Insurance

[JonD]

What have people been able to claim for and what's been knocked back ?

Ive been with club marine for around 25 years and though Ive had a few things which I thought would be covered, none have actually ever been able to claim on. I often hear of people claiming on all kinds of things and wonder how they seem to manage this as with mine its always knocked back.

 My reason is is that while filming my daughter on Xmas morning she hit a wave that flung me out of the boat. I lost my script glasses, GoPro, flooded my phone and remote car keys no longer work. According to club marine only personal items are covered, which I would of considered these to of been. Yes my clothes are covered if I have receipts for over the $500 excess!!! but my clothes are fine after a wash. 

Ive lost very expensive camera gear in the past while passing it to my daughter when she was about to film marlin, again not covered. Ive had a 4 blade stainless prop, sounder and heaps of tackle stolen from one of my boats in the past and again not covered because the boat wasn't in a locked storage unit, It was on my property. Do people remove every item from their boats, including radios and fish finders etc every time they are not with the boat ? if so where do you keep this stuff if you are on holiday. 

When I got my policy book, the first 4-5 pages stated these things were covered but the next hundred or so pages explained why they aren't covered.

Anyone recommend a decent honest insurer that will cover loss or damage ? Ive paid around $20000 in boat insurance and never had a successful claim.  

[dunc333]

if ,items you listed are not personal items what the f---k are then .time for a new insurer Jon try nrma

[kingie chaser]

1 hour ago, JonD said:

My reason is is that while filming my daughter on Xmas morning she hit a wave that flung me out of the boat. I lost my script glasses, GoPro, flooded my phone and remote car keys no longer work. 

Wow, thats scary!

Hope your ok?

 

I guess it really pay's to look at the PDS.

I have an NRMA policy & what your suggesting in your goods lost is not covered in the standard policy, only the items associated with the boat.

 

However it is possible to cover additional items but even then they will not cover certain items like phones, computers, camera's & other things stated in the PDS.

 

Have a look at this NRMA PDS on pages 10, 11, 30 & 31.

https://www.nrma.com.au/sites/nrma/files/nrma/policy_booklets/boat_pds_0620_all.pdf

 

Its sounds like most insurers will not cover the loss of these items?

 

Edited December 29, 2020 by kingie chaser

[JonD]

6 hours ago, kingie chaser said:

Wow, thats scary!

Hope your ok?

 

I guess it really pay's to look at the PDS.

I have an NRMA policy & what your suggesting in your goods lost is not covered in the standard policy, only the items associated with the boat.

 

However it is possible to cover additional items but even then they will not cover certain items like phones, computers, camera's & other things stated in the PDS.

 

Have a look at this NRMA PDS on pages 10, 11, 30 & 31.

https://www.nrma.com.au/sites/nrma/files/nrma/policy_booklets/boat_pds_0620_all.pdf

 

Its sounds like most insurers will not cover the loss of these items?

 

Haha, yes could of been scary given I partly went under the boat. I was trying to film her while sitting up front, first wave bounced me onto the anchor post tailbone first and the second wave flipped me out. It has given the family a very good laugh!!! but we've certainly learnt from it!!!

[Mullatt]

8 hours ago, JonD said:

What have people been able to claim for and what's been knocked back ?

Ive been with club marine for around 25 years and though Ive had a few things which I thought would be covered, none have actually ever been able to claim on. I often hear of people claiming on all kinds of things and wonder how they seem to manage this as with mine its always knocked back.

 My reason is is that while filming my daughter on Xmas morning she hit a wave that flung me out of the boat. I lost my script glasses, GoPro, flooded my phone and remote car keys no longer work. According to club marine only personal items are covered, which I would of considered these to of been. Yes my clothes are covered if I have receipts for over the $500 excess!!! but my clothes are fine after a wash. 

Ive lost very expensive camera gear in the past while passing it to my daughter when she was about to film marlin, again not covered. Ive had a 4 blade stainless prop, sounder and heaps of tackle stolen from one of my boats in the past and again not covered because the boat wasn't in a locked storage unit, It was on my property. Do people remove every item from their boats, including radios and fish finders etc every time they are not with the boat ? if so where do you keep this stuff if you are on holiday. 

When I got my policy book, the first 4-5 pages stated these things were covered but the next hundred or so pages explained why they aren't covered.

Anyone recommend a decent honest insurer that will cover loss or damage ? Ive paid around $20000 in boat insurance and never had a successful claim.  

Unfortunately mate I cant recommend a decent honest insurer, purely because I don't honestly believe they actually exist. I have been insuring houses, cars, boats, caravans etc etc for around 50 years and have learnt over the years exactly what you have experienced....you can delve into the policy docs as much as you like and think you have it all sorted and then as soon as you have a claim that may be a little out of the ordinary you find out the the real truth...that's not covered

Good luck finding one and I would love to hear that someone has steered you in the right direction.

[zmk1962]

Sad to hear Jon... but glad you personally came out ok under the circumstances.

