Recommendations needed for an Aussie insurance company - Aust Pantaenius useless

[spiv]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

E-mail sent.

Alan,
I am in the same situation, can you share your thoughts with me as well please?

[No Boat]

do you have an email I can send this to

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Thanks. Could you please let me know his details?



The person I spoke to at Pantaenius Australia said that nothing in the policy could be modified.

He did not inspire confidence. When questioned about several of the conditions, it was a case of “although that’s what is written, it is not what we really mean”.
And also “the co-ordinates of the area covered override the description of the area covered”. Apparently Spain and Portugal are considered part of Northern Europe.

I have several amendments to my policy with Pant Oz and it wasn't a problem adding them back in 2016. Things like full coverage for single-handing, albeit with a tripled deductible.

Boat is living on a swing mooring, no problem.



They also want a boat survey every 5 years incl rigging, and a mooring survey every year.


Before I was with Club Marine but their premium went up too fast.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by spiv

Alan,
I am in the same situation, can you share your thoughts with me as well please?

Let's wait to see if SWL finds happiness with what I have suggested.

[Mr B]

Try Trident Marine in Perth,
I was with them when my boat sank on Broughton Island,
They paid all salvage costs, Cleaning, Dock fees, Storage, Ec Etc,
Removing the rigging for transport to Melb, From Port Stephens,
Then paid me out in full,
Half the price of Panteous,
Club Marine wouldnt touch me as I was too big, or too far off shore, I forget now the reasons,

Excellent company to deal with, Kept me informed all the way from lodging the claim to paying me out,
In Australia, they would insure me for 200 Nmiles off the coast,
But wouldnt insure me for the crossing from Fiji to OZ, They considered that Blue Water,

Its worth asking them about your situation,

[noblewarrior]

Originally Posted by Pete7

The UK is open for business, see recent thread.

Or how about approaching Pantaenius UK if you are staying in Europe for a while. We are insured with them and whilst I have never had to claim they have always been very straight forward to deal with. Price hasn't changed much in 10 years either which is nice, so I stay with them. Whilst we have Brest to Elbe extending the area covered isn't a problem.

https://www.pantaenius.com/uk-en/

Pete

I would agree with you I am with Pantaenius for over 10 years and recently had a claim with them. They were super effficient, their surveyor on the spot at the lift out to inspect the damage, and a fast respons on acceptance of the claim and settlement. This was in the algarve.
I have a friend that was hit by lightening last year and is insured with Northern reef, but they are refusing to settle with them and making their life extremely difficult.

[JPA Cate]

I know we have to wait for business hours tomorrow (on this side of the date line), but I'm hoping Seaworthy Lass gets back to us with what she's found out......

Ann

[Seaworthy Lass]

Hi everyone
Thanks for all the responses.

Sunday morning here and I am going to spend a few hours contacting the suggested brokers/agents, so hopefully by the time I am awake on Monday (end of business time in Australia) I will have some responses.

Pantaenius UK is not an option due to lack of license for Aussie registered boats.
I am not hopeful, but I will also contact Y-Yacht in France just in case they do.

I will report back in a few days when this is all over.

SWL

[Djarraluda]

Contact Denise Gammie at Brookvale Insurance Brokers (Denise at bib.com.au). They handle a large majority of boats in our club and are very good at answering all queries.
Roger

[Seaworthy Lass]

Update:

Replies from TRIDENT and ANCHORAGE MARINE were swift, but unfortunately negative. The respective responses were:
“This risk falls outside of our underwriting guidelines due to a combination of factors including the location & cruising plan.”
and:
“We confirm the area of operation you require places this risk outside of our facilities and accordingly we are unable to quote.”

Y YACHT INSURANCE’s response was negative as well:
“Due to Australian regulations that we cannot currently comply with, we would be unable to provide you with a quotation on this occasion.”
A lovely lady rang and explained that requirements to insure Aussie and NZ boats had recently altered and they would no longer be able to renew cover for all their Aussie and NZ clients either.

