Hi all
I have just received a email from Trident Insurance saying that due to a change in their underwriting guidelines they will not renew the insurance on my boat when it expires in September
This is their wording in the email
"To be more specific, this decision is due to the combination of the age of your vessel and the storage method, which now falls outside our underwriting guidelines."
It was built in 1983 and is on a swing mooring
Does anyone know what this is about and any recommendation for a alternate insurance company who will insurance a boat on a swing mooring
Regards Don
Unfortunately it appears like a 25 year or older craft on a swing mooring falls outside of their guidelines. An insurance survey might be required for any underwriter from here but swing mooring might be a real problem.
Don, a whole lot of Tasmanians are in for a shock.
It will be the swing mooring.
But then you overlook the mooring from the house don't you.
Nautlius cover me when the boat is on the mooring and I am in the house but otherwise it is off to the marina.
I suspect this a response nationally to the storms in Sydney last March where about 300 boats went up on the beaches.
Hi Frant
It actually has happened at not a bad time because my current policy expires on the 11th of September and i have a booking to slip her on the 9th of September so if i need to get a survey carried out for another insurance company (assuming i can find one that will insure her) she will be already up
I will call them tomorrow and see what the story is
Regards Don
Select to expand quotelydia said..
Don, a whole lot of Tasmanians are in for a shock.
It will be the swing mooring.
But then you overlook the mooring from the house don't you.
Nautlius cover me when the boat is on the mooring and I am in the house but otherwise it is off to the marina.
I suspect this a response nationally to the storms in Sydney last March where about 300 boats went up on the beaches.
Hi Lydia
Yes i suspect it will be the mooring as i believe some other company's have the same rules
The thing that annoys me is that the mooring is lifted and inspected each year and we look out on our boat (and the others in the bay) and a few other sailors with boats in the bay do as well so if anything looks suspect (in the daytime at least) someone will normally see it and either go out to it or let the owner know
I had a guy do some work on mine one day while i was at work and i got a phone call at work from one of the locals saying that someone was on my boat and i told him it was ok as i had arranged it
I then got a call from the guy working on my boat saying he was there (i told him i already knew as i had received a phone call) and he said that the person who's boat is moored next to mine (a different person to the one that called me) had asked him what was he doing on mine as well so it is a pretty good place to live
I think the risk on the swing mooring is probably less than if it was in the marina with people able to walk on to the boat and the risk of someone running into it while berthing or me hitting someone else while coming or going 
and the Marina in Devonport didn't fare to well in the recent floods when it broke away taking the boats with it
Trident had a $1500 excess if it was damaged while on the mooring which i was prepared to pay but it looks like now i will need to find another insurer
Regards Don
Select to expand quotetwodogs1969 said..
Club marine
Thanks twodogs
I will give them a call tomorrow
Regards Don
Club Marine sent me the exact same letter two years ago. And I had a pen. When I rang them to query the decision, I even offered to accept a higher premium just to gauge reaction. They refused, and said it was policy due to the age of the boat and it was no longer viable for them.
I swapped to Nautilus, and continue to do so with the new boat
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..
Club Marine sent me the exact same letter two years ago. And I had a pen. When I rang them to query the decision, I even offered to accept a higher premium just to gauge reaction. They refused, and said it was policy due to the age of the boat and it was no longer viable for them.
I swapped to Nautilus, and continue to do so with the new boat
Hi Shaggy
It is disappointing that they can just make a decision based on the age of the boat
I would imagine that most people who have older boats and sail them often would maintain them to a safe standard
If it is a age issue you would think that they would ask for a survey to be carried out to ascertain the condition of the boat
Did they explain to you why it was no longer viable for them to insure the boat based on the age ?
Regards Don
Hi Don,
They did explain that it was not a personal issue, which was good as I'd never had a claim, but more of a decision based on criteria, and wouldn't elaborate further. Got the distinct impression that it was commercial, that the age, size and value was not worth it.
I told Nautilus this was the reason I was seeking a new cover when I rang them, as I was worried there was some black mark on Sonatas, but no, they had no issues at all, they asked for a copy of the letter as they had an increase in new calls all of a sudden and didn't know why.
