Boat insurance - happy story

[Mike OReilly]

I often gripe about boat insurance. I don’t like the process, and I don’t trust insurance companies to be looking out for my best interests (vs theirs). HOWEVER, I feel I need to eat a little humble pie here with my new policy and broker, as well as my surveyor who was also fantastic (and inexpensive).

I just switched insurance companies and brokers, and am now paying around 30% LESS than we were previously. And this is for a 42-year-old boat.

It’s comprehensive insurance, including $2M liability (pretty standard for Canadian policies), and covers all the basics one might expect. So I’m pretty pleased.

In light of my own complaints, and the constant news about old boats not being insurable, or huge price increases in some areas, I just wanted to share this positive insurance story.

[cpisz]

Care to share the insurance company? My understanding is that older boys are insurable as long as a survey is performed and the survey items are addressed.

[Mike OReilly]

Broker is Fairway Insurance out of Digby Nova Scotia: Digby NS Insurance Agency, Nova Scotia Home Insurance, Nova Scotia Auto Insurance, Nova Scotia Business Insurance | Fairway Insurance

And the policy is underwritten by Intact Insurance.

Fairway operates out of the four Canadian Atlantic provinces, as well as British Columbia. I think their primary clientele are commercial fishers, although many local recreational folks use them up here (Newfoundland) as well. Not sure if they are able to service non-Canadians, but I’d definitely recommend them based on the service and policy we got.

[gaucho]

I think boat insurance "love" is a two part story which is by it's own nature, self cancelling sometimes. Let me explain:

- First part is the initial run around with surveys, photos, questionnaires, your experience, etc, etc. With this also comes an X amount for premium. The lower the premium, the easier the process and requirements, the happier one becomes.

- Second part is when you actually have to run a claim. Here we only care about ease of processing, here is where we start really understanding the fine print, now money becomes a different monster all together and value and price become a whole new set of words. Communication with your broker is key, and you really put everything to the test here.

My point is that most of us end up being happy with the first part of the deal, and (fortunately), have to deal with the second part much less often. When you find insurance that works with both parts (even if it's unfortunate you had to put the second one to the test), then is when you can really claim I found the perfect insurance deal!

Anyhow, like yourself, I also shopped around last year and ended up with insurance that Im happy with (covering all the first portion issues gallantly). Let's hope we don't have to use the second part and really put that to the test

[letsgetsailing3]

Giving the insurance company money is always the easy part.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Broker is Fairway Insurance out of Digby Nova Scotia: Digby NS Insurance Agency, Nova Scotia Home Insurance, Nova Scotia Auto Insurance, Nova Scotia Business Insurance | Fairway Insurance

And the policy is underwritten by Intact Insurance.

Fairway operates out of the four Canadian Atlantic provinces, as well as British Columbia. I think their primary clientele are commercial fishers, although many local recreational folks use them up here (Newfoundland) as well. Not sure if they are able to service non-Canadians, but I’d definitely recommend them based on the service and policy we got.

I have used Fairway since 2006. No claims but very pleased with price.
In my previous life,marine electronics,etc.,service on commercial fishing fleet,I found them to be very fair,very fast, & a pleasure to work with in settling claims & general service. / Len

[Montanan]

Glad to hear of your successful underwriting experience.

FYI, from Wikipedia.

Intact Financial Corporation is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada by annual premiums as of 2017. Formerly an ING Group subsidiary, ING Canada, Intact changed its name from ING Canada to Intact Insurance in 2009.

The company has over 13,000 employees and insures more than five million individuals and businesses through its insurance subsidiaries. The company distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly owned subsidiary, BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect.

The company came together through a series of major acquisitions starting in 2011 when Intact acquired AXA Insurance's Canadian operations for $2.6 billion. The next year Intact acquired Jevco Insurance Company for $530 million, which allowed the company to expand its service to brokers through the opportunity to offer their clients complementary specialized products such as recreational vehicle insurance and specialty lines products to businesses.

In 2014, Intact acquired Metro General Insurance Corporation which operated largely in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2015, it acquired Canadian Direct Insurance Incorporated (CDI), extending its direct-to-consumer operations from coast to coast.

