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Liveaboard Insurance


Sean & Coral

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Hi All,

 

I'm in the process of finding a quote for the insurance on our soon to be liveaboard and have hit a couple of stumbling blocks I wasn't aware of. A couple of companies I have phoned have offered what seem like good deals on the actual boat side of things, covering for all usual instances etc; however when I got around to the subject of insuring our personal belongings I was informed that they are not able to insure me as we will be living aboard!

 

So - before I start really phoning around and combing the internet for 'quick quotes'; how and who with have the liveaboards amongst us sorted out their insurance? I've had a quote from a well known company of nearly £600 to cover the boat and belongings, but I'm hoping to be able to find a cheaper deal?

 

Appreciate some advice.....again!!!! :help:

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Since I've got nothing really of value on our boat (though we are liveaboards - I'm just poor!) I don't have contents insurance - but have you tried looking for a standalone contents policy with another provider?

 

A little Google-ing and I found this company:

 

http://www.merciamarine.co.uk/boat_contents-insurance.aspx

 

Great idea novascotianboy; it'll certainly be worth a look...thank you! :cheers:

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Hi All,

 

I'm in the process of finding a quote for the insurance on our soon to be liveaboard and have hit a couple of stumbling blocks I wasn't aware of. A couple of companies I have phoned have offered what seem like good deals on the actual boat side of things, covering for all usual instances etc; however when I got around to the subject of insuring our personal belongings I was informed that they are not able to insure me as we will be living aboard!

 

So - before I start really phoning around and combing the internet for 'quick quotes'; how and who with have the liveaboards amongst us sorted out their insurance? I've had a quote from a well known company of nearly £600 to cover the boat and belongings, but I'm hoping to be able to find a cheaper deal?

 

Appreciate some advice.....again!!!! :help:

 

 

Euromarine.

 

Tim

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I can't understand why they will not give you contents.

I am insured with Collidge & Partners and it costs me £275 p/y with full contents insurance inc bike up to £500 and laptop.

I liveaboard and CC a 70 footer. The fee actually went down when I declared my CC status to them.

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I would think it best to deal with companies who specialise in boats and liveabords rather than trying to get "contents" from a general insurer. Insurance companies inevitably charge a high premium if they are outside their comfort zone.

We have used Towergate Mardon for a number of years and they do pay out when required! Insurance is due next week so we are getting approached by several companies (we must have revealed our details to a bad broker at sometime in the past!), all are more expensive than Towergate. This suggests that Towergate do not exploit existing customers which is a good thing!

 

........Dave

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Have just been doing a bit of research on the same subject and are on the brink of going with Collidge & Partners. Good to hear others have a reasonable opinion of them.

 

Although in the end we decided against insuring contents with anyone as quite frankly we don't own much of value aside from a couple of items which are better covered in a separate policy anyway. The boat itself is the thing we can't afford to replace and can't live without!

 

I think the addition of 10k of contents added about £120 to the policy for the year as we had a quote with and without.

 

Hope this helps

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Euromarine.

 

Tim

 

Hi Tim

 

Yeah we've been offered the best deal by them as well.

 

They insured us back in 2005 and 2006 and gave us a NCD on those 2 years, we were still on their records as a client. Extremely fair I thought for 90k cover 10k of which is for personal stuff and all for under £350 pa

 

We will have to undergo a valuation though and the boat is probably worth less, I just put forward high figures as a worse case scenario, oh and transport and cranage on to the water is also included in that quote.

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We are with Collidge & Partners.

Hull insurance is competitive with any of the other major companies we checked.

As far as contents are concerned, they charge £10 for every £1000 worth of goods covered, eg £20,000 value of contents add £200 to premium.

 

Their standard policies do not cover bikes nicked or damaged while away from the boat but for another £45 per bike they will cover this up to a value of £750.

