Boat Insurance for a Canadian resident

[macieknan]

Hi all,

We are considering a boat purchase, but do not want to pull the trigger without some indication that we will be able to secure boat insurance before signing on a dotted line...

There are couple of problems that i have ran into recently. My previous (10 years back) insurance broker in Canada, responded that his underwriters stoped taking any new business. I am assuming some were simply wiped out by Dorian and Irma related claims.

The other responses i got from some European companies is that they do not sell policies to Canadian residents (we are looking for our new/used boat also in EU as well as US and Caribbean)

Any tips or contacts would be highly appreciated.

[nmuir]

I got a policy from Blue Water insurance - a reference from the podcasts 'Sailing in the Mediterranean and Beyond' medsailor.com

----------------------------------------------

Don Spink
Blue Water Yacht Insurance, Inc.
800-866-8906, 561-743-3442 or Don@bluewaterins.com


Good luck!

[Montanan]

Very good cautionary inquiry as to being able to obtain insurance before making a purchase offer.

In the offer, specifically add a contingency as to being able to secure an acceptable by buyer discretion maritime property and liability insurance policy coverage for the vessel you are making a purchase offer. This contingency can be added to the likes of the acceptable survey results, clear transfer of title, obtaining financing, and the like.

Of issue, as to the underwriter, to issue an insurance policy to you as a Canadian they must be registered to provide insurance in Canada and that narrows somewhat the available insurance underwriters [and brokers / agents].

Then there is the issues of restrictions to where the covered property is located, i.e., the countries and international waters that the vessel will reside and transit which overlays yet another scope of territorial allowed insurance coverages.

And of course all the normal issues of seaworthiness of the vessel and the insured parties experience in operating a vessel, plus the seasonal constraints as to restricted policy coverage regarding hazardous weather zones related zones.

Good luck.

[Rumrace]

Just to clarify permanent resident status is a big jump from visitors visa.
So a PR or a citizen can get insurance in an hour on anything. Everyone else is approached with caution and yup boats docked far away especially in the Caribbean make them mumble.
As a Canadian of either status Free Trade Union with Japan and Europe has had a dramatic impact. Zero tariff on French German Italian ... boats. Products brought exclusively through a US distributor have dropped. Like the biggest names in the industry. Hidden benefit of not playing the exchange game too. If you bought the same boat through a US broker add 9% tariff and what ever for exchange.
The fleets being sold off with repaired hurricane damage and 1800 k miles from it’s insured port would you return the call?

[Montanan]

Possibilities:

https://www.intact.ca/qc/en/personal...icle/boat.html

https://www.aviva.ca/en/find-insuran...oat-insurance/

https://pacificmarine.ca/boat-owners...ern-navigation

[Scaramanga F25]

As a Canadian I have had no problem obtaining insurance on my Florida licensed boats. 25 and 41 footers.

[wannacat]

Thats good to hear. So they are registered in Florida and you have a residence there? Or are they registered in Canada and you have Canadian insurance? Which company are you using? I'm sure lots of people are interested in this.

[reneaston]

We have a 36 C&C in Belize (and in Guatemala for hurricane season) We obtained insurance from this company. For our 1979 boat the price id under $2,000.
We have not made a claim so I cannot vouch for their service.


Edward William SL
Registered address: Centro Nordico, Crtra. De. Mijas, Km 4,5 - local 12-13, 29651 Mijas SPAIN
UK Postal address: Edward William SL (Offex), Global House, Manor Court, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9PY
T: (+34) 951 250 931 or (+44) (0)800 047 2587 from the UK F: (+34) 951 250 957 or (+44) (0)800 047 2587 from the UK
www.edwardwilliam.com E: info@edwardwilliam.com
Agents for ION Insurance Group SA
Escazu Corporate Center, 6th floor, Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica
Ph: +506.2201.7023, Fax: +506.2201.4801 ION Insurance Home Page

Use this website for information www.edwardwilliam.com

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by macieknan

Hi all,

We are considering a boat purchase, but do not want to pull the trigger without some indication that we will be able to secure boat insurance before signing on a dotted line...

There are couple of problems that i have ran into recently. My previous (10 years back) insurance broker in Canada, responded that his underwriters stoped taking any new business. I am assuming some were simply wiped out by Dorian and Irma related claims.

The other responses i got from some European companies is that they do not sell policies to Canadian residents (we are looking for our new/used boat also in EU as well as US and Caribbean)

Any tips or contacts would be highly appreciated.

Not sure why you are going to Europe for insurance when its available here in Canada. I'm insurance shopping right now and not one has mentioned anything about not writing policies, and my boat is 44years old!

[scargo]

Originally Posted by reneaston

We have a 36 C&C in Belize (and in Guatemala for hurricane season) We obtained insurance from this company. For our 1979 boat the price id under $2,000.
We have not made a claim so I cannot vouch for their service.


Edward William SL
Registered address: Centro Nordico, Crtra. De. Mijas, Km 4,5 - local 12-13, 29651 Mijas SPAIN
UK Postal address: Edward William SL (Offex), Global House, Manor Court, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9PY
T: (+34) 951 250 931 or (+44) (0)800 047 2587 from the UK F: (+34) 951 250 957 or (+44) (0)800 047 2587 from the UK
www.edwardwilliam.com E: info@edwardwilliam.com
Agents for ION Insurance Group SA
Escazu Corporate Center, 6th floor, Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica
Ph: +506.2201.7023, Fax: +506.2201.4801 ION Insurance Home Page

Use this website for information www.edwardwilliam.com

You should probably do some research here in the forum regarding Edward William reputation.
Also, in this post this Canadian guy who is also insured by EW is having trouble getting paid. And even though his boat is 20 years newer than yours, they refused to pay for the mast presumably because it is old (more than 20 years).
All I can say, is read your contract to see:

1. who is the underwriter ?
2. what is the insurance coverage you are getting for the money ?

