Insurance? Anyone have experience with Topsail and/or Barbican Norway (Lloyds backed)

[CookiesnTequila]

We are in the final stages of purchasing insurance for a very-soon-to-be our 2008 Catana 50. It is presently in Tunisia and we will be cruising the Med for the next few years at least, so we are limiting our coverage to the Med for now.

A combination of coverage, policy wording details and premium has landed us on a proposal from Topsail out of the UK. The insurer is Barbican Norway on behalf of Syndicate 1955 at Lloyd’s.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with either of these companies - good, bad or indifferent!

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

PS - last boat we owned was almost 20 years ago - long time out of the marine insurance world!

[sestina]

If it's the Topsail Insurance based in Brighton Marina, they do my travel insurance. A few years ago I had a claim when my mother was dying and SWMBO and I had to get back to the UK from Florida in a hurry. They coughed up no problems.

After many years with Pantaenius I've moved to Y Yacht Insurance, Y Yacht Insurance | Insurance quote | Yacht Insurance quotes | Cheap Yacht Insurance quote

They are run by the guy who used to be MD of Pantaenius. Better cover an cheaper to boot.

[David_Clee]

You're right to ask for recommendations, but seriously, do your homework and never trust a single insurance company.

I'm UK based and went with a company honest enough to tell me in one of their online articles to go and get multiple quotes before making a decision, quite a refreshing attitude! But check this particular article of theirs out as it may be of direct use to you...

Cheaper Yacht Insurance

Nevertheless though, regardless of above (and I'm not recommending this company to you and may not even cover you out in the states anyway) but whoever you deal with always cross-question what they tell you and make sure you have it in wirting and check out a few options before deciding... worth it for the piece of mind!

[monte]

Heard good things about topsail but definitely check pantaenius as they are good also and quite a bit cheaper in the med.

[chuckr]

when we got soulmates it was our first boat ever and as brand new sailors with a brand new boat insurance became a big problem. our broker found bill hodgens of yachtinsure and he insured us for quite a while. we were in miami at the time and of course had to pay extra for named storms. then as we began cruising bill would adjust our policy if we stayed out of hurricane zone and did a great job finding less expensive coverage.

we did have one claim when we got hit by lightening in the bahamas and they paid - no issues.

we had a misunderstanding (my fault) on the 2 person atlantic crossing and went with imis who has treated us well. again after the crossing our policy went down and when we went to montenegro we needed 1m euro liability they got a rider for us in hours.

good luck and see you in a month or so.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by monte

Heard good things about topsail but definitely check pantaenius as they are good also and quite a bit cheaper in the med.

I found panteaneius to be very expensive in comparison to several major big name insurers

Dave


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[CookiesnTequila]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I found panteaneius to be very expensive in comparison to several major big name insurers

Dave


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Thanks for the feedback - we got 4, maybe even 5 now! quotes, one of which was Panteaneius, and you are right, they were a fair bit more, and less coverage!

Good advice to read the policy carefully! We had a clause that stated no single handed sailing - minimum two - but when pushed they very quickly agreed to something very livable, like single handed okay so long as not longer than 18 hr passage.

The other 2 areas that I found big differences between companies are in cruising territory and mount of liability coverage. The jury is still out on the cruising territory, but on the liability side, they are very good.

On another matter - sorry I haven't responded on the other thread on the VAT issue - I've been running like mad, and this is the first minute I've had for the forums in ages. I'll get there eventually!! Cheers

[CookiesnTequila]

One more thought - I think a big part of what's happening is related to the recent plunge of the Euro. The Topsail quote is in Euro, while most of the others are in US$. And not many US providers are going to be able to compete if things are priced in Euros!!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by CookiesnTequila

One more thought - I think a big part of what's happening is related to the recent plunge of the Euro. The Topsail quote is in Euro, while most of the others are in US$. And not many US providers are going to be able to compete if things are priced in Euros!!

Never found US insurance to be cost effective


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[Alii]

It's nice to save money but far more important are the details of the policy and the financial health and domicile of the underwriter. As a US citizen with a US-flagged boat, I want a US-based US-rated underwriter even if I'm cruising in the Med.

I assume the foregoing references to Pantaenius are to Pantaenius UK, not Pantaenius USA. I have been with Pantaenius USA for 8 years without one single premium increase, although for the coming year they are increasing the deductible slightly and for the first time instituting a separate 10% hull-value deductible for named storms/tsunami. The underwriters are US-based, A-rated insurers and the policies are in plain American English. If I ever have a dispute I won't need to hire overseas barristers or deal with foreign courts.

[beneteau-500]

I can recommend Coleman marine in uk for fully insured for the whole of the med and they also will give you all the appropriate documents in the languages for each country as well cost me around £670 per year they are brilliant to deal with

[Oscarb]

About to buy a boat in Europe and sail it one way to Australia over two years; how would one insure such a trip when not in one place for longer than a few months at a time and keep it cost effective please?


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