Yacht Insurance for World Cruise

[Dewo]

We are getting ready for a world cruise, any suggestions for a good insurance company for international travel. We have an older boat, 1980, so we are limited to who will take us.

[laika]

IMIS (International Marine Insurance Services) did the trick for me. They are insurance brokers who can find a policy that will suit your needs.

[sck5]

another vote for IMIS. They work with all the companies and can give you several quotes.

[chuckr]

try both IMIS or YachtInsure with Bill Hodgens -- we have used both and are excellent

[PeterLIA]

For the last 6 years I have been totally happy with Richard Smith at Atlass Insurance brokers in Newport, RI www.atlassinsurance.com They use Lloyds to underwrite the policy so pretty safe and I am covered for anywhere is Asia and waters in between including anywhere in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Luckily no claims yet so I can't comment on their performance after a claim.

[sbmesafirstmate]

We started a westward navigation in Jan 2011 from California and are using Novamar (Craig Chamberlain). We are now in the Caribbean, so we have been in quite a few areas of the world under this insurance and have always found any navigational limits they apply to be quite reasonable (e.g., we needed to be in south Grenada for this current hurricane season).

hope this helps.

[hzcruiser]

I recently switched to Pantaenius because they offered to cover the boat wherever I am in the world, not the whole world at once.

I just need to give them proper notice (and they'll increase or decrease the premium, depending on the region I am going to).

[svrevelations]

We were in the same situation a couple of years ago. We also asked around for advise and opinions. We finally met with a highly recommended insurance company and soon thereafter signed on the dotted line. Everything was good - until we had a lightning strike and claimed for damages. That is when things started going wrong:

• The assessor was hell bent on cutting corners,
• The assessor failed to properly test defective equipment,
• The assessor insisted that items could be repaired whilst it was not possible - eg. our spinnaker was destroyed and lost at sea, the assessor insisted the non existent spinnaker could be repaired!?,
• Also declared defective equipment to be in good working order,
• They stalled and delayed extensively,
• Their initial offer was for only 30% of actual damages sustained,
• Resulting in endless emails and arguments,
• We finally had to get a attorney to deal with the issue.

As we speak, 15 months later - the claim is still not settled. This badly affected our lives in so many ways and added substantial expenses. My advise to you is speak to people who actually claimed from their insurance company - find out about their experience in this regard;

How quick was the claim settled?
Did the assessor do a good job or did he cut corners?
Was the claim settled in a fair and painless manner?
Did they receive a fair payment and in line with the terms of their policy. Are they still insured with the same company? Etc.

Good luck!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Revelations

We were in the same situation a couple of years ago. We also asked around for advise and opinions. We finally met with a highly recommended insurance company and soon thereafter signed on the dotted line. Everything was good - until we had a lightning strike and claimed for damages. That is when things started going wrong:

• The assessor was hell bent on cutting corners,
• The assessor failed to properly test defective equipment,
• The assessor insisted that items could be repaired whilst it was not possible - eg. our spinnaker was destroyed and lost at sea, the assessor insisted the non existent spinnaker could be repaired!?,
• Also declared defective equipment to be in good working order,
• They stalled and delayed extensively,
• Their initial offer was for only 30% of actual damages sustained,
• Resulting in endless emails and arguments,
• We finally had to get a attorney to deal with the issue.

As we speak, 15 months later - the claim is still not settled. This badly affected our lives in so many ways and added substantial expenses. My advise to you is speak to people who actually claimed from their insurance company - find out about their experience in this regard;

How quick was the claim settled?
Did the assessor do a good job or did he cut corners?
Was the claim settled in a fair and painless manner?
Did they receive a fair payment and in line with the terms of their policy. Are they still insured with the same company? Etc.

Good luck!

Interesting but would be a lot more helpful if you revealed the name of the company.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Revelations

We were in the same situation a couple of years ago. We also asked around for advise and opinions. We finally met with a highly recommended insurance company and soon thereafter signed on the dotted line. Everything was good - until we had a lightning strike and claimed for damages. That is when things started going wrong:

• The assessor was hell bent on cutting corners,
• The assessor failed to properly test defective equipment,
• The assessor insisted that items could be repaired whilst it was not possible - eg. our spinnaker was destroyed and lost at sea, the assessor insisted the non existent spinnaker could be repaired!?,
• Also declared defective equipment to be in good working order,
• They stalled and delayed extensively,
• Their initial offer was for only 30% of actual damages sustained,
• Resulting in endless emails and arguments,
• We finally had to get a attorney to deal with the issue.

As we speak, 15 months later - the claim is still not settled. This badly affected our lives in so many ways and added substantial expenses. My advise to you is speak to people who actually claimed from their insurance company - find out about their experience in this regard;

How quick was the claim settled?
Did the assessor do a good job or did he cut corners?
Was the claim settled in a fair and painless manner?
Did they receive a fair payment and in line with the terms of their policy. Are they still insured with the same company? Etc.

Good luck!

Revelations, sorry to hear that you had/are having such a tough time with your claim. Though the tips surely are appreciated.

Anyone have insights on finding insurers who will work with boats having crews of 1 or 2, since that's many of us?

[Scott Berg]

A good broker will know which companies have good claim service; we can attest to the excellent service from Markel when we had a six figure claim. Our policy was placed by IMIS; they are former cruisers and represent many top rated companies. Highly recommended. For more info you may find the free webinars on insurance sponsored by SSCA to be a very good introduction to a difficult subject.

[svrevelations]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Interesting but would be a lot more helpful if you revealed the name of the company.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to reveal the insurance company name. In any event, it is a South African insurance company apparently underwritten by Llyods.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Revelations

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to reveal the insurance company name. In any event, it is a South African insurance company apparently underwritten by Llyods.

I don't know any reason why you would not be allowed to post the name but if you have a lawsuit or some kind of settlement pending it might not be wise.

[svrevelations]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I don't know any reason why you would not be allowed to post the name but if you have a lawsuit or some kind of settlement pending it might not be wise.

At this stage it certainly looks like we might be heading to the Courts.