The broker in Queensland that No Boat suggested emailed back early Monday with queries regarding where the boat is usually moored/stored. I replied that the marinas we used depended on location, but gave the name of where we are likely to berth next. I have heard nothing additional from him since. I think the concept of cruising worldwide without returning constantly to a permanent “home base” in a marina is out of the box for many insurers.

I both emailed and spoke to Alan Mighty’s broker on Friday, but have heard nothing at all back from her.

The only joy was with TOPSAIL. The UK broker I contacted suggested trying them (and Trident) after she could find no one in Europe. 44’cruisingcat added his vote as well. Topsail responded quickly and gave me a couple of options regarding the excess. Unlike Pantaenius Australia, they did not have severe restrictions that render the policy useless for anyone anchoring.

My time is running out, so at this stage I will simply go ahead with Topsail. If I hear back from the two brokers it will be interesting to compare policies and prices.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. It is very appreciated.

SWL

PS I didn’t have a chance to contact Brookvale Insurance Brokers.

[Mr B]

Thats interesting that the govt have changed the insurance requirements,
And now cant insure a lot of their regular customers,
The govt might be trying to shut them down too,
Lima Declaration, 1975, Google it,

Insurance companys are a bit funny about boats that actually cross oceans,

I might have to get in contact with Trident to enquire about my insurance,


Cheers, Brian,

[Seaworthy Lass]

Response from the QLD independent broker (as opposed to an agent):

“I submitted the information provided* to the market, unfortunately I have been unable to obtain any quotes from the insurance markets I use for Yacht Insurance .”

Wow!
Near new yacht build like a tank, two experienced crew, 32 years of continuous blemish free yacht insurance, safe cruising ground. What else is required?

All Aussie and NZ boats currently cruising in Europe should check if your insurance company will renew your policy. They are under no obligation to let you know they can’t do this until a set time before your policy expires. Two larger European insurance companies have informed me policies will not be renewed for Australian and NZ registered boats.

The advice received several times during this process was to reflag the boat elsewhere (with the exception of a few other countries, such as Portugal apparently).

Canadians are having similar problems, see this recent thread:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ce-217012.html

SWL

[CapnJackSparrow]

We had the exact same issue just recently - was insured with Pantaenius UK who at least gave me 2 months notice that they couldn't renew my insurance. I figured the same as the OP, that Pantaenius Australia would have similar cover at similar rates. Wrong. OMG - how wrong! Unbelievably restrictive conditions that no sane person would accept. I then did the same thing and sent enquiries to various insurance firms ... and got the same response - "we can't insure you" ... basically because I am sailing, not sitting at a "usual mooring".

I ended up going with Topsail Australia - they're more expensive than the insurance I had but they do have better terms and some additional perks like $10K emergency accident cover if anyone is injured onboard, waiver of the excess and protection of the no-claim if you're damaged while moored at a marina. I'm in the Caribbean at the moment so I guess I'll see what happens to the premium when we leave.

[Adonf46]

[QUOTE=Seaworthy Lass;2868132]We are Aussie registered, but currently sailing in Europe. Pantaenius Hamburg with whom we have been insured for over a decade have let us know they no longer have a license to insure Australian registered boats and they directed us to their Australian branch.

I assumed policy conditions would be similar and was gobsmacked last week when reading the fine print. The most glaring problem was that:
“The vessel is moored in a marina berth/at a jetty”.

I gave them a call and they brushed this off saying they really only meant when the boat was unattended, but I can imagine the difficulty fighting that if something occurred while at anchor! They refused to modify the wording. This renders the policy useless.



Does anyone have any recommendations for either a broker or marine insurance company in Australia?
Any help would be appreciated.

Hi ,
I would strongly recommend Aqua Marine HQ in Buddina Queensland, having recently purchased an Australian Registered sailing catamaran they organised three separate quote for us and the transaction was seamless.
Do try www.aquamarinehq.com
Cheers

[gareth knaack]

I used Topsail when purchased a boat in Fiji about 6 years ago and sold the boat 2 years back. not sure about new policies but would certainly try them again