I was with NRMA for many years, then Club Marine were a better choice for a few years as they understood boats - but they started to be a real pain regarding Agreed Value and when I called found the staff changed so I could not speak to anyone that understood boats any more - so I switched back to NRMA and have not looked back since. I have had successful claims regarding custom overall boat covers (storm damage) etc. but have not had a reason to claim items such as the ones you have mentioned.  AS KC said, I don't think a lot of the personal effects stuff makes it into the boat policy, but from memory there are options to insure personal effects under options in the home insurance policies. 

Maybe some one like Baz ( @Berleyguts) would have a better insight.

Cheers Zoran

[big Neil]

Jon. Sad to say that they don't exist any longer. Insurance companies used to work on a system of "pay your premium, we'll pay your claim". This no longer exists, I suspect because honest people have been usurped by dishonest people. Many people making scurrilous claims has seen the insurance industry adopt a different ethos. "Pay your premium and we will treat you like you're a criminal trying to rip us off". Now you have to PROVE that you took all possible steps to prevent the loss...something which is impossible to do.

Sounds like I have an axe to grind, but simply stating the truth.

bn

[whiskey299]

My fishing friend has had 2 claims knocked back by club marine and he swears to never use them again.

This was his advice to me when looking into insurance.

"For what it’s worth, I had two boats insured with Club Marine. My experience wasn’t positive in that I had two claims, one for each boat, that were both rejected on “technicalities”. I found they did everything to reject the claims and showed no leniency or good faith. I wouldn’t insure with them again. Obviously up to you but they’re very flashy and good at marketing but poor when it comes to paying out. I don’t think I’m alone in that thought process but again up to you."

"Having worked for an insurer, they employ and reward people for ensuring their claim payouts are kept to a minimum. Not all are as aggressive though and most recognise that there needs to be some payout. As an example, in my claim number 2, they managed to take apart a pipe leading from an engine that had been regularly maintained and found the tiniest bit of corrosion that again could not be seen by the naked eye and claimed they wouldn’t pay out as there’s an exclusion for “rust and corrosion”. So despite having an annual detailed service program that specifically flushed out the engines with anti-corrosive additives they still managed to find a way to reject the claim - and it was for $28k. And to give balance, the first claim on the other boat was for $5k so it’s not a matter of $$$ - they just don’t payout. I would suggest whoever you insure with just make sure you read the exclusions very carefully and make sure you can mitigate each one before taking out a policy. As a tip, your home and contents insurer may cover your fishing equipment as a “special personal effect” and also cover those items while in use (similar to bike insurance) as long as you’re not a professional."

[Billmack]

I claimed through Club Marine a couple of years ago, damage to the hull due to skipper stupidity (me). Seamless process. 

JonD, I understand your pain, but for insurance companies to include the types of items you lost on all insurance policies, this stuff would be falling overboard every day, and policy premiums would be exorbitant. 

[Rebel]

Sorry about the bad news.

Who ever you choose, read the fine print. Insurance companies are updating there deals all the time. It has been a rough year for them, with Bushfires etc. They are trying to claim back all the money they can. I have two vehicles insured. I have just received the renewal, while the value has gone down the payments have gone up over 3%. They are about to receive a phone call.

Good luck JonD.

[Berleyguts]

On 12/29/2020 at 8:30 PM, zmk1962 said:

Sad to hear Jon... but glad you personally came out ok under the circumstances.

I was with NRMA for many years, then Club Marine were a better choice for a few years as they understood boats - but they started to be a real pain regarding Agreed Value and when I called found the staff changed so I could not speak to anyone that understood boats any more - so I switched back to NRMA and have not looked back since. I have had successful claims regarding custom overall boat covers (storm damage) etc. but have not had a reason to claim items such as the ones you have mentioned.  AS KC said, I don't think a lot of the personal effects stuff makes it into the boat policy, but from memory there are options to insure personal effects under options in the home insurance policies. 

Maybe some one like Baz ( @Berleyguts) would have a better insight.

Cheers Zoran

I’ve never had to make a claim on my boat insurance, touch wood. Plenty of car insurance claims and 4 in 4 years on my home building policy, one due to burst pipes and 3 to storm events. NRMA has been pretty good to deal with, following up regularly to make sure the contractors completed the work to satisfaction. I’m pretty sure personal effects like cameras etc. are covered under your home contents policy up to a certain value but significant items like professional cameras etc. would need to be listed.

[Fab1]

On 12/31/2020 at 1:01 PM, Rebel said:

Sorry about the bad news.

Who ever you choose, read the fine print. Insurance companies are updating there deals all the time. It has been a rough year for them, with Bushfires etc. They are trying to claim back all the money they can. I have two vehicles insured. I have just received the renewal, while the value has gone down the payments have gone up over 3%. They are about to receive a phone call.

Good luck JonD.

Don't feel sorry for insurance companies having to pay out "Every now and again mate" .Thet are all leeches on society just like banks and like banks make millions if not billions of dollars from fools like us.

  They are quick to expect premium payments from their members but when it's time to pay up god help us.

[Rebel]

@Fab1  AMEN.