which insurance

[stevel3]

I know this has been covered before and I did a search on it as well. I have basically have 3 companies that I am looking at. 1st is Suncorp which is the most expensive at $403 with a $250 excess, 2nd is Club Marine at $389.90 also with a $250 excess but if it is stolen they charge a $1,000 excess, and lastly is Trident Marine insurance at $386.27 plus $250 excess. Does anyone have any good or bad experience with any of these, cheers Steve.

[krazyfisher]

I am with suncorp and have only ever had one claim with my boat (stolen gear) and it was very easy to deal with them. I have a friend in the insurance game and they said suncorp was very easy to deal with.

[stevel3]

thanks, I already have my car insured with them and have used them before when I had my business. Its one of thse things you hope you never need to use, but want to be properly covered if you do, Steve.

[marto78]

There was a thread a little while back, dont quote me but I think it was about someone having a few difficulties making a claim with Club marine.

[PADDLES]

hi steve, download all 3 pds's off the web and read and understand them fully. i've never heard of trident before but both suncorp and club marine are reputable business' with plenty of years behind them.

[La Vida]

Mate I have always been with club marine, many of my friends who work in the marine industry have always said that club marine is by far one of the best companies to deal with.

I had my old seafarer vamp sink while tied to the dock during a major storm. the boat was raised assessed and the refit was under way within a week. Their service was sensational, very impressed and would recommend without a shadow of doubt

[peterbo3]

I am with Suncorp & get a multi policy discount. I also get a further discount because I am a member of the Coast Guard. In fact, the extra discount was close to my CG membership of $55.
You have to haggle with them all.;D;D;D;D

[Argle]

Just make sure you read and understand the PDS. I used to be with Suncorp until they changed the policy on engine damage caused by water intake blockage due to plastic bags floating rubbish etc. There might be a bit of junk floating around the place at the moment:o

Cheers

[PinHead]

as others have said..read the PDS..especially the bit about agreed value.

[albey]

I have two boats and both are with RACQ.Found their coverage very good and economical.Might be worth a look.

[stevel3]

I am with Suncorp & get a multi policy discount. I also get a further discount because I am a member of the Coast Guard. In fact, the extra discount was close to my CG membership of $55.
You have to haggle with them all.;D;D;D;D

I also got the multi discount, but they were still the dearest :-?

[PADDLES]

don't ever confuse "cheapest" with "best". aim for the most suitable cover for you and pay whatever it costs.

[wetryin]

Finally got paid out for a claim lodged in February last year. It took CM 11 months to finally payout the final claim of only just over $2000. It took me stacks of phone calls (you would leave a message and then they wouldnt return them), excuses that "he doesnt work here" and "your file's been archived" and "we had already settled this matter". Not only this but apart from the confirmation of payout (signed 6months prior) I never received one piece of written correspondence from them concerning the claim.

[Flex]

Last week I put in a Claim with club marine for Damaged equipment.

The 2 phone calls I have made to them since, I found them to be rather abrupt and very short. Its as if i was annoying them and they wanted nothing to do with them.

Sent in my claim over a week ago and I had to follow up on whether they'd received it or not.


This is only for lost gear, I'd hate to do a whole boat claim. I think I will be changing insurance after this...

[TimiBoy]

The single smartest thing anyone can do regarding insurance is to get a Broker, and don't shop him purely on price!

Tell him what you want, ask questions in writing, and keep the answers. If he lies, then HIS insurance will pay...

Honestly, while it costs a little more it saves a whole bunch of time and aggravation, and you will get exactly what you ask for, no hidden exclusions.

For what it's worth, my Broker recommends Club Marine - at the moment, but that could always change depending on their quality of cover.

Not only that, but given he writes around 50 million a year in premiums, the insurance companies listen to him. I never have trouble with claims. Quick, polite, complete, easy. And I have quite a few claims in my game...

