Boat insurance advice

[simonpp82]

Hey people just after some advice on insuring my boat. After doing some research on several forums including this one i narrowed my choices down to NRMA and Club Marine. Now the issue is that NRMA offers agreed value and Club Marine doesn't. NRMA will offer agreed value from the get go without any evaluation and will happily insure my bmt and electronics for $34000 with a premium of $601 and excess of $500. On the other hand Club Marine know boating, and offer extras like the coverage of fishing gear etc on the boat which is good to know. They were also cheaper at $418 with an excess of $200. Now the dilema is i like Club marine but they said they can only go on agreed value with a written evaluation, otherwise it will be insured on market value. How important is this? And is it worth getting a written evaluation done in order to get the club marine insurance at agreed value? Any help would be much appreciated - Simon

[Heath]

very important! if they say your BMT package in todays market is worth squat, then you'll get squat! Agreed value is for piece of mind that should you claim, at least you'll get close to what the boat is worth.

[Hell Boy]

Out of interest, as I'm in the same position as simon regarding insurance for my boat, who can give you a written evaluation for agreed value that insurance companies would accept?

Cheers,

Bryn

[ozscott]

Simon - just be careful mate with 'agreed value' - oils aint always oils.

Some so called agreed value policies say that they pay out agreed value or market value which is the lesser...just pay very close attention to the proposed policy wording.

Cheers

[mull dog]

Dudes seriously check out RACQ (no cash for comment here). in my expeience they are brilliant. not sure on how their premiums and excess prices compare to others but their service to me was fantastic. cost is around $500 pa for premium and the excess on my $1000 claim was $100. this is for a $50000 boat

[Marlin_Mike]

I used to be with club marine. bewdy, a free magazine every month or so in the mail.

then i checked my renewal bill. i was paying 30 bucks a year for the "free" magazine. I changed to CGU they are great.

Mike

[ozscott]

I am with RACQ - always have been but never made a boat claim. I have all my stuff with them....I have acted over the years for many different insurers - including RACQ - in a legal capacity...

It is how an insurer handles claims and its general attitude to genuine claims and genuine people that is often the most critical thing (forget a few dollars premium difference between insurers also...at claim time is when you will thank youself for choosing wisely grasshopper)

Cheers

[cormorant]

One boat is with GIO and the premium has risen $520 to 600 when it came in the mail yesterday. I will be querying the rise and may have to look elsehere but won't change until I have read full policy. There goes a few nights.

As a young bloke Club marine wern't interested in me so I won't give em business now as a matter of principal.

Have read horror stories with every insurer and much of it comes down to people not knowing their policy. Tak ethe time now to go through the policy document and highlight the key points and compare. Have a chat to insurance brokers local to you and drop in to see a marine repairer or 2 and see who actually has a local assesor they think is fair as some take forever to actually assess stuff and the fly in blokes are sometimes less than fair.

[ozscott]

Cormorant makes good points

[cormorant]

I should add

in my experience and allegedly as insurers have long arms and big ears!!! Ha ha

Watch your renewals each year and look for amended clauses as insurers gravitate to the lowest common denominator. They treat each new year as a new policy so relying on a 3 year old policy document ( the last one you read ) won't stand up in court

Not sure if they still are obliged to point out every change as now they treat each year as a new document which sux.

If doing off the net make sure you are reading current document and it is the same that they actually mail out as they change versions and add in a scrap of paper with an amendment or print on back of application and it becomes part of document- also sux

Does anyone know a insurance broker who specialises in marine insurance and can actually support small and medium boat owners as it is one hell of an assett that can go belly up with wrong policy whe shit hits the fan.

[gybrid]

Hey All,

My boat is insured with Club Marine, only chose them because they were competitive and friendly, happy so far...

Also, with the magazine costing $30/yr I had the option to opt out and not spend pay for it which is cool with me.

Jase

[shrunken pojie]

Just a word to the wise. If you are going through RACQ, you need to describe you hull as being in "good" condition, they require an inspection if you say it is in "fair" condition.

[simonpp82]

Thanks for the replies guys and alot of great points.. I guess the main point being have a good read and a full understanding of the different policies. Nothing i hate more then reading all the paperwork and fine print but in the end ill be better off for it i guess. Keep the replies coming!

[Zooter]

Im with N.R.M.A myself, also have everything else with them, car , home etc!

Remember they will want to split up the Hull, Trailer, Motor in the policy,

Personnally i put a most of it on the motor and enough on the trailer to buy a newy if it got stolen,

I cant really see someone stealing my hull and leaving my motor behind, But i could see it the other way around.

Good luck with it mate!!

[DAVE_S]

Out of interest, as I'm in the same position as simon regarding insurance for my boat, who can give you a written evaluation for agreed value that insurance companies would accept?

Cheers,

Bryn

You will need to ask the insurance company that you are planning to go with .
Iam with club marine, the boat is 2 years old they give you 2 years at agreed value after that it goes on market value .
But if i supply a valuation from 1 of there authorised marine agents i can insure it for agreed value . Got a price from who they recommended and was told $150.00 .