UK Insurance Co Shenanigans...

[Belliure 50]

More of a Rant (and possibly a positive one) than anything else, but it may be helpful to others in the EU with a UK flagged vessel.


Since Brexit, it seems that UK based insurers are having a hard time deciding how they're going to operate, be that as a result of things changing as a result of Brexit, or just Risk limitation opportunities as a result is a different question.


A little background info. Our boat is moored in Spain, it has UK SSR reg, It is owned by a UK based company, the Company is owned by myself and the Missus, myself and the Missus live in Switzerland. Simple, right?


We changed insurance Company last year based on recommedations from several trusted friends who are using the same insurer. It was a no brainer choice, lower premiums and a significantly better reputation than our current insurer at the time. The above background info was made abundantly clear and there was no issue. I wont say who the Ins Co is at this time (if you wanna know DM me), as they may be watching....


Last month I get an email stating that due to new Risk limitaion practices and new regulations they can no longer insure us as Me and the Missus dont Reside in the UK.


I immediately responded with a very politely worded WTF? reply, asking exactly how does where we reside constitute higher risk? I also reminded them of the great lengths and cost we went through to demonstrate the vessels integrity and seaworthyness as per their requirements and to their satisfaction.


I received an automatic Out of Office response, the Lady agent had sent me the email and then gone on vacation.


Fast forward to 2 days ago. The Lady agent had read my email, seen some merit to it and raised it to the Companies legal department. She called me 2 days ago and said that if we can prove the UK registered ltd Co that owns our boat has a UK bank Acc, then all is good and we can maintain our insurance with them.
Simple as that.

How a UK Bank Acc makes a difference is anyones guess, but I wont argue about it if it sorts things out.


Makes you wonder though, under random rules, regs, or policies are they are actually operating under? Had I not challenged it we'd be back on the Insurance for an older boat Merry-go-round and the stress that comes with it.

Still awaiting confirmation, but if or when it comes, itll be the first time Ive seen an Insurer act in the interest of the insured. That would be a nice change!

[Shrew]

I get it. I've never lived in the same place as our boats. I live 1,200 miles from my boat 6 months of the year. For the last handful of years, my address was 1200 miles from my wife's address. And neither were where the boat lived.

But I can see it from their point of view as well. The boat is flagged in UK and owned by a UK company, however it lives in Spain and the LLC principal's live is Switzerland. At best it looks like you're running a charter. At worst it looks like you are an absentee owner with a semi abandoned boat that nobody is looking after.

I have a piece of property where I don't legally reside and I'm not in 6 months of the year. My insurance wants a caretaker who will be actively monitoring the property. Their concern is, what happens if the asset has a problem and there is nobody there to catch it before significant damage occurs?

The UK insurance is looking for a legitimate tie between the UK LLC, the UK flagged boat,and the UK based insurance. It sounds like they're throwing you a line with this loophole. I'd take it.

[Tupaia]

Results of implementation of KYC (know your customer) regulations being applied by all financial institutions including insurance companies in UK, EU, USA, APAC and others. An attempt by big brother to prevent fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. It puts the onus on the institution to vet customers and is a PIA for honest customers who don't fit in the appropriate tick boxes, whereas baddies will be well prepared with any relevant false information. By convincing the insurance company that you are genuine you allow them to tick the right boxes getting them off the hook. The new world order.

[SailingHarmonie]

It actually DOES matter.

If you, and the holding company, and the boat have no connection with the UK at all, they are worried that they will have to be subject to the laws and insurance regulations of Switzerland, or wherever the boat happens to be, and not the laws and regulations of the UK.

It is not that the laws of the UK are better or worse than those of Switzerland, or Spain, or wherever. It is just another complexity they did not calculate when figuring risks and costs. Rather than have a whole legal department researching the laws of 100 plus countries around the world, it is far simpler to just say you need an anchor down in the UK so we can have a known jurisdiction for rules we have to follow in administering the policy

This is pretty common in many policies. Based on your version of things, they do seem to have fallen down and not notice the issue in the first place, but what they are asking for is not nefarious, weird or out of the ordinary.