Cheers,

Tim

[stevel3]

Just make sure you read and understand the PDS. I used to be with Suncorp until they changed the policy on engine damage caused by water intake blockage due to plastic bags floating rubbish etc. There might be a bit of junk floating around the place at the moment:o

Cheers

whats the likelyhood of this happening (sucking in a plastic bag), it is the only thing that puts me off Suncorp. After reading the problems a few of you have had with Club Marine they also have me concerned. Typical that nothing is ever as easy as it should be.

[dnej]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=152828&highlight=agreed+value+insurance
Some good reading here.
David

[stevel3]

thanks David but still no more wiser as which one to choose. I will have to make a decision tonight as I pick the boat up tomorrow, thanks Steve.

[oldie]

i'd be going club marine get a quote off a dealer which is a platinum agent get a discount that way, my local dealer in tweed heads is thats who i insured thru with my old gal as i needed an inspection, get onto club marine site will tell you dealer name don't want to say it on here as a lot of members dislike dealers i have found

[BILLY THE KID]

my outboard was stolen from my boat on the 29th Sep 2010 . It was physically unbolted from the transom and rectifier wires cut . all this was done in our front yard behind a 6ft fence with the boat covered by a tarp .

they had a go at 4 cars in our street including mine with wire and smashed the 1/4 glass of a hilux up the road and rifled through it .

I rang Club marine that morning and reported the theft and also rang the police and they asked if we were in street x or y as they had calls all morning of cars being busted into . police reports are apparently not enough now to make a claim

Club marine sent a private investigator out 2 weeks later and then i had call after call trying to work out what was happening with my claim . 3 quotes later and i was told market value for a 2008 30hp mercury with under 15hrs running time was $1700 :o . i asked where this outboard was and i'd go and get it fitted and they said they didnt know , that was the average quote .
after me abusing the hell out of there state manager i managed to get replacement cost less 5% depriciation per year .

Total replacement cost was $3200 and they coughed up $2800 ::) , this was on a outboard less than 2yr old and under 20 hrs running time . No new for old replacement under 2yr old with them

I asked if they could make the cheque out to Wondall rd marine and post it to me and they sent it Direct to Wondall Rd marine . No reference number or claim number to give them any idea what it was for . Wondall Rd marine put 2 and 2 together and gathered it was my cheque for the outboard and rang me , they also had another cheque for $4500 from Club Marine they have no idea what it was for .

Finally got the new outboard fitted on the 7th of January 2011 ;D right in the middle of the floods and couldn't use it for 2 weeks anyhow ::)

If my policy wasn't up in 4 weeks i would be telling them to jam it .

I am currently hunting around for new insurance aswell and it sure as shit won't be club marine again

3 mths of constant phone calls and talking to muppets that have no clue what they are doing

[TimiBoy]

my outboard was stolen from my boat on the 29th Sep 2010 . It was physically unbolted from the transom and rectifier wires cut . all this was done in our front yard behind a 6ft fence with the boat covered by a tarp .

they had a go at 4 cars in our street including mine with wire and smashed the 1/4 glass of a hilux up the road and rifled through it .

I rang Club marine that morning and reported the theft and also rang the police and they asked if we were in street x or y as they had calls all morning of cars being busted into . police reports are apparently not enough now to make a claim

Club marine sent a private investigator out 2 weeks later and then i had call after call trying to work out what was happening with my claim . 3 quotes later and i was told market value for a 2008 30hp mercury with under 15hrs running time was $1700 :o . i asked where this outboard was and i'd go and get it fitted and they said they didnt know , that was the average quote .
after me abusing the hell out of there state manager i managed to get replacement cost less 5% depriciation per year .

Total replacement cost was $3200 and they coughed up $2800 ::) , this was on a outboard less than 2yr old and under 20 hrs running time . No new for old replacement under 2yr old with them

I asked if they could make the cheque out to Wondall rd marine and post it to me and they sent it Direct to Wondall Rd marine . No reference number or claim number to give them any idea what it was for . Wondall Rd marine put 2 and 2 together and gathered it was my cheque for the outboard and rang me , they also had another cheque for $4500 from Club Marine they have no idea what it was for .

