Yet another insurance thread

[jakew009]

Have used an online insurer (Craftinsure) since late 90s) . My Broker ( a chum who am still talking too ) at the time quoted me £300 for insurance on £30k Princess 33.
Craftinsure quoted me about £200 for same boat.
Figuired the extra £100 was brokers commision, only really wanted basic last resort cover ie if boat sunk did not to face a bill from Port Authority for removal of the wreck. Not the least bit interested in claiming for stern gear repairs etc simply through probably my own stupidity.
Went with Craftinsure and when the paperwork came though , blow me down, same insurer on the paperwork via both broker and internet.
Left Craftinsure when SAGA developed a sudden interest in marine insurance and then left when SAGA got there fingers burnt, then pulled out and sold on their customer base, renewal price rocketed with the new owner, so back to CI.
Every time CI quote me on renewal, always check the competition, usually all the well known and popular companies are quoting 20% plus for more or less the same cover.
Including near continent cover and single handed use, chances of me anchoring my boat offshore and leaving it unattended are zero .
No overnight shore power, were not stopping.

Made two claims over past 20 years with Craftinsure, both as result of my lack of boating prowess and both were sorted with speed and efficiency.
A third claim involving a bit a Gel coat damage is underway at the mo .

Craftinsure used to be good but no more. Craftinsure, Insure4Boats and GJW all now owned by Ripe. And all having the prices jacked up and policies made worse.

 

[Alicatt]

We are with AG for Hunter, a slight increase last year from €178 to €182, not due until September. Coverage area is from Med, including all of the EU/UK, to the artic circle for sea and inland waterways
I think AG are Belgium only company though, I did try the likes of Pants but they had so many restrictions on the area of coverage, most of the UK companies would not quote for a Belgian registered boat.
Ended up going with our broker that deals with the house and car insurance, she got us a better deal than I could find by trying the various insurers myself.
Stephanie from Thibo verzekeringen is very helpful

 

[SimonX]

You need third party liability cover too. In the UK at least you can’t get a marina berth without it.

“Own boat” training is a great idea.

Yes, it covers any damage to third parties caused by our boat.
Just been reading the quote and, although the quote is from a fairly small, Marine specialist, company up in Friesland, the underwriter is ASR, Netherlands biggest who are based about 5km from here (in-laws house) in Utrecht.

 

[Parabordi]

Have used an online insurer (Craftinsure) since late 90s) . My Broker ( a chum who am still talking too ) at the time quoted me £300 for insurance on £30k Princess 33.
Craftinsure quoted me about £200 for same boat.
Figuired the extra £100 was brokers commision, only really wanted basic last resort cover ie if boat sunk did not to face a bill from Port Authority for removal of the wreck. Not the least bit interested in claiming for stern gear repairs etc simply through probably my own stupidity.
Went with Craftinsure and when the paperwork came though , blow me down, same insurer on the paperwork via both broker and internet.
Left Craftinsure when SAGA developed a sudden interest in marine insurance and then left when SAGA got there fingers burnt, then pulled out and sold on their customer base, renewal price rocketed with the new owner, so back to CI.
Every time CI quote me on renewal, always check the competition, usually all the well known and popular companies are quoting 20% plus for more or less the same cover.
Including near continent cover and single handed use, chances of me anchoring my boat offshore and leaving it unattended are zero .
No overnight shore power, were not stopping.

Made two claims over past 20 years with Craftinsure, both as result of my lack of boating prowess and both were sorted with speed and efficiency.
A third claim involving a bit a Gel coat damage is underway at the mo .

So are you saying you only have 3rd party or just very basic full comp? I need to change suppliers fairly soon once i get my survey done.

 

[Parabordi]

In the UK I always used craftinsure. Instant online quote, will deal with out of policy extras and are good when you claim.

They covered my sealine when I bought her in Corsica, including for the trip back to the UK but won’t cover boats permanently based in the med so no good for you (or me any more)

Just got the quote back from Pants for our renewal it took days then went to junk. More than double the GJW quote.

problem i have with the web site for craftinsure is the oldest your boat can be is 1986 and mine is 1978!

 

[st599]

Ive been in my marina for nearly 5 months, as yet no one has asked to see my insurance, I guess they just assume, correctly, Id be an idiot to not have insurance in place.

If their policy is to check you have insurance as required in the marina contract and they fail to ask you, they have failed in some aspect of their standard procedures.

If their policy isn't to check, then you're solely to blame if something happens.

 

[Elessar]

problem i have with the web site for craftinsure is the oldest your boat can be is 1986 and mine is 1978!

That’s annoying.
I’d still drop them an email though especially if you have a recent survey or evidence of good maintenance.
They insured me for out of norm stuff in the past.