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I would second Collidge and Partners. Just got my insurance with them and they were as competitive as anyone else when it came to insuring the hull but the contents insurance they offered seemed much better than anyone else. I'm pretty sure with mine, I'm insured for personal items up to 20% of the total contents both on and off the boat for all the usual... they'll also give you 15% discount if you've done a helmsman's course, which I'm sure becomes inconsequential as you build up the no claims - but good to know if your thinking of doing one anyway. Good luck with the inevitable online form filling! :)

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I'm with Collidge & Partners. They added the single-handing clause to the policy for no extra fee and were very competitive on price and were great to deal with. They require the premium up-front (they don't offer monthly repayments) but considering the cost, I was happy to pay this.

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Hi Tim

 

Yeah we've been offered the best deal by them as well.

 

They insured us back in 2005 and 2006 and gave us a NCD on those 2 years, we were still on their records as a client. Extremely fair I thought for 90k cover 10k of which is for personal stuff and all for under £350 pa

 

We will have to undergo a valuation though and the boat is probably worth less, I just put forward high figures as a worse case scenario, oh and transport and cranage on to the water is also included in that quote.

 

Hi Old Bean

 

We have been with them for years and years, I have no idea if they are competative but I aint shifting. I know from a rellies personal experience that they pay out no quibble. Incidentaly one of my cars is insured with SAGA and I aint moving that either, they are more expensive than most by about 20 per cent in my case but the cover is oodles better than the next best. I never have and never will shop around for cheap insurance. Lets face it if ya save say fifty quid on an insurance policy its less than a pound a week and not worth risking if the you know what hits the fan. :cheers:

 

Tim

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Thanks guys; as ever food for thought! It's a necessary evil is insurance......... :angry:

I would also endorse Navigators and General. Great cover, free RCR retainer cover, and they handled my recent claim very well. Part of Zurich Insurance so a big company but Nav & Gen offer great personal service

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  • 2 weeks later...

Were were with Navigators and General for four years. Very competitive prices and they tailored a policy to suit our needs. No liveaboard cover on the policy we had though.

 

This year we got a quote from Velos Marine, a broker who offered deals to Sealine Forum members. Got a better policy for a cheaper price but still covered by Navigators and General. And on the list of extra benefits was liveaboard cover. For a full EU, off shore, coastal and inland waterways policy we are currently paying £160 with added benefits like no excess to pay if the boat is damaged on a marina berth, liveaboard cover, ski toys cover, protected no claims, breakdown cover, get you home cover for if the boat is damaged whilst away from its home berth, etc...

 

Oh and our excess went from £150 to £100 as well. :cheers:

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Craftinsure

 

I'm with Craftinsure too, with personal contents is up to £3,000 which is enough for me, but this is limited to any single item up to the value of £250. They are aware that I'm a liveaboard and this seems to make no difference to them. I think they're of the view that it actually reduces their risk over winter.

 

The only quibble that I've had with them is that for some reason they wouldn't cover my laptop, even though it's only worth a couple of hundred quid. The excess I would have to pay on any claim is £300.

 

Hi Tim

 

Yeah we've been offered the best deal by them as well.

 

They insured us back in 2005 and 2006 and gave us a NCD on those 2 years, we were still on their records as a client. Extremely fair I thought for 90k cover 10k of which is for personal stuff and all for under £350 pa

 

We will have to undergo a valuation though and the boat is probably worth less, I just put forward high figures as a worse case scenario, oh and transport and cranage on to the water is also included in that quote.

 

Why do you have to have a valuation on your boat? Who pays for it? Presumably this will require the services of a surveyor?

Edited by blackrose
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I'm with Craftinsure too, with personal contents is up to £3,000 which is enough for me, but this is limited to any single item up to the value of £250. They are aware that I'm a liveaboard and this seems to make no difference to them. I think they're of the view that it actually reduces their risk over winter.

 

The only quibble that I've had with them is that for some reason they wouldn't cover my laptop, even though it's only worth a couple of hundred quid. The excess I would have to pay on any claim is £300.

 

 

 

Why do you have to have a valuation on your boat? Who pays for it? Presumably this will require the services of a surveyor?

 

The quote is based on the 90k cover as stated inc 10k personal, the boat would require valuation though and that insured price set. the boat will probable be valued much less then 90k as in realiy it's 9 years old so hopefully the premium will come down even more, having said that I reckon £250 is a bargain. I will c heck he small print though, I'm unsure as to any limitations there might be like your laptop.

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