Finally got the new outboard fitted on the 7th of January 2011 ;D right in the middle of the floods and couldn't use it for 2 weeks anyhow ::)

If my policy wasn't up in 4 weeks i would be telling them to jam it .

I am currently hunting around for new insurance aswell and it sure as shit won't be club marine again

3 mths of constant phone calls and talking to muppets that have no clue what they are doing

If you had a Broker you had been doing Business with for years, he would have done the run around for you, and things would have been more likely to work out.

It is worth finding one, and building a relationship with him over time. By doing that you will avoid aggravation at every step in the process. He lives in that world, but he is interested in your welfare (actually your money, but he will hopefully recognise the value of relationships), not the Insurers.

IMO, if you chose to do your insurance yourself, the example above is your just reward. Just my advice (after 25 years of experience with one Broker).

Cheers,

Tim

[BILLY THE KID]

Fair enough Timi to use a broker if you own a boat with any decent value , mine is only a 4.2 tinnie around $ 9000 so paying a broker his fees may help out if i ever need another claim sorted seems pointless when the actual insurance company needs to pick up their game for the average joe bloggs . I am their client just as much as any broker so why should the service be so different

It was more the point of them taking forever to process the claim and i had to constantly ring them for info . Got the old your file has been sent to melbourne , so you ring there and get no its been sent to brisbane ???

It seems more like a franchise buisness that has school kids running it as noone has any idea whats happening.

[PinHead]

Fair enough Timi to use a broker if you own a boat with any decent value , mine is only a 4.2 tinnie around $ 9000 so paying a broker his fees may help out if i ever need another claim sorted seems pointless when the actual insurance company needs to pick up their game for the average joe bloggs . I am their client just as much as any broker so why should the service be so different

It was more the point of them taking forever to process the claim and i had to constantly ring them for info . Got the old your file has been sent to melbourne , so you ring there and get no its been sent to brisbane ???

It seems more like a franchise buisness that has school kids running it as noone has any idea whats happening.

you do not pay a broker anything..the insurance company does that.

Surely you have other items insured such as car, house, contents.

I have saved heaps and got better coverage by using a broker..and the classic example is: he makes sure I have guaranteed agreed value on everything..not agreed or market whichever is the lesser..so many get caught out on that one.

[TimiBoy]

you do not pay a broker anything..the insurance company does that.

Surely you have other items insured such as car, house, contents.

I have saved heaps and got better coverage by using a broker..and the classic example is: he makes sure I have guaranteed agreed value on everything..not agreed or market whichever is the lesser..so many get caught out on that one.

Exactly. My bloke does everything - house, contents, cars, boat (when I have one) Business vehicles, machines, professional indemnity. I have another one who does my Life insurance.

All it costs me is a day on the sauce at the Cricket with him once in a while. Best cover, good claims performance, aggressive pricing, and best of all, GOOD ADVICE! Struggling over why on Earth I would ever worry about doing it myself. Or why anyone else would.

Tim

[stevel3]

I ended up going with suncorp, I rang them back last night and the quote dropped from $403 down to $326. I asked her to double check it was right and when she confirmed it was, I paid for it straight away. I have been a suncorp insurance customer for a long time so decided to stick with who I know, plus the few horror stories from Club turned me off them. Thanks for everyones input with this, I have just got home from work and are heading down to pick her up, yahoo.

[marvin]

Make sure you never get water in your fuel system, or put the wrong fuel in your boat, or pick up a bag or item that covers your water intake as previously stated, as Suncorp has those claims in the "We do not cover" section. As I found out recently. I have previously had claims with suncorp and have found them good when the problem is covered in your policy, just seems that when I needed the insurance to pay the $15568 to fix my engine that was damaged at no fault of my own it wasn't covered. Thats my bad luck I guess, good luck with your insurance and the best insurance to have is the one you never need to use.... Cheers Kev.