Marine insurance, going naked.

[olaf hart]

Looking at a smallish 24' glass sailboat for the wife to play with, something she can sail singlehand and get more confident with her boat handling skills.

Nice little boat, easy outboard, safe and fun to sail.

We have our own mooring and plenty of places to anchor, not thinking of racing, cost is low and probably will inspect it but no formal survey. Can afford to write it off if anything happens.

For the first time I am seriously considering going without insurance. I have rung around a few insurers and they all want comprehensive, not liability coverage. They have a range of pretty ludicrous conditions to insure a moored boat. Interestingly, no problems insuring her current boat which is a sports sailboat on a trailer, the problem seems to be boats older than 15 years on a mooring.

We live in Australia, so not quite as litigious as the US. Anyone out there going without any insurance? Am I missing anything?

[hafa]

Originally Posted by olaf hart

Anyone out there going without any insurance? Am I missing anything?

Other than perhaps Lloyd's at 6 figures per year, it's not possible to purchase insurance here for a pleasure craft, so we do without. If the boat is worth little, there's little to lose for yourself, but if there was any chance of getting liability insurance for even a marginally reasonable rate, I'd go for it.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by olaf hart

Looking at a smallish 24' glass sailboat for the wife to play with, something she can sail singlehand and get more confident with her boat handling skills.

Nice little boat, easy outboard, safe and fun to sail.

We have our own mooring and plenty of places to anchor, not thinking of racing, cost is low and probably will inspect it but no formal survey. Can afford to write it off if anything happens.

For the first time I am seriously considering going without insurance. I have rung around a few insurers and they all want comprehensive, not liability coverage. They have a range of pretty ludicrous conditions to insure a moored boat. Interestingly, no problems insuring her current boat which is a sports sailboat on a trailer, the problem seems to be boats older than 15 years on a mooring.

We live in Australia, so not quite as litigious as the US. Anyone out there going without any insurance? Am I missing anything?

Personally I would not consider no liability insurance, there are insurers out there who will provide liability only. Perhaps a little more searching is required.
You could ask the same question on the seabreeze forum, I seem to recall something on there about this.
Cheers

[Bean Counter]

Try NRMA

[olaf hart]

Originally Posted by Bean Counter

Try NRMA

I tried my state version who insure the sportsboat, they would only insure moored boats less than 15 years old, comprehensive only.

I will give NRMA a go, thanks.

[Fore and Aft]

Most slipways that I work at require at least liability insurance before they will slip your boat.
Have you tried YOUI or Elders, a survey should only cost around $480 around Hervey Bay/Tin Can Bay Area and is good for five years with most insurers.
I know what you are saying about not being insured. Small yachts with fixed keels can end up costing more than their purchase price by the time you slip, maintain and insure them.
Cheers

[Fore and Aft]

Most slipways that I work at require at least liability insurance before they will slip your boat.
Have you tried YOUI or Elders, a survey should only cost around $480 around Hervey Bay/Tin Can Bay Area and is good for five years with most insurers.
I know what you are saying about not being insured. Small yachts with fixed keels can end up costing more than their purchase price by the time you slip, maintain and insure them.
Cheers

[rwidman]

"Anyone out there going without any insurance?"

Of course there are people going without insurance. Fools, mostly, but also irresponsible people with no assets to lose. That's why the rest of us have to pay for uninsured boater coverage.

If you own anything of value; home, car, savings account, IRA, etc., you could see it all disappear if this boat causes damage to someone else or their property.

I find it hard to believe that you can't buy liability insurance on that boat. Start with the company that insures your home. If that doesn't work, find an independent insurance agent and talk to him/her.

Someone, somewhere is willing to insure the boat.

[MarkSF]

The main worry around here is clean up costs if you cause a spill. Just having the boat sink at a mooring could trigger a response with booms etc, followed by an expensive salvage operation.

[DeborahLee]

Have you checked with your home owners ins.? I had a 23 ft sail and they covered up to 26 ft with less than 10 hp. That's where the 9.9 came in. All with no added cost.

[newhaul]

Ask around your local marina I'm sure that people will be happy to help you with getting insurance for the boat.
Sorry I can't recommend more than that im on the other side of the planet insurance is real easy to get here.
And as others have said its not worth the risk to not have liability insurance at a minimum.

[roland stockham]

Just read the post below about a surprising LACK of prep going on for boats in the path of Irma. A link occures to me. Are many people so used to being 'covered by the insurence' that they don't see it as their resposibility to be prepared for things. Not saying insurance is abad thing just speculating that if you wear asbestos gloves how do you learn not to put your hand in the fire!

[inchcailloch]

You lose your yacht worth $20 or 30,000, maybe a risk worth taking. But crash into a $5m luxury yacht or even a $50,000 liveaboard who has little money, have a gas explosion in a marine taking with you a few yachts, a couple of peoples lives and a few hundred thousand dollars of property belonging to the marina? Through no fault of your own it breaks its mooring and damages a few yachts. A couple of hundred dollars a year on insurance well worth it just for peace of mind.

[Cheechako]

I wouldnt worry about insurance in the US. Not sure about Aus. In the US your auto insurance company will usually cover a boat like that for liability and very little $.

[Locquatious]

We have had the current boat for 35 years and never had insurance except when in charter. If there is damage we absorb the cost. If we cause damage, we pay or offer to pay. The insurance costs would have far exceeded the cost of buying a new boat.

This year, one yard we used for years started enforcing liability insurance. We became aware they are owned by a holding company which owns an insurance company with a liability insurance product. Follow the money! Another yard required liability insurance but offered an alternative of purchasing tie-down screws and straps. We opted for the more positive protection of the tie-downs. Since we are in the BVI's, we'll judge the wisdom of our decision today.

Too many times, especially in today's political morass, we ignore preventative measures and opt for insurance. The insurance expenses spiral up as waste, in the end with nothing gained. But the preventative measures reduce overall expense and reduce waste.