Im with club marine 1986 boat had to have it surveyed for first year. Rig has to be under I think 10 years. My boat is on a swing mooring and they have not even asked for a mooring survey. Nautilus would not insure swing mooring. Peatunis (spelt wrong ) will cover as I looked at changing they required both mooring and vessel survey. In a previous thread I think some are using Youi.
I had the same issue with GIO 2 years ago. Even though they had a copy of a recent survey, it appeared it was the swing mooring that was the problem. Moved to Club Marine with a fresh survey and no problems. But I was already a customer with my sailing dinghy, so not sure if that helped.
My policy has racing cover and the boat is used most weeks, but I doubt they check on things like that. She turned 40 this year, so age of the boat is unlikely to be your problem. Club Marine have a policy that minimum insurance is $1000 a foot.
The rigging was replaced last week, so hopefully that will keep them happy for another 10 years.
One of the boat owners near me has started a group with all the contact details of the boats around us. I don't live near my boat, but he lives just up the hill and has a good view of us all.
Hi Don I have always had our Wooden yachts insured with Tudor insurance. Can not speak highly enough of there service. David Cooper is contact there.
Cheers
Adam
Clubmarine told me they wouldnt insure my 35ft Martzcraft anymore after they had for years unless it had a survey. No phone calls to check details just a computerized fob off.
What a pathetic way of showing loyalty to its customer base.
That caused me to ask around and I went to YOUI. Re-insured it in 5 minutes on the phone and CHEAPER.
Any claim that Clubmarine make to look after the boating community is rubbish!!
Yes donk107 you have my sympathies. I used Trident for years (and never made a claim) but discovered they were extremely shonky. I strongly recommend that anyone currently using Trident look immediately elsewhere for their insurance needs and then terminate their insurance with Trident asap. My yacht gets stored in a marina so I'm afraid I cannot help out with swing mooring issues.
Select to expand quoteTrek said..
Clubmarine told me they wouldnt insure my 35ft Martzcraft anymore after they had for years unless it had a survey. No phone calls to check details just a computerized fob off.
What a pathetic way of showing loyalty to its customer base.
That caused me to ask around and I went to YOUI. Re-insured it in 5 minutes on the phone and CHEAPER.
Any claim that Clubmarine make to look after the boating community is rubbish!!
Hi, can't agree more strongly, club marine insured a boat that dragged its mooring in a storm damaging my boat, I managed to get the other vessel unhooked from the bow of mine but couldn't hold it so made numerous calls to maritime and police who rescued it just before it hit the wharf or seawall at sans souci .
Other party claimed on their club marine policy and so did I claim against them for the damage done to my boat.
The response was, not allowed because of the policy wording, regardless of any efforts made by me to mitigate further damage increasing their liability.
To add insult they then referred me to someone else, a phone that was never answered and messages never responded to.
The end result, suck it up sunshine, fix your own problem.
Clubmarine ? NEVER!!!
I have our Top Hat insured with NRMA. When we took out the policy they wanted an in-water survey only. It includes rigging, and public liability, but not racing. So far the policy is competitive, but I'm not totally certain they'll be any better at honoring claims than any other insurer.
In the end, it is a gambling game for them. They'll all take your policy money for as long as the odds stack in their favour. As soon as there's a few claims on older boats dragging moorings, they'll clamp down on them.
Hi all
Thanks for all the feedback
Called Trident today and they confirmed that they would no longer insure her
I then called a local insurance broker, explained the situation and within a couple of hours they came back to me with a quote from QBE
The broker said that a new survey was not required for the policy (i have asked him to double check on this because i have already spoken to a surveyor as i assumed whoever i insured with would require one and i am going to slip her anyway) and coverage for Yacht Club social races up to a 25nm course using a spinnaker so for the couple of races a year around the bay i do on her that will cover me
Looks like it is all sorted
Regards Don
you can do your insurance with or with out rigging and masts also perhaps your old insurance company may have done this
Probably knew that any way
Select to expand quoteHG02 said..
you can do your insurance with or with out rigging and masts also perhaps your old insurance company may have done this
Probably knew that any way
Hi HG
When i bought her 3 years ago i had a rigger do a inspection and submitted that to the insurance company but i am not 100% sure if it was covered or not
He didn't find any obvious problems at the time but i am not sure when it was last replaced
Everything on it seems fairly beefy compared to other similar length boats i see locally so hopefully the mast will not fall over at ant time in the future
Regards Don