If they re not covering anything, you might as well insure yourself by putting aside the money you are sending them.

[macieknan]

Thanks to all for valuable tips!
Our challenges appear to be related to various quirks of each underwriter.

Just to sum it up the boat we are considering is currently in Spain, we are Canadian citizens and the boat will get registered in Canada, but our cruising grounds, after summer season in the Med, will be US and the Bahamas

In case it is of interest to anyone, here are some responses we got: Allianz and Panteanus said the dont sell to Canadians, Blue Water (thanks nmuir) could possibly insure us in Europe and the Bahamas, but no longer than 90 days stay in the US. Intact and Aviva did not want to insure vessel outside of Canada and some US providers require US address.

I am working on connecting with other brokers suggested here, so thanks everyone!

[fdr14127]

Originally Posted by macieknan

Hi all,

We are considering a boat purchase, but do not want to pull the trigger without some indication that we will be able to secure boat insurance before signing on a dotted line...

There are couple of problems that i have ran into recently. My previous (10 years back) insurance broker in Canada, responded that his underwriters stoped taking any new business. I am assuming some were simply wiped out by Dorian and Irma related claims.

The other responses i got from some European companies is that they do not sell policies to Canadian residents (we are looking for our new/used boat also in EU as well as US and Caribbean)

Any tips or contacts would be highly appreciated.

A careful reading of our BoatUS policy has disclosed that Geico is no longer covering US documented vessels in Canada. So far we have been unable to find an underwriter who will write a policy for an American documented vessel docked at Niagara on the Lake, 400 yards from the border. All recommendations welcome.

[scargo]

Originally Posted by macieknan

Thanks to all for valuable tips!
Our challenges appear to be related to various quirks of each underwriter.

Just to sum it up the boat we are considering is currently in Spain, we are Canadian citizens and the boat will get registered in Canada, but our cruising grounds, after summer season in the Med, will be US and the Bahamas

In case it is of interest to anyone, here are some responses we got: Allianz and Panteanus said the dont sell to Canadians, Blue Water (thanks nmuir) could possibly insure us in Europe and the Bahamas, but no longer than 90 days stay in the US. Intact and Aviva did not want to insure vessel outside of Canada and some US providers require US address.

I am working on connecting with other brokers suggested here, so thanks everyone!

You are not alone in this situation. A lot of Canadians are struggling to get their sailboat insured. There's even a Facebook group dedicated to this subject (Canadian sailboats in need of insurances!)

In my opinion, you have two options:

1. Register your boat with UK ship register part 1. As a Canadian you are allowed. all you need is UK address. Some companies offer this service for a fee. That's what Distant shores did for their latest distant shores III. Their boat is registered in Jersey. But all their previous boats were registered in Canada.
2. You register your boat with transport Canada and you keep changing underwriters/insurance every time you move from the med to the Atlantic to the Caribbean, etc. Once in the Bahamas or the US east coast, Aviva or others will accept to insure you.

Good luck. And please keep us posted

[Scaramanga F25]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

As a Canadian, I have had no problem obtaining insurance on my Florida licensed boats. 25 and 41 footers.

Boat US and another co. I had a 20,000$ claim when another boat dragged at anchor and caused cosmetic and chainplate damage, 80 Knot winds in Abaco. the other boat accepted fault and was subrogated by my co.
The 41 ft boat was purchased in Ft Lauderdale and licensed there to a Ft Lauderdale address. Boat US.
Another boat, the 25, was purchased in Clearwater Beach and insured by a local company. In both cases, boats were insured for 6 to 10 years and were kept in Ft Lauderdale behind different homes all summer. The Bahamas all winter.
I don't remember who insured my never to be seen in Canada but was Documented as a British Ship. It was a Westsail 32 when I was cruising full time from 1975 to 1981. Had 2 daughters on route. Caroline is a top Catamaran Broker today.

[wannacat]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

Boat US and another co. I had a 20,000$ claim when another boat dragged at anchor and caused cosmetic and chainplate damage, 80 Knot winds in Abaco. the other boat accepted fault and was subrogated by my co.
The 41 ft boat was purchased in Ft Lauderdale and licensed there to a Ft Lauderdale address. Boat US.
Another boat, the 25, was purchased in Clearwater Beach and insured by a local company. In both cases, boats were insured for 6 to 10 years and were kept in Ft Lauderdale behind different homes all summer. The Bahamas all winter.
I don't remember who insured my never to be seen in Canada but was Documented as a British Ship. It was a Westsail 32 when I was cruising full time from 1975 to 1981. Had 2 daughters on route. Caroline is a top Catamaran Broker today.

Things have changed drastically since the 80's, then again recently a lot!!! Try getting insurance like that now if your Canadian registered and leaving boat in the US. Boat US would cover us but at unbelievable prices!!! Even for a 22 foot powerboat they just quoted me almost $10,000 US!!! 1/2 the price of the boat! You did it in the good old days and that ain't happening anymore!