Boat insurance advice

[simonpp82]

Hey people just after some advice on insuring my boat. After doing some research on several forums including this one i narrowed my choices down to NRMA and Club Marine. Now the issue is that NRMA offers agreed value and Club Marine doesn't. NRMA will offer agreed value from the get go without any evaluation and will happily insure my bmt and electronics for $34000 with a premium of $601 and excess of $500. On the other hand Club Marine know boating, and offer extras like the coverage of fishing gear etc on the boat which is good to know. They were also cheaper at $418 with an excess of $200. Now the dilema is i like Club marine but they said they can only go on agreed value with a written evaluation, otherwise it will be insured on market value. How important is this? And is it worth getting a written evaluation done in order to get the club marine insurance at agreed value? Any help would be much appreciated - Simon

[Heath]

very important! if they say your BMT package in todays market is worth squat, then you'll get squat! Agreed value is for piece of mind that should you claim, at least you'll get close to what the boat is worth.

[Hell Boy]

Out of interest, as I'm in the same position as simon regarding insurance for my boat, who can give you a written evaluation for agreed value that insurance companies would accept?

Cheers,

Bryn

[ozscott]

Simon - just be careful mate with 'agreed value' - oils aint always oils.

Some so called agreed value policies say that they pay out agreed value or market value which is the lesser...just pay very close attention to the proposed policy wording.

Cheers

[mull dog]

Dudes seriously check out RACQ (no cash for comment here). in my expeience they are brilliant. not sure on how their premiums and excess prices compare to others but their service to me was fantastic. cost is around $500 pa for premium and the excess on my $1000 claim was $100. this is for a $50000 boat

[Marlin_Mike]

I used to be with club marine. bewdy, a free magazine every month or so in the mail.

then i checked my renewal bill. i was paying 30 bucks a year for the "free" magazine. I changed to CGU they are great.

Mike

[ozscott]

I am with RACQ - always have been but never made a boat claim. I have all my stuff with them....I have acted over the years for many different insurers - including RACQ - in a legal capacity...

It is how an insurer handles claims and its general attitude to genuine claims and genuine people that is often the most critical thing (forget a few dollars premium difference between insurers also...at claim time is when you will thank youself for choosing wisely grasshopper):)

Cheers

[cormorant]

One boat is with GIO and the premium has risen $520 to 600 when it came in the mail yesterday. I will be querying the rise and may have to look elsehere but won't change until I have read full policy. There goes a few nights.

As a young bloke Club marine wern't interested in me so I won't give em business now as a matter of principal.

Have read horror stories with every insurer and much of it comes down to people not knowing their policy. Tak ethe time now to go through the policy document and highlight the key points and compare. Have a chat to insurance brokers local to you and drop in to see a marine repairer or 2 and see who actually has a local assesor they think is fair as some take forever to actually assess stuff and the fly in blokes are sometimes less than fair.

[ozscott]

Cormorant makes good points

[cormorant]

I should add

in my experience and allegedly as insurers have long arms and big ears!!! Ha ha

Watch your renewals each year and look for amended clauses as insurers gravitate to the lowest common denominator. They treat each new year as a new policy so relying on a 3 year old policy document ( the last one you read ) won't stand up in court

Not sure if they still are obliged to point out every change as now they treat each year as a new document which sux.

If doing off the net make sure you are reading current document and it is the same that they actually mail out as they change versions and add in a scrap of paper with an amendment or print on back of application and it becomes part of document- also sux

Does anyone know a insurance broker who specialises in marine insurance and can actually support small and medium boat owners as it is one hell of an assett that can go belly up with wrong policy whe shit hits the fan.

[gybrid]

Hey All,

My boat is insured with Club Marine, only chose them because they were competitive and friendly, happy so far...

Also, with the magazine costing $30/yr I had the option to opt out and not spend pay for it which is cool with me.

