only occasion when I had an accident potentially subject to insurance coverage is when I ran aground veeeery lightly with my previous boat several years ago (don't ask...).
But the resulting damage only required some sanding and repainting in a couple of feet of the wooden keel bottom, so it wouldn't have even been worth filing a claim.

All that said, I though that after buying a new to me boat, and knowing a bit of UK insurances based on the forum debates, I could as well check what Brit insurers had to offer.
So, after a brief contact with jfm (many thanks again J) to check also some specific clauses he asked for, I got in touch with Y.
Long story short, as of now the friend of mine who bought my previous boat is already insured with Y.
My new boat will soon follow, because she's sheltered at the moment, so I will start the policy (whose terms are already defined anyway) upon launch.

Of course, I can't comment on claims handling (I mean, not yet - but hopefully never also in the future! ), which is what really matters with an insurance, at the end of the day.
Otoh, the process of negotiating and agreeing the terms of the new policy (or better said policies, since I've been somewhat involved also with the one of my old boat) couldn't have been smoother.
They always responded very promptly, understanding exactly the peculiarities of each situation - just perfect.

Btw, talking of peculiarities, for both boats the context was somewhat different from the one which (I suppose) they are mostly used to deal with:
- both boats owned by non-Brits;
- both boats non-UK flagged;
- neither boats professionally surveyed upon purchase, nor in the recent past.
In order to cover this last point (since of course neither myself nor my mate would have fancied paying a survey ex-post, just to subscribe an insurance policy), they asked us to supply photographic evidence of the boats and of some of their technical equipment.
They only raised an understandable point ref. some skin fittings of my old boat, whose appearance I must admit that isn't exactly great, in spite of their pretty solid conditions.
Which is something the new owner was already planning to deal with upon the next liftout, anyway.

Bottom line, a double praise to Y, from both myself and the other chap involved! :encouragement:
With a particular thank to Ms.C.F., their business coordinator, who dealt very professionally with the complicated situation previously described and all the related emails
I'm not sure if she looks here in the asylum, but I suppose that those of you who subscribed a Y policy know who I am talking about.
Apropos, worth mentioning also that everything was handled electronically, up to the final insurance docs.
This is maybe normal also for anyone insured with someone else north of the Channel, but down here it's unheard of.

 

[alt]

Hi P

Many thanks for your input, it's a no brainer I reckon.

 

[alt]

So, my current insurer sent renewal today.... The renewal quote was 28% more expensive than Y! (Last year they wouldn't budge on price).

Underwriters listed as "Various syndicates at Lloyd's of London"

I'll be taking out a policy with Y shortly.

 

[CharlieAlpha]

I've been with Y for several years now, I have also had to make a small claim. Excellent service is how I can sum up all aspects. Even my renewal price was similar to last year even with the claim just a small inflation rise.

 

[CCJ]

Another vote here for Y. Good customer service, the policy terms seem fair, and the price was agreeable. Not had to claim so can't comment on that.

No connection.

Just received my renewal, no claims but superb personal comms