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Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:41 pm
by Berber Boy
Having just had to deal with marine insurance matters I have been reminded again that these days it is up to the "insured" to ensure (forgive the pun :D ) that they select a fair market value for their boat and have the premium adjusted accordingly. If you look at Macs for sale online in Australia there is quite a lot of price variance and understandably so because some of us keep on modifying stuff on our boats.

Do any of you have "agreed value" deals on your insurance or is that from a gone era? How do you go about estimating a reasonable market price that insurance are likely to buy into? I asked my company to give me their market valuation but they would not do so. Any advice there. I have tentatively priced my value at what I think mine would sell for and it will drop my insurance by $100. I had it insured at new cost price. Without naming companies is there any advice we could all benefit from?

Cheers

David

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:41 am
by sunshinecoasting
Hi David,

I dont think I can help much but heres what I do,

I imported my boat from the States and did not buy it here, this affects my idea of insurance. My boat owes me $25,000 and I dont consider that a huge investment and it isnt a high risk asset like a car, it gets used once every 2 months on average. So that being said i only insure mine with RACQ for 20 million liability, it is not insured for theft or damage. The only reason I pay liability is because my $25,000 boat could hit a million dollar boat in a mariner and that I cant afford. I know you had your engine stolen and that really sucks but if I were you I would consider where you store the boat, mine is safe and VERY unlikely to be targeted by thieves, again this comes down to perceived risk. My insurance only costs me $90 a year and allows me peace of mind in mariners and of course mariners require liability before they let you in. Some may say I am under insured but this is MY perceived risk. Replacement for my boat would be around $40k here and motor replacement about $12k or there abouts. I consider the risk very low and in a case of total writeoff would simply import another boat, it was rediculously simple to do and I just wouldnt consider buying local in the future. So my advice is this, minimise your risk and buy insurance based on that risk only.

Hope this helps a little, Dennis.

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:53 pm
by sailboatmike
Try a mob called Professional Insurance Brokers, they are in Monbulk in Melbourne but the insure boats from all over the country, my X is valued at $30k and that allows me 20% additional so up to $36k. I have claimed before when our Sunmaid got hit by storm debris and did $4.5k damage, it was the easiest and best claim I have ever made and the cheque arrived in the mail 4 days after the claim was submitted

My premium is about $500 a year, i figure this is OK because I know there are so many uninsured boats around and if they crash into me my insurance policy takes care of it and they have the problem of getting the money back.

In reality insurance is a minor cost compared with other costs like mast up storage, which I use because it means we use the boat more, and I dont have the hastle of putting the mast up and taking it down every time we want to go for a sail.

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 10:53 pm
by Berber Boy
sailboatmike wrote:Try a mob called Professional Insurance Brokers, they are in Monbulk in Melbourne but the insure boats from all over the country, my X is valued at $30k and that allows me 20% additional so up to $36k. I have claimed before when our Sunmaid got hit by storm debris and did $4.5k damage, it was the easiest and best claim I have ever made and the cheque arrived in the mail 4 days after the claim was submitted

My premium is about $500 a year, i figure this is OK because I know there are so many uninsured boats around and if they crash into me my insurance policy takes care of it and they have the problem of getting the money back.

In reality insurance is a minor cost compared with other costs like mast up storage, which I use because it means we use the boat more, and I dont have the hastle of putting the mast up and taking it down every time we want to go for a sail.
Thanks SailboatMike,

How did you get your boat valued? I asked my company and they just said look at what they are selling for whereas on my stolen engine they new the book value down to the penny. I keep mine mast up too and it is convenient to say the least and lets you get on the water without being all steamed up from putting everything up.

BB

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Fri May 13, 2016 3:15 pm
by sailboatmike
I just estimated the value taking an average of what they are selling for to get a value.

That can be a little tricky as they run so many motor configurations, but I headed for the middle of the road, X's seem to be on the market for between $32k and $42k, thats what insurance companies look at when working out the value.