Jase

[shrunken pojie]

Just a word to the wise. If you are going through RACQ, you need to describe you hull as being in "good" condition, they require an inspection if you say it is in "fair" condition.

[simonpp82]

Thanks for the replies guys and alot of great points.. I guess the main point being have a good read and a full understanding of the different policies. Nothing i hate more then reading all the paperwork and fine print but in the end ill be better off for it i guess. Keep the replies coming!

[Zooter]

Im with N.R.M.A myself, also have everything else with them, car , home etc!

Remember they will want to split up the Hull, Trailer, Motor in the policy,

Personnally i put a most of it on the motor and enough on the trailer to buy a newy if it got stolen,

I cant really see someone stealing my hull and leaving my motor behind, But i could see it the other way around.

Good luck with it mate!!

[DAVE_S]

Out of interest, as I'm in the same position as simon regarding insurance for my boat, who can give you a written evaluation for agreed value that insurance companies would accept?

Cheers,

Bryn

You will need to ask the insurance company that you are planning to go with .
Iam with club marine, the boat is 2 years old they give you 2 years at agreed value after that it goes on market value .
But if i supply a valuation from 1 of there authorised marine agents i can insure it for agreed value . Got a price from who they recommended and was told $150.00 .

[PADDLES]

g'day simon and bryn, read the pds CAREFULLY!!!! make sure you fully understand it and then ring them with any questions you have. like has been said earlier lookvery carefully at the issue of the insurer only paying out the lessor of the agreed value or market value.

for your information, we are insured with racq at "market value", i rang them to find out how they calculate "market value" because this is not stated anywhere on the policy. basically in the event of a total loss ie. it sinks and can't be recovered, they simply negotiate a market value with you based on the current value of a similar boat in your local area.

tread carefully in the minefield boys and make sure you get the best you can afford for more peace of mind.

[White Pointer]

G'day,

As a rule of thumb (and thumbs come in different sizes) expect to pay 1% of BMT for annual insurance.

Club Marine have a good idea of BMT values so if they ask for a valuation they are probably acting to protect the actual insurer from risk. Club Marine is a broker. The actual insurance is through ALLIANZ.

Read the policy conditions very carefully. For example, Club Marine require that trailer boats are secured behind a locked gate when not in use.

Do shop around. It's worth it. But since AIG in the USA collapsed premiums have been on the rise and expect around 8% increase this year on home and contents, cars and boats.

Hope this helps.

Declaration of interest: House and contents with NRMA; Three cars with AAMI; One car with Allianz; One BMT with Allianz through Club Marine; One BMT uninsured and soon for sale!

Regards,

White Pointer

[cormorant]

Im with N.R.M.A myself, also have everything else with them, car , home etc!

Remember they will want to split up the Hull, Trailer, Motor in the policy,

Personnally i put a most of it on the motor and enough on the trailer to buy a newy if it got stolen,

I cant really see someone stealing my hull and leaving my motor behind, But i could see it the other way around.

Good luck with it mate!!


Hulls get nailed in road accidents or against petrol pumps etc. Let alone hitting objects in the water and it doesn't take much to write one off so be careful with your allocation. Hull damage from trailering and strapping down too tight and in case you got a bad batch of polly etc. Get hammered when a tyre lets go and when halv a brick flicks up off the road Hulls hold value unlike motors that depreciate quicker and trailers never seem to get cheaper.

Basically I am saying for the extra $10 premium you can probably insure for full value and not have to argue so hard if something bad happens.

Won't even comment on vandalism

Watch out there was a few pollys that were mistaken for bins and bin men just load them up ha ha

[sleepygreg]

If you want a good broker, give I.C. Frith a go. Understand the marine industry and also the recreational fishing industry. I have used them for years and always managed to come up with the 'right' policy for my needs and circumstance.......(note I didnt say cheapest).

Greg

[rooboy98]

G'day,


Read the policy conditions very carefully. For example, Club Marine require that trailer boats are secured behind a locked gate when not in use.

