MorningBird said..

I have just found out that Nautilus will no longer cover any boat on a swing mooring. I rang around and GIO, APIA and another I didn't note down also won't provide insurance, including 3rd party, for boats on swing moorings. Club Marine and NRMA are the only insurers that will cover me. Both will only do comprehensive and Club were $400 cheaper. Both require a survey.
This is a real problem for many of us.

About 6 weeks ago we got comprehensive insurance for our NS 27 on a swing mooring with GIO. Not sure if they have changed.

You have to wonder why there is such an issue with swing moorings (so long as they are well maintained).

In my marina a few weeks back, a new sports cruiser owner attempted to depart and went straight into a Riv 40 on the opposite berth. Undeterred, he had a nice day out and then collected the bow of our yacht on the way in causing a few more hundred dollars damage. In all, three boats damaged including his own.

How much do all these "minor" bingles add up to? Sure a lot are paid by owners without claiming on insurance, but with low excesses, there must be a stack of minor insurance claims for marina incidents that keep adding up and up.

Anchorage Marine also provide cover for boats on swing moorings including for Lord Howe Island. QBE are the underwriter. At this stage they are the best option for me but I will investigate Club Marine again tomorrow.
One of the things I find annoying is Nautilus aren't telling people until their renewal comes up. I will be overseas when the renewal arrives in August so I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
I'm also still doubtful on the prospect of the insurer paying up. The wording gives them so many outs they can avoid paying in most circumstances.
I haven't found a 3rd Party Property insurer. If anybody finds one please let me know.
It appears to me that Allianz have removed underwriting for boats on swing moorings so if your underwriter is Allianz best to check.

I would have been happy with third party, but the insurance companies were not interested.

Is there a "day shape and night light" that says "steer clear-no insurance".

I would avoid Nautilus like the plague.

Sailing back from Queensland we hit something and snapped the centreboard off.

Pulled into Port Stephens ? Lemon Tree Passage and Nautilus arranged for a ship wright to build and fix a new one.

That took 6 months. After that we went up and to sail it back to Sydney.

On the way down the rigging started to resonate and shake every few minutes.

Got to Manly and dived underneath, and the Centre Board was 50% larger than the original.

I called the ship wright and he said he would come down and have a look. I arranged to meet him 4 times and he never showed. I asked why he didnt build it to the original design which he replied he build it to a generic design and he didnt have the plans. Though they were sitting on the chart table and he was told this.

I called Nautilus about the issue and they said it was between me and the ship wright. This is despite me telling then that they had the agreement with the ship wright and they had signed the job off.

I spoke to the slip way in Lemon Tree passage and they said that the ship wright build the centre board to the shap of the plan but some how forgor the lead. So when he dropped the boat back in the water and went to drop the board it didnt drop. (wood floats).

So what he did, instead of rebuilding it properly, he just slapped two bits of ply on the aft section of the centre board and then jammed folded ribbon of lead to give it weight. (found this out when we cut it apart).

Well arguing went on with Nautilus for three years and they eventually settled out of court.

My boat sat there for two years. Im over the shocky Marine industry.

So word of warning - Stay away from Nautilus and a ship wright by the name of Fisher sniffing around the ports.

Thats my whine for the week. Time to get insurance with someone else.

Sounds more like the problem was the shipwrong rather than the insurance company although I do appreciate the point about lack of help from the insurance company in getting the poor work fixed. It's difficult to know at a distance all the facts and who was responsible. Mind you premiums are on the up as others have noted and not just for boats. I received my car comprehensive insurance renewal during the week and at $1700 for a ute I paid $9,000 for 5 years ago has me looking for third party options. I wonder whether the wisdom of sticking with the same company and they will look after you still has any application in the insurance industry. Real people don't appear to stick around in their jobs for any length of time these days nd there is rarely any personal involvement.