In the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Home Insurance Satisfaction Study,
belairdirect was ranked highest in the Atlantic/Ontario region with a score of 799 and in the Quebec region with a score of 814 and Intact Insurance ranked third with a score of 791

[wannacat]

Timely article for me hopefully! Just got hit with a 60% increase from Aviva Nautimax after being with them for 4 years and no claims! No excuse given?!
I will be calling these guys on Monday. Thanks for this info!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by deblen

I have used Fairway since 2006. No claims but very pleased with price.
In my previous life,marine electronics,etc.,service on commercial fishing fleet,I found them to be very fair,very fast, & a pleasure to work with in settling claims & general service. / Len

Thanks Len, that’s great to know. I’ve heard nothing but praise about the brokerage since coming to Newfoundland here. And my experience with them has been that they are incredibly responsive and easy to deal with via email. The longest I’ve had to wait for a response has been 12 hours, even over the weekend. Most often my queries have been responded to within minutes, and this is after we’ve already signed on.

I haven’t dealt with them on the other side yet, and hopefully never will, but your report is consist with others I’ve spoken to.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this b/c most of the time we hear nothing but negative news regarding boat insurance and brokers. I’ve certainly commented loudly about my disdain for the whole system, so I thought it only fair I should give credit where credit is due.

[atlroofman]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I often gripe about boat insurance. I don’t like the process, and I don’t trust insurance companies to be looking out for my best interests (vs theirs). HOWEVER, I feel I need to eat a little humble pie here with my new policy and broker, as well as my surveyor who was also fantastic (and inexpensive).

I just switched insurance companies and brokers, and am now paying around 30% LESS than we were previously. And this is for a 42-year-old boat.

It’s comprehensive insurance, including $2M liability (pretty standard for Canadian policies), and covers all the basics one might expect. So I’m pretty pleased.

In light of my own complaints, and the constant news about old boats not being insurable, or huge price increases in some areas, I just wanted to share this positive insurance story.

Its the broker
Ever since the economic downturn my Ins broker has had to read through 10 policies to find one that really provides the coverage needed in a fair way. Your new broker is obviously one like mine.

[Elie]

What's important is the kind of coverage you subscribe an pay for. My own experience with insurances was perfect without any clams fro the last 40 years. However, 2017 my yacht fell off its craddle during a winter storm while in storage. Since my yacht had a value agreed coverage, the claim was settled in fast and efficient maner. Compared with many other yacht covered by 'market value' at day of claim, and the all the 'suffering' to get an fait settlement, I'm quite happy to have paid for a comprehensible coverage...

[Lake-Effect]

Hi Mike, glad to hear of your good experience.

Last month, I queried my broker of 12 years about why my rates had inched up, despite zero claims, and whether they had applied all available discounts.

At the same time, I also asked a different, more boat-oriented broker for a quote; they replied with a price, using the same underwriting company, that was over 10% less! So I went back to my original broker to ask again why theirs was higher, they kind of fumbled a bit. I finally pointed out that they had not ever given me any kind of discount for training and certifications. They fumbled some more...

Long story short - my first broker had not informed me of all the possible discounts I could qualify for, because, basically, they are a general insurance broker and don't have complete knowledge of marine insurance and the marine policies they were offering. Over 12 years, I figure that I have probably overpaid by a few hundred dollars total because they hadn't offered me any discounts for completed training.

So I have switched to the new broker, and the lesson I have learned there is to seek out the brokers who specialize whenever possible, and to pay more attention to recommendations like yours.

[zengirl]

It is so different in Canada, I doubt or at least I have never heard of a really good insurance company for anything in America. Too bad.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

...So I have switched to the new broker, and the lesson I have learned there is to seek out the brokers who specialize whenever possible, and to pay more attention to recommendations like yours.

Good lesson for all LE. Shopping around. I think part of my happy story is finding a broker who operates in the area I am currently cruising. My previous broker was one I had while cruising the Great Lakes. My sense is that this is where they are more comfortable.

BTW, I was with my previous broker for over 16 years — never a claim. And I too had seen our rates slowly creep up. Never a lot, but always up.

It’s a bit ironic, but if they hadn’t demanded a new survey, I probably would have renewed with them again this year without bothering to look around. But since they demanded a new survey, I figured ‘what the heck, might as well shop around.’ Sure glad I did.

[letsgetsailing3]

Finding an insurance company to accept your money is usually the easy part.