Regards,

White Pointer


Are you sure about this White Pointer? I cannot find any reference to this requirement in my PDS.

Cheers,
Roo.

[White Pointer]

Are you sure about this White Pointer? I cannot find any reference to this requirement in my PDS.

Cheers,
Roo.

G'day,

Absolutely. They asked me the question when I was taking out the policy and it is a condition of the written policy.

It may be a new condition based on claims experience. Check it.

Regards,

White Pointer

[Jabba_]

I was with NRMA and I was screwed rotten by them... I had a 250 ficht motor that ingested water, agreed value was 14k on the motor. The most I got out off them was 4k....

I was put onto a new company called Nautilus Insurance, good value and apparently there very good at honoring there policies...
www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact (http://www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact)

[TimiBoy]

One piece of advice - see a Broker. You will pay a little more for your insurance BUT:

A good Broker will read the policy and understand it, then answer your questions. They will tell you who's good with claims and who isn't, they will tell you the ins and outs of agreed value vs market value.

When it comes claim time a good Broker will do a lot of the work for you, and they will push the Insurance Company to get the best result for you. A couple of results I've had in the past were simply outstanding. I reckon my Broker has saved me around $20,000 since I've been with him, in claims that would have been weaseled out of.

I have used him for years, and I could not be happier!

My boat was switched to Club Marine last year, John (my Broker) believes their policy is head and shoulders above everyone else, even though it was a couple of hundred cheaper than anyone else (and he made a bit less money on it). But he will check the competition every year.

Cheers,

Tim

[ozscott]

Post up his name Tim because good brokers are few and far between. Word of mouth is often the best recommendation with these guys and gals

[TimiBoy]

Post up his name Tim because good brokers are few and far between. Word of mouth is often the best recommendation with these guys and gals

Webster Hyde Heath Insurance Brokers. 0883625553. Based in Adelaide, I'm in Brisbane. It poses no difficulties! My man is John Heath, he runs the place. Please don't "tyre kick", just ring him if you're serious! He is quite busy, and you may end up just talking to Chanelle or Mary, but they are ALL good!

Mention my name please! That way he might buy me a beer at the cricket this year...

Cheers,

Tim

[rowanda]

G'day,

Absolutely. They asked me the question when I was taking out the policy and it is a condition of the written policy.

It may be a new condition based on claims experience. Check it.

Regards,

White Pointer

Hi, agree, haven't seen this before so just checked all my papaerwork...nothing?
so called them and its not a condition of my policy, you state when you take it out how it is stored, maybe this lessens your price?
personally i have been with Club Marine for many years and made my first claim last year (first ever insurance claim) my bimini and clears were all torn off the boat in highway travel. For a $100 excess and a slight contribution to the claim ($150 due to the age of the covers) i ended up with all new bimini/clears all made by person of my choice. Would recommend CM to anyone and hopefully you never need it

[cormorant]

Garaging sometimes depends on the area ( postcode) in which you live and also what competitors are offering and these extra conditions are printed on the back of your policy invoice and for part of their document if you claim. There may or may not be extra premium based on age and insurance history and some firms will cotinue policy conditions like "must be secured on private property XXXX" but won't allow new policy holders the same condition.


If you are going to a broker do the guy a favour and write down what you actually want or what you are unhappy about with your current policy so he has an idea of your criteria.

With enewals we often call the insurer and ask them to reduce teh premium if they want to keep us as a customer and some have a bit of wiggle room as they often have a "suck you in - introductry rate"that is offered to new customers rather than the renewal rate . Yep they acually increase good customers premium by a few % and to try and get new customers discount. We have asked and got that new customer rate for 3 years straight for the sake of a call. Will see how I go this year and what lame excuse they will offer. We call as a cold call and get the walk off the street rate and are allways surprised how sometimes it can be 50-80 bucks cheaper than the renewal. So few people check so the insurers win and it takes a little time to do your own checks.

