Hi all,
I have just joined seabreeze
My partner and I recently bought a 10.4m sailing/motor catamaran. We had a quote for insurance from youi but when we called back after a couple of months to take out, they had made some changes to their policies and were no longer able to insure us. We are now in a bit of a pickle with a boat on a mooring that we can't find insurance for. I think it's extra hard because we live in Broome which is classed as a high risk area.
Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions? I have tried a few insurers including Nautilus, Club Marine, Elders and a broker in Broome.
Thank you in advance
Louise

Thanks Don, I'll try QBE on Monday

Thanks Lazzarae, might try Youi again. They couldn't explain why they wouldn't insure, I think the swing mooring is a problem

Boat insurance appears to be the most raised topic on this forum of late and the more stories I read on here the more convinced I become that boat insurance is a rort.

The ratio of premium to value has been discussed before and generally agreed it should be about 1 to 1.5% per annum of insured value on top of public liability or third party property insurance.

PL or TPP premiums are or should be determined by potential damage (ie. a 100 tonne vessel is likely to cause more damage to others than a 10 tonne vessel) and likelihood of damage (variable eg. between daily commercial use or weekend recreational use racing or cruising).

My yacht is my toy and has cost me $X which is less than 10% of my nett worth so by definition means the loss of it will not adversely affect my life. The loss would annoy me but not prevent me from replacing it. Therefore I self insure the yacht, but.........not the public liability. I am not going to pay for some over inflated damage claim if my yacht scrapes against another, so therefore I carry TPP insurance.

The 10% of your nett worth yacht ownership thing has been discussed before. You adhere to it or you don't.

Who provides TPP and at what price?

Ramona said..

MorningBird said..
Who provides TPP and at what price?

Apia, about $180. They dumped me at one stage then contacted me to apply again!

I don't think they will insure boats over 30 foot or 10 metres.

I have not seen a sailing club yet that would accept TPP as insurance for racing.

Most now will ask for comprehensive and a minimum amount of liability. Even the "off the beach" classes my son sails all have minimum liability and full insurance, guess it is the way of the world

and IMHO boat insurance is like car insurance a necessary evil but I sure would not drive my car without comp insurance.

I had no problem insuring my 25yo Martzcraft 35 on a swing mooring with YOUI a while back. They said they would insure it before they asked where it is.

The club is actually after public liability insurance, I think more to cover themselves from liability, as they are running an event. Drummoyne (and others nearby - I sail out of Balmain) require $10m public liability insurance. Public liability doesn't get included in TPP and I know with Youi at least, it's an extra option on top of Comprehensive.

I'm just about to renew my comprehensive insurance which to date has been with Club Marine.

After applying on line with Pantaenius I received a directly comparable quote nearly 25% cheaper.

I queried the wording of the very extensive racing cover to make sure that it also covered our twilight racing which is not with a YA affiliated club. Within 30 minutes I had the managing director on the phone and e-mail confirmation that as long as we sailed under ISAF 'Blue Book' rules, we would be covered.

Very impressive service so far. Goodbye, Club Marine, hello Pantaenius.

Thanks Jode. I checked again and the excess is the same - $2,000 - racing or not. With Club Marine it is $1,000 for hull damage or $2,000 for the rig.

Pantaenius racing cover is for "any sailboat racing of the vessel named in the schedule of more than 250 nautical miles. For sailboat racing of less than 250 nautical miles, this insurance applies only if the race is organised/sanctioned by a registered yachting association."

Club Marine racing cover was only inshore and limited to 'no extras' racing.

I queried with whom the organiser needed to be registered as not all twilights are run by YA affiliated clubs. The answer I got was as long as it was run under 'Blue Book' rules we were covered.

And for some claims, Pantaenius has a nil excess including:
Inspection After Grounding
Salvage Costs
Wreck Removal
Sueing and Labour Costs
Commercial Towing Fees and Emergency Costs
Emergency Accommodation or Repatriation Costs
Lost or Stolen Keys
Loss of Charter Income
Total Loss/Constructive Loss of Vessel
Whilst Moored

Latest update: Asked for the offending clause to be deleted. Excess back to $2,000, racing or not.

Two lessons learned: 1. Always read the fine print. 2. If you don't ask, you don't get.