Australian Insurance - what companies?

[hoppy]

My yacht will be landing in Australia in November and during the shipping of it my insurance with Pantaenius (Sweden) will expire and I need new insurance once it is offloaded from the ship (during the transport it is covered).

As I've never insured a boat in Aus, I don't know many companies to call.

I already have a quote from Pantaenius Australia

I know there is Club Marine and I can try IBGroup. What other companies?

I noticed on Club Marine their base price is good but there are a lot of restrictions that can be eased by paying for extras. It will be Melbourne based, probably a pen at the RMYS marina.

Some of the key sailing activities I want to ensure are covered are

• Offshore sailing (don't want to have to hug the coast with some stupid 12mile limit) including crossing Bass strait.
• Club Racing with asymmetrics (I see club marine basic only cover very short races with white sails only)
• Ocean races (Melbourne- Devonport/Apollo Bay/Grassy etc..)
• Solo sailing... whether it is a day on the bay or a crossing to Tassie

[Far Star]

Try Topsail English company with Australian Branch. I have been with them for 5 years

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[GILow]

I used to be with Trident Marine. They were very good to deal with but ultimately I switched to Pantaenius because they were much cheaper (and I had heard nothing bad about them).

[ozsailer]

Hi hoppy,
I think you are going to have some issues getting the coverage you require. From my experience most insurance companies will insure but at a high premium. Once you talk racing, offshore or otherwise you are automatically talking a much higher premium to be covered, IF you can get coverage.
After 20 years of coverage with Club Marine we walked away from then due to their restrictions and uncompetitive rates and moved to Topsail (underwritten by Lloyds) , now based in Western Australia. Our cost for cover has halved. One of the things I noted in your requirements is that you want to single hand. This could be very detrimental to you getting cover. In the policy disclorsure statements for cover I can only single hand for a period of 24 hours. After that I need another crew member AND a working auto pilot.
Please read very carefully the policy disclosure statements for every policy you get a quote on. The devil truly is in the detail and ensure you are comparing apples with apples. Also will your boat be insured for Agreed value or market value. There is a marked difference in the two which could see you lose if your boat is insured for market value.


Greg H
SV Sunshine

[hoppy]

Thanks for the company suggestions..

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Hi hoppy,
I think you are going to have some issues getting the coverage you require. From my experience most insurance companies will insure but at a high premium. Once you talk racing, offshore or otherwise you are automatically talking a much higher premium to be covered, IF you can get coverage.
After 20 years of coverage with Club Marine we walked away from then due to their restrictions and uncompetitive rates and moved to Topsail (underwritten by Lloyds) , now based in Western Australia. Our cost for cover has halved. One of the things I noted in your requirements is that you want to single hand. This could be very detrimental to you getting cover. In the policy disclorsure statements for cover I can only single hand for a period of 24 hours. After that I need another crew member AND a working auto pilot.
Please read very carefully the policy disclosure statements for every policy you get a quote on. The devil truly is in the detail and ensure you are comparing apples with apples. Also will your boat be insured for Agreed value or market value. There is a marked difference in the two which could see you lose if your boat is insured for market value.


Greg H
SV Sunshine

I'll definitely be going for an agreed policy, especially as I'll probably have to get it valued for the duty & GST calculation, so it should be easy to set a value.

I did get the policy documents from Pantenaius and I could not find anything for or against solo. I think I'll be sending each company questions about my requirements to hopefully make it easy to exclude some companies before I get a headache from the small print.

The 24hr single handed thing could be a bugger if that's the best I can get. But certainly in the short term (1st year of insurance) I could live with that restriction.

As for the racing, I'll be happy if the "standard" coverage will cover the bay races if I then have the option for "extras" payment to cover a Bass Strait race, if anyone offers that sort of option.

[sepeteus]

I just reinsured with Pantaenius. Agreed value of AUD650k, their price was simply the best. They were the only ones though who asked for recent survey reports and they also wanted to know about standing rigging paperwork.

[hoppy]

I just took the time to read through the Pantaenius quote & PDS

6. Racing:
6.2 unless specified in the schedule, any sailboat racing of the vessel named in the schedule of more than 250 nautical miles.
For sailboat racing of less than 250 nautical miles, this insurance applies only if the race is organised/sanctioned by a registered yachting
association.

This covers any race I'm likely to do, certainly in the first 2 years

and

Survey Warranty – If a survey (rigging/mooring report) has been requested and not supplied at the
time of activation, any claim associated with a defect that would have reasonably been identified
had a survey taken place, may result in the Underwriters refusing a claim.

So maybe the survey is pretty simple and also if I don't loose the mast or lose the boat at anchor between the unloading and the marina in Newcastle, maybe I can delay the survey and get it done whilst I'm dealing with customs. I replaced my rigging last year which should help smiley.png

No idea on their attitude to solo. No mention of it on the PDS either way. The standard terms will certainly exclude a claim if I am sleeping (no watch, COLREGS no no). It would be nice if they allow it without restrictions. Pantaenius Sweden allows it

[AussieCat]

Suggest you just call Adam Brown at Pantaenius Sydney and have a chat. He's a straight shooter and will be able to best advise on policy.

[Akapeterc]

You can't go past Pantenious I think I'm sure there's something in my policy about single handing over night When it comes to claims they are pretty good I had a pretty major repair this year after a grounding and nothing was a problem to them

[ozsailer]

Hi Hoppy,
just as a side note. Pantaneus came a very close second to Topsail for us. There quote was very close to Topsail and from my research they had a very good reputation. The only reason we did not go with Pantaneus was the clause regarding the increase of excess to 25% if your boat is damaged or written off due to a named storm. As we cruise at times in an area known for cyclones this was a concern for us. 25% is a lot of money to be written off.
The other statement in ALLl the disclosure statements we received read like this 7. Loss of or damage to sails if split by the wind or blown or washed away; are not covered under your policy.
Just to assist in making your decision. One last thing. Ensure that who ever you are insured with are recognised under the Australia Insurance Group. Some marinas, IE Able Point Marina will not recognise insurance companies not affiliated under Australian company registration laws.




Greg H
SV Sunshine

[Big Macca]

Hoppy, you could do worse than get an insurance broker to sort it all out for you. They're paid on commission so no cost to you, and they can usually get a better deal for you from the insurer. Plus when it comes to a claim they're invaluable.

[boatman61]

Come n Hoppy.. your knees are shot.. whats all this ******** about 'Race Insurance'.. get the basic and be happy with it.. go Pantenaeus.. you know it makes sense.
Skip the macho ********.

[knockabout]

racq insurance

[GILow]

Originally Posted by knockabout

racq insurance

Most of the car breakdown guys seemed to max out at around 30 feet from memory.


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[AussieWayne]

I can't fault Pantaenius so far as their quote was acceptable but I haven't had to claim, which is a good thing. I hope I never have to but it's then that the merit of the choice of company will be revealed
AussieWayne

Originally Posted by GILow

Most of the car breakdown guys seemed to max out at around 30 feet from memory.


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