I think insurance for marine should have got cheaper as there are so many more suppliers of boat product and services out there and more boats so a bigger pool of premium and with such low usage of so many boats compared to ownewship????

.

[Crunchy]

I was with NRMA and I was screwed rotten by them... I had a 250 ficht motor that ingested water, agreed value was 14k on the motor. The most I got out off them was 4k....

I was put onto a new company called Nautilus Insurance, good value and apparently there very good at honoring there policies...
www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact (http://www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact)

Jabba, very interested to know more, I just went with NRMA becasue of the agreed value policy...so why didn;t they honour that in your case? PLease PM me if you prefer....

thanks
Crunchy

[Argle]

I was with NRMA and I was screwed rotten by them... I had a 250 ficht motor that ingested water, agreed value was 14k on the motor. The most I got out off them was 4k....

I was put onto a new company called Nautilus Insurance, good value and apparently there very good at honoring there policies...
www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact (http://www.nautilusinsurance.com.au/pages/contact)



Jabba what was the go there??? What reasons did they give for not coughing up the agreed value? Also happy to hear by PM if you wish, I am also insured with NRMA

Cheers
Scott

[PADDLES]

hi jabba, your motor "ingested water". did they agree to write it off and pay you the agreed value in full or did they offer you the "reasonable cost to repair the motor"? was the motor repairable? did you do everything they required you to do in their pds?

i too am interested in what happened because their policy actually looked pretty good when i read their pds.

people have to be realistic when making a claim, there's no way an insurance company will give you the write off value of an outboard if they can repair it for less.

[Jabba_]

I just wrote a big reply and the frigging refresh eat it... It would have to be the one thing a dislike about this site, that bloody refresh...

So with all the fat trimmed off...

My motor ingested water at 18hrs off ownership....

All the right things were done to get it going again.. and when I got home a gave it a liberal supply off WD40 in through the throtle bodies and a mist off fresh water around the powerhead and some more WD40 was sprayed around the out side off the powerhead

The motor worked good for another 5hrs / 3 weekends.. Then it spat a big end bearing causing massive P/head failure.....

Cause was seized bearing due to rust and pitting...

NRMA said that the rust and pitting had been there a lot longer then the time frame I had given them and only offered 30% off the agreed Value off the P/head.... I ask how would a motor with such bad pitting and rust last for 23hrs..... They had no reply....
We got them up to 50% an they that was it any more and it was off to court (so to speak)... I took the money and put it towards a new motor, rather then spend money on a lawyer.....

Also I made a mistake, I received 50% of the agreed Value (14000) which was $7000, then less $1500 for the access = $5500.

[PADDLES]

man, that's tough jabba. i'd have been upset too.

[Jabba_]

Yeah it was a bitch off a time, but now I have a new motor that is better then the old.. The new motor is quieter, more economical on fuel and oil, less fumes, cheaper to service and has a 3 year warranty...
Over all blowing up the old ficht was a blessing in disguised...

PS, I correct a few mistakes in my post above....

[White Pointer]

One piece of advice - see a Broker. You will pay a little more for your insurance BUT:

A good Broker will read the policy and understand it, then answer your questions. They will tell you who's good with claims and who isn't, they will tell you the ins and outs of agreed value vs market value.

When it comes claim time a good Broker will do a lot of the work for you, and they will push the Insurance Company to get the best result for you. A couple of results I've had in the past were simply outstanding. I reckon my Broker has saved me around $20,000 since I've been with him, in claims that would have been weaseled out of.

I have used him for years, and I could not be happier!

My boat was switched to Club Marine last year, John (my Broker) believes their policy is head and shoulders above everyone else, even though it was a couple of hundred cheaper than anyone else (and he made a bit less money on it). But he will check the competition every year.

