small boat insurance for over winter

[ninky]

anyone know which insurers would be happy to insure a 22fter on a drying buoy for a longer period over the winter. i will lay her up for a couple of months at least but the current insurers insist because of her size she must be out the water from beginning of nov to end of march and won't be flexible on this. are the risks to the boat really that great in november or march? we see her every weekend and have an electric bilge pump so i don't see what the problem is.

 

[Tranona]

Impossible to say. Some underwriters have a blanket policy not to cover boats afloat in the winter, others will look at each individual case. They don't do it out of spite - but based on their assessment of the risk. It is risky in general to leave a boat on a swinging/drying mooring over winter. If you are so confident it will come to no harm, why do you need insurance?

Best you can do is to shop around - there are plenty of insusrers to find one that will cover you, but be prepared for negative responses.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I have seen the use of an automatic electric bilge-pump deprecated. The rationale seems to be:

1) You develop a steady, but not too big, leak.
2) The bilge-pump automatically clears the boat of water
3) Because of 2) you don't notice the ingress of water on your inspection visits; the leak isn't a roaring torrent, just a few gallons an hour.
4) You have to leave the boat for a longer period than usual
5) The battery runs out of power
6) The boat sinks, or you find you don't have power to start the engine.

This isn't something I have any experience of, but I have had it quoted as a reason NOT to fit an automatic bilge-pump. Does anyone have first-hand experience?

 

[Moonshiners]

depending on location, but i'm sure we used craft insure for a swing mooring year round (21ft) - they did have some exceptions Scotish Isles etc..., CI's etc... worth looking at their policy available online, only takes 2 mins for a quote anyway...

 

[ninky]

The question as to why I need insurance is a little odd. I will be sailing her so will need insurance as I would normally. You can never be sure 100 percent - which is why I have insurance in the summer too. I'm happy to pay an additional premium but I don't want to miss out on sailing five full months of the year!

Point taken about the bilge pump but OH is pretty rigourous at checking for water coming in on the boat - she's so dry inside after our renovations that even the accidental spill from a drink or condensation build up does not escape his beady eye.

As well as cockpit drains we also have an engine well so that should help. We also have minimal through hulls - these are just as likely to give way in summer though surely?

Does anyone else insure their small boat over winter? I was hoping for some suggestions.

 

[nimbusgb]

I have seen the use of an automatic electric bilge-pump deprecated. The rationale seems to be:

1) You develop a steady, but not too big, leak.
2) The bilge-pump automatically clears the boat of water
3) Because of 2) you don't notice the ingress of water on your inspection visits; the leak isn't a roaring torrent, just a few gallons an hour.
4) You have to leave the boat for a longer period than usual
5) The battery runs out of power
6) The boat sinks, or you find you don't have power to start the engine.

This isn't something I have any experience of, but I have had it quoted as a reason NOT to fit an automatic bilge-pump. Does anyone have first-hand experience?

I put together a prototype of a bilge pump monitoring system. It tests the pump/s at predetermined intervals ( daily, weekly etc ) and can test the functionalilty of the float switch as well. It can even take over control if the float switch fails. On top of this it records activity and has a browser interface ( ethernet ) so you can check how often and for how long your pump runs using a laptop or PDA. With an interface to a cheap PAYG mobile phone it can send an SMS to a mobile alert you if something goes wrong - pump fail, pump on all the time, pump blocked, pump running more than n times per period.

I was thinking of putting details on the same site as the 'open autopilot project' if you are interested PM me.

 

[Tranona]

The question as to why I need insurance is a little odd. I will be sailing her so will need insurance as I would normally. You can never be sure 100 percent - which is why I have insurance in the summer too. I'm happy to pay an additional premium but I don't want to miss out on sailing five full months of the year!

QUOTE]

The point that I was making that insurers are taking on your risk - so they are the ones to determine whether they take it or not. Your argument that you will be using it regularly may influence them. If you were sure it was safe you would not need insurance - however you want insurance in case you are wrong and you want somebody else to pick up the tab. That is what insurance is about. The reluctance by many to cover is based on their knowledge of the increased risks. You may well find an insurer that will take the risk for an additional premium, but as I said it will depend on the individual circumstances.

Just as an example of attitudes to risk, my travel insurer covers sailing in territorial waters, but if I want cover outside territorial waters I need to negotiate specific cover. Same reason - some risks are known and acceptable, others variable.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I put together a prototype of a bilge pump monitoring system. It tests the pump/s at predetermined intervals ( daily, weekly etc ) and can test the functionalilty of the float switch as well. It can even take over control if the float switch fails. On top of this it records activity and has a browser interface ( ethernet ) so you can check how often and for how long your pump runs using a laptop or PDA. With an interface to a cheap PAYG mobile phone it can send an SMS to a mobile alert you if something goes wrong - pump fail, pump on all the time, pump blocked, pump running more than n times per period.

I was thinking of putting details on the same site as the 'open autopilot project' if you are interested PM me.

Well, I personally probably wouldn't be interested in the short term (my boat is 5 minutes from my brother's house, and the other side of the pontoon from his), but it sounds like a good idea in general! The SMS alert is something I wouldn't be interested in; the most likely reason for my being unavailable for a longer than usual period would be being out of the country, with the consequent roaming charges - I am usually not in the EU! And it is possible I'd be somewhere where there is no mobile phone network at all But the web server is a good thought.

 

[gordmac]

Try Porthcawl insurance, they insure me for 12 months on a mooring.

 

[ninky]

The question as to why I need insurance is a little odd. I will be sailing her so will need insurance as I would normally. You can never be sure 100 percent - which is why I have insurance in the summer too. I'm happy to pay an additional premium but I don't want to miss out on sailing five full months of the year!

QUOTE]

The point that I was making that insurers are taking on your risk - so they are the ones to determine whether they take it or not. Your argument that you will be using it regularly may influence them.

unfortunately my insurers were not interested in the whys or wherefores or even an extension of the cover period it was a blanket no. hence looking elsewhere. seems like it could be a possible gap in the market. i'm willing to pay more.

 

[ninky]

depending on location, but i'm sure we used craft insure for a swing mooring year round (21ft) - they did have some exceptions Scotish Isles etc..., CI's etc... worth looking at their policy available online, only takes 2 mins for a quote anyway...

thanks. very simple. job done!

 

[rhumlady]

So did you get what you wanted then?

 

[dmmbruce]

If you need to check again try Pantaenius. They are fine for me for all year.

Mike

 

[ninky]

So did you get what you wanted then?

yep very simple.