Insurance

[Sombrero]

Sombrero on insurance.
Insurance is just what the word means. I have had various boats insured over the last forty years. My previous philosophy was that I should insure my boat against total loss, so that in the event of such a disaster I could get another and continue with my passion. Now I am of the imression,that, you get what you pay for and that, if it means a survey, you get a survey. There is no such thing as cheap insurance. Go with the reputable insurers with the hope that they will stand by you in the event of disaster.
However, let me provide an example. When my brother was dismasted in his 197K 37 footer I changed my viewpoint. His catastrophy was caused by failure of a cap shroud letting go at the turnbuckle at the deck. The result being the mast snapped at the lower spreaders, a torn headsail a torn mainsail, a very damaged mast in two pieces, bent boom, the furler wrecked and some damage to the pushpit and deck and cabin top. fortunately he and his two grown sons were able to tie the lot along side and limp in under power to their home port of Hastings.
That was a year ago and then the insurance drama started. The Insurance company, (a reputable one) wanted to splice his mast, repair his boom, sails, repair the damaged furler and replace only the broken shroud. My brother was faced with adecision which took along time to effect. New mast, new running rigging and halyards, new furler and new panels in the torn sails, new rigging screws and the list goes on. And so did the time to negotiate and repair. Also he had to pick up a bill for 18K over and above what the insurer was prepared to pay.
While all this was going on and I was telling him that if it happens again, just cut it all free and push it all over the side. I have since learned that this is not a good idea when it comes to insurance payouts, they might just choose to pay out the market value and keep the boat. My brother tells me that it has happened.
All of the above has forced me to change my view on things. I estimate that all of the stuff above the deck of Somrero might cost in the vicinity of 10k, and therefore I am happy to be with N.M paying their premium trusting that, if, when I am next racing in a 40-50 kt squall as I was recently, and the whole thing goes peashaped, my insurers will stand by me.
SOMBRERO. H1421 John. S

[Sombrero]

Re insurance: by Sombrero: Chapter 2
Further to my last post, I was talking to my brother about the fact that I had used his loss of his mast as an example of how insurers deal with claims. He is a lawyer, but he admits to having filed his new policy in the drawer marked YIP (Yacht Insurance Policy) without reading its contents, satisfied that it had been paid and he was insured for another year. I too have been guilty of this oversight.
His advice following the experience of his claim and being faced with additional costs, was that his insurer, a well known one did not apply a "new for old" policy. In fact it was quite the reverse. They applied a "depreciation factor", making an adjustment for the age of the damaged mast and other items. Thus he was faced with two problems, he had to incurr the depreciation loss and the improvements that were made at the same time. He did expect to pay for the upgrade while the whole job was being done, but the depreciation factor came as a bit of a surprise. In his case it involved a lot of dollars.
He did not have a lot of advice on how to avoid the problem except for the need for dealing with reputable companies and being aware of the fine print of the policy, reminding me of the term, "you get what you pay for"!
This is probably a good time to suggest spending top dollar for a reputable surveyor and giving more thought to the relative value of the various aspects of the total package being insured. one problably needs to take account for inflation too. We all know that the cost of the policy inflates from one year to the next, but, do we account for the inflation involving our maintenance and replacement of our beloved toys?
Regards, "Sombrero" H1421 John.S

[robf]

Hi all

Nautilus Marine cost around $430 per year for $17 000 sum insured. They too gave me 12 months to get a survey at the end of last year - survey cost $275 by Newport Marine Services but they could not verify the rigging's integrity. Got a rigger to have a look and since I have not had the rigging done in the last 10 years he too was not prepared to OK the rigging. He checked the stays using a magnet - strongly magnetic = probable corrosion inside the wires.

Nautilus Marine were happy with the out of water survey (needs to be out of water to check for osmosis) despite a few minor issues - but it seems that a 10 year lifespan for rigging is all they'll take.

Good sailing all

Rob
Isabella II

[hugh]

Hi,
I've got our wooden mk0 insured with Tudor Insurance http://www.tudorinsurance.com.au. No survey required. They're underwritten by QBE. They were recommended to me by the Wooden Boat Association. I found them by far the cheapest and easiest to deal with.

cheers
Hugh.