 

[Alicatt]

We’ve been having some interesting and complex discussions on insurance for the boat we are about to buy. It’s registered and will be based in the Netherlands and will be owned by three couples, two of which are Dutch and the third (us) are British residents although I have also an Irish passport and my wife has a Dutch one. Only myself and one of the other husbands have any formal training and logged experience. None yet have ICC/CEVNI but this is being done in the next month.
One company would only insure if all the named owners were Dutch (which meant our share would be in my wife’s name) but loaded heavily because she lacks experience.
We finally have agreement through another broker that will give us short term coverage against fire/theft and then full cover once everybody gets trained. The two Dutch couples had hoped to do their training on our boat but are now going to do it on a school’s boat and then the instructor is going to give some extra, non-qualification instruction on our boat while moving it to where it will be berthed while being loaded up with personal stuff.

Good that you are getting own boat instruction, Hunter was the first multi engined boat I have helmed, it was always single engines before. I found it remarkably easy to get to grips with her, and though she is 11.6m and 10tonnes compared with the 7.5m and 2.5tonnes of our last boat, Hunter is far easier to handle, but there is still a lot to learn, not much opportunity to get her up on the plane where we are for one thing.

Doing the powerboat 2 and getting the CEVNI with ICC brought down the insurance for our last boat by €50 to €66, the day skipper, which I did after the second year of insurance with AG has not made any difference yet, we will see! My wife has the RYA PB2 certificate but cannot get an ICC as she is Belgian, the waterweg police looked at her certificate and said that it was ok!

We were at a meeting with the Vlaamse Waterweg on Saturday, they went into great detail on how the new FlandersBoating APP and how that would work with the remote control locks and bridges, we got a tour of a control room, and how the system works, then we had an indepth talk about the new APP and we got given a heads up to download the APP yesterday.

I asked about having the boat in one person's name and another person sailing the boat - no problem the APP will allow that and the owner can specify how long the person can sail the boat from within the app.

Now, Hunter is in my wife's name as she is Belgian, as I sail the boat I pay for the waterway permit - that is when we ran into a problem, while the boat is registered until 2029 with the dept of transport and shows up fine in the old waterway app, as my wife does not have the waterway permit in her name the boat won't show in the new app for her, and as I do not have a boat registered to me Hunter does not show up in the app for me.
So we have filed the first bug report for the new app, also talking with the tech support they do not know how they are going to integrate the app into the system yet ... Welcome to Belgium

They have until 3rd April before the official launch of the APP, and until 1st July for the APP (or AIS + VHF) to be mandatory.

 

[Scubadoo]

I moved to Porthcawl insurance several years ago, no complaints, good policy, price and staff helpful with my questions, they also accept boats up to 30 years without a survey.

 

[SimonX]

Good that you are getting own boat instruction, Hunter was the first multi engined boat I have helmed, it was always single engines before. I found it remarkably easy to get to grips with her, and though she is 11.6m and 10tonnes compared with the 7.5m and 2.5tonnes of our last boat, Hunter is far easier to handle, but there is still a lot to learn, not much opportunity to get her up on the plane where we are for one thing.

Its the two Dutch couples that are getting training there (next week), we are doing it on the UK on a twin engined boat in April although I guess if the Dutch guy is good we could get him back for our first stint. Most of of my previous experience was on a twin petrol engined boat (11m) which was very responsive and steered on outdrives, My wife didn't like driving it much, it was quite twitchy at low speeds and badly affected by sidewinds. Our other experience has been on a 40 steel canal boat and an 11m LeBoat hire cruiser which she was much happier with.
In talking to the brokers and people in the Linssen owners group, they are supposed to be very easy and relaxing to drive but you have to be aware of the amount of weight and hence momentum in them compared to fibreglass boat and she is a fair bit bigger ( nearly 14m, 4.3m beam). Ain't going to be planing!

 

[oldgit]

Craftinsure used to be good but no more. Craftinsure, Insure4Boats and GJW all now owned by Ripe. And all having the prices jacked up and policies made worse.

Aware of that.
Expecting a repeat of the previous experience with SAGA and will await the RIPE renewal quote with some interest.

Suspect that if you just want to report an "incident" and only want to know when to collect the boat from the menders, a bricks and mortar broker will be best.
A fellow boater requires some stainless work to replace a bow rail, cannot even find anybody locally who can be bothered to come see boat to give an estimate on cost.

 

[Alicatt]

Aware of that.

A fellow boater requires some stainless work to replace a bow rail, cannot even find anybody locally who can be bothered to come see boat to give an estimate on cost.

To replace the stern railing on Hunter is going to cost a bit over €5k for the stainless alone, the whole work to repair the damage we got in the lock is €17.5k. At least the Waterway admitted responsibility and their insurance is paying out, the incident happened last August and Hunter will not be in the boat yard until June, so by the time the repair is done it will be August before we are back on the water

 

[Elessar]

Aware of that.
Expecting a repeat of the previous experience with SAGA and will await the RIPE renewal quote with some interest.

Suspect that if you just want to report an "incident" and only want to know when to collect the boat from the menders, a bricks and mortar broker will be best.
A fellow boater requires some stainless work to replace a bow rail, cannot even find anybody locally who can be bothered to come see boat to give an estimate on cost.

Yes. If you want more service you pay more money. Your choice.