Cheers,

Tim

G'day,

Thanks for that and I agree with you. But a word of caution. Insurance brokers are about as well regulated as financial planners - and they are not particularly loved by society at large, at present, along with ASIC and APRA.

If you engage a broker (or a financial planner, for that matter) make it a condition of the agreement that he will disclose (a) all the offers and his assessment of the value difference between them and (b) any commissions he will receive from selling you something over the life of the investment, policy, whatever (and don't cop the crap about not selling, just recommending).

If you find a good one (broker or financial planner) hang on to him and when he is telling you that things are getting tough it might be because they are, not because he failing. That's the time to assess your risks. If preserving cash is important it means you have to take more risk with investment or insurance excess. The important thing is to spread your risks. Put all your eggs in one basket with either insurance or investment and you are in a dangerous place.

Trust brokers and financial planners on experience, not the claims they make. They need to have had enough experience riding peaks and troughs in markets and have survived to deserve your trust. That probably means anyone under 45 can't cut it.

Enough.

White Pointer

[PinHead]

my neighbour is my insurance broker..saved me heaps on all the cars, boat and house etc etc etc.

NRMA would not even insure my previous boat so they did not get a look in on the current one.

[TimiBoy]

If you find a good one (broker or financial planner) hang on to him and when he is telling you that things are getting tough it might be because they are, not because he failing. That's the time to assess your risks. If preserving cash is important it means you have to take more risk with investment or insurance excess. The important thing is to spread your risks. Put all your eggs in one basket with either insurance or investment and you are in a dangerous place.

Trust brokers and financial planners on experience, not the claims they make. They need to have had enough experience riding peaks and troughs in markets and have survived to deserve your trust. That probably means anyone under 45 can't cut it.

Enough.

White Pointer

Good advice. I know my guy's about 400 years old... Cut his teeth when my Dad was in Commercial Law, about 30-35 years ago.

Cheers,

Tim

[Mindi]

Webster Hyde Heath Insurance Brokers. 0883625553. Based in Adelaide, I'm in Brisbane. It poses no difficulties! My man is John Heath, he runs the place. Please don't "tyre kick", just ring him if you're serious! He is quite busy, and you may end up just talking to Chanelle or Mary, but they are ALL good!

Mention my name please! That way he might buy me a beer at the cricket this year...

Cheers,

Tim
Tim

Did he say in what way it was head and shoulders above..? I am about to insure and wasnt going to even consider Club because for some reason I assumed they were top price... (yes I know you get what you pay for).. very interested to hear what he thought made their policy stand out..?

[TimiBoy]

Tim

Did he say in what way it was head and shoulders above..? I am about to insure and wasnt going to even consider Club because for some reason I assumed they were top price... (yes I know you get what you pay for).. very interested to hear what he thought made their policy stand out..?

I hear so much stuff - I hear it, make a decision, and trash it so I have more room! So I can't tell you. But what will have been a major factor factor is claims performance. I believe in it. No point having cheap insurance if they won't pay. But they came in about $300 cheaper than whoever it was that did it the year before, so price was OK too.

The only thing I recall checking was that they cover if the motor blows as a result of plastic bag ingestion...

Cheers,

Tim

[ozscott]

Even the Black Plague have an overheat alarm and rev reduction Timi :)

Cheers

[cormorant]

Even the Black Plague have an overheat alarm and rev reduction Timi :)

Cheers

Must have missed the fine print where the manufacturer declares there system so good it shuts the motor down before any damage occurrs no matter what so you can't kill one overheating it.??? Which brand has that sydtem???

[TimiBoy]

Even the Black Plague have an overheat alarm and rev reduction Timi :)

Cheers

Cheeky bastard. I'll be nice, 'cause I know you're jealous!;D;D;D

Cheers,

Tim

[ozscott]

Cormorant...I was taking the p1ss....

Tim - now if I could supercharge my V4 Yammy...now that would be sweet!

Cheers