It may also help to keep a log book of engine hours, as unlike many fishos boats that engines do 100's of hours a season my motor does maybe 20 hrs, obviously a 1000hr old motor is worth a lot less than a 100hr use motor just in wear and tear.

I think my motor maybe had about 10 to 15 hrs this season if that as my duties as Commodore of the Yacht Club kept me reasonably land based with little time for my own water based fun.

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 7:44 am
by GreatBarrierReef
I've just recently compared several options, and whilst Club Marine, Nautilus and a few others looked OK, we decided to go with Pantaenius.

We chose to insure for the purchase price, not "market value" which could be almost anything, especially considering some of the practices that insurance companies are known for. Whilst we don't have experience with claims and we hope it stays that way, we found Pantaenius very good to deal with, and the policy seemed reasonable and fair. I also hope that I can say the same in the future.

Be careful reading and comparing the PDS and policy wording, I was surprised to see big differences, and some were excluding lots of things, incl. the mast. Hopefully this helps you or someone with an :idea: what to look for + I look forward to tips from others.

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:44 am
by OverEasy
Hi Berber Boy

Insurance companies here in the States vary a lot on what they “accept” for boat valuations and what they actually payout for a total loss. Once a boat gets a decade old it’s sort of a perceived value sort of thing as depreciation tables for vehicles (boats) generally have expired. If you undervalue your boat they don’t care much as it minimizes their payout. If you overvalue your boat then they can come back at you and decide what they’ll pay based on “median valuation of like kind”. That means basically any 26 foot sailboat for sale in the past 12 months low to high and take the proportional arthritic mean of the sale prices. So a lot of unkept dirty crappy boats can dominate the valuation even if you have a sparkling professional quality vessel lovingly cared for since day one.

There are a couple of ways around that for catastrophic loss:
1) Clean and tidy your vessel like the ‘white gloved mother-in-law” is coming over for an inspection. Then take lots of good flattering pictures of your vessel showing off all her good points. Print and keep these in a handy envelope should you ever have a claim.
2) The original bill of sale copy and any repairs and equipment purchases for the vessel including electronics statements/ receipts should also be in the envelope.
3) An accurate ships log (as mentioned previously documenting use is also a good thing.
4) If you can, in a separate envelope keep a running list and documentation (photos, ads, etc.) of boats similar to yours in quality of upkeep. It may span years but it is more representative record of valuation than the proportional mean valuation.

5) There are appraisal companies out that can (for a fee) provide objective valuations and documentation package. This is one of the least contested by the insurance companies should you ever have a catastrophic loss.

The liability’s aspect is more of a requirements of the Marina operator to berth/store/dock your vessel within the facility and how much you feel comfortable with paying out of pocket. Mistakes happen and sometimes that can damage other peoples vessels as Sunshinecoasting mentioned. Generally professional Marina operators like Safe Harbor can provide a valid operational experience basis to determine the minimum coverage you should be considering in that environment.

Theft and damage coverage is generally a threshold or deductible issue. So again it’s a personal comfort level for out-of-pocket losses.

Actually, I’ve realistically generally found that insurance costs are a bargain compared to the alternatives. Here in the States most reputable insurance companies will offer substantial discounts to “bundle” your house(s) & car(s)and boat(s) coverage and have the excess liability coverage apply at no extra charge. Do the Australian insurance companies offer that sort of thing?

8) 8) 🐩

Re: Australian Marine Insurance Query

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:24 am
by Barberry
gabrielled wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:53 amI remember when I bought my first boat, I got so nervous about insurance. It was a lot easier with a car.
After all, cars are a very big industry and insurance is something that every driver uses. As you know, the greater the demand, the greater the supply, that is why there are so many types of insurance. When I decided to buy my own boat, I had no idea how much I'd have to worry about insurance. There are too many subtleties to know, and I don't think I could have done it without the forums where they gave me advice. And when I bought the car, it was very easy to insure it. I contacted car.co.uk, earlier it was they who had arranged a car loan for me.