I had three claims whilst I was with craftinsure. I project managed my own repairs and they paid promptly with zero quibble. That a product I was happy to buy.

But if they’ve been sold all bets are off and my good experience may be irrelevant.

 

[bowler]

My 'Ripe' GJW price this year was 480, compared to 380 last year. However, I did renew with them out of laziness. I have a renewal on another boat coming soon so I expect I'll be looking elsewhere this time.

Edit: I just had a quick look at the renewal invitation email. For the first time in 10+ years they didn't include the previous years cost for comparison. A tactical omission I'm sure...

 

[oldgit]

Yes. If you want more service you pay more money. Your choice.

I had three claims whilst I was with craftinsure. I project managed my own repairs and they paid promptly with zero quibble. That a product I was happy to buy.

But if they’ve been sold all bets are off and my good experience may be irrelevant.

So far the experience with the "new" company that took over has not been stellar.
Posted a evelope with everything they could possibly require to process the claim including more than the really needed number pix of some minor gel coat damage.

Claim handler then came back and asked for photos of the damage.
Then pointed out that my excess was £600.
I pointed out that on the insurance schedule the excess was £100.00 if the incident happened in a marina and said if he wished for a copy would be happy to send him one..

 

[TonyR123]

I currently insure with "Tide Insurance" via the broker "Gallagher". They were recommended via Princess/Argo and TBF were cheaper than my previous insurers

 

[Corona Mia]

I know I know I know.

The issue is the market changes !

Was with Y. Sold. Premiums up. You had to haggle every year.

Moved to GJW. Simple to deal with. Premium stayed the same for a few years. GJW sold.

Now gosh was I surprised when the renewal came in today at +20%!

So now what ?!

I can clearly call round bit last time I did that is is pretty much a cartel. Get one quote from one broker that touches an insurer. Call the next one. We can't quote you are with xxxxx . Well no I am not I asked for a price.

I did try Pantenaus ( or however you spell it ) some years ago but they wanted an out of water survey so I passed on that.

Who are the current decent prospects please ?

I was happy insured (20 years and 3 boats) with N&G.
Great people to deal with in Brighton where someone would always pick up the phone and talk with you.
When I retired I moved to Europe……and then after the ‘B’ thing I was unable to renew with them directly.
But I was via an EU registered broker Gallangher……and they were charming.
We are pleased to offer you a renewal on your N&G policy……but here’s another policy almost identical and £200 cheaper!

I’d prefer to stick with N&G please…..
I’ve had a couple of claims over the years and been treated very well, but thank you kindly for your advice.

That was until last year when Zurich sold N&G, so now I’m on one of Gallegher’s less expensive policies.
I’ve made no claims so far…….and it’s cheaper….so far!

But I thought it was quiet amusing last week to read that Zurich was buying Gallagher!

Is my ‘business’ so valuable?

 

[oldgit]

So are you saying you only have 3rd party or just very basic full comp? I need to change suppliers fairly soon once i get my survey done.

Fully comp and as far as can see, Craftinsure cover exactly the same ??? as the other companies who bothered to quote, however their prices were without exception about 20% -25% more, for what appears to be identical cover.
In one case the premium was nearly doubled, which assume was a message saying "We not interested in your risk, go away."

Have received a further communication from the claims handler to the effect that they are prepared to reduce the excess as token of goodwill, but it was at their discretion as it does not appear within any offer of insurance.
Have sent them a jpeg of my insurance schedule with the specific paragraph regards excess(s) helpfully circled in RED.
One is left wondering if the claim handler has actually aware with what is going on.
However have been round long enough to know not to annoy somebody you need help from.

 

[Little Ricky]

I was happy insured (20 years and 3 boats) with N&G.
Great people to deal with in Brighton where someone would always pick up the phone and talk with you.
When I retired I moved to Europe……and then after the ‘B’ thing I was unable to renew with them directly.
But I was via an EU registered broker Gallangher……and they were charming.
We are pleased to offer you a renewal on your N&G policy……but here’s another policy almost identical and £200 cheaper!

I’d prefer to stick with N&G please…..
I’ve had a couple of claims over the years and been treated very well, but thank you kindly for your advice.

That was until last year when Zurich sold N&G, so now I’m on one of Gallegher’s less expensive policies.
I’ve made no claims so far…….and it’s cheaper….so far!

But I thought it was quiet amusing last week to read that Zurich was buying Gallagher!

Is my ‘business’ so valuable?

Insurance companies are always great and helpful, until you need to make a claim.

 

[Elessar]

So far the experience with the "new" company that took over has not been stellar.
Posted a evelope with everything they could possibly require to process the claim including more than the really needed number pix of some minor gel coat damage.

Claim handler then came back and asked for photos of the damage.
Then pointed out that my excess was £600.
I pointed out that on the insurance schedule the excess was £100.00 if the incident happened in a marina and said if he wished for a copy would be happy to send him one..

Oh dear. Full stern ahead for craftinsure.

My experience of claims was I dealt with someone with authority to deal with the situation that was pragmatic and sensible. Sounds like you’ve been a sent to a call centre following a script.