I doubt it.

RACQ won't do it and won't do over 10 m. Same with APIA.

When you are not using the yacht it must be in a marina or on land.

If you are on a budget as most of us are it seems the only way to economically own a yacht in Queensland is to live aboard.

Same problem in NSW. Nautilus won't insure anything on a swing mooring. They said it was a commercial decision because of the number of claims filed for boats on swing moorings. I tried to convince them to distinguish between mooring minder or once a year fireworks viewing platform and people who use and maintain their boats but no good.
Club marine and Trident have given quotes but require a survey which will cost about $800 + slipping before I pay for insurance. I'd rather spend the money on the boat. The surveyor I've organised says business is booming but you would have to think there are a lot of un insured boats out there

try racq , fell out with trident when there premiums become to high . 1400 compared with racq quote of 750 first year . 3 years on now paying 900 . but no claims yet. boat is 11.25 mtrs

Insurance company's need a kick in the pants. Really they will insure you if your a no risk to them, like flood insurance if you live on a hill.
Picking and choosing customers to suit the bottom line is not very fair, I vote a flat rate across the board with an increase in excess for repeat claims.

Club Marine covered my boat on a swing mooring after Nautilus changed their stance.

You need to look at what the insurers will actually cover. I researched this a couple of years ago and found that they only cover incidents when you hit something or something hits you. If you lose your rig you won't be covered unless you hit something, even if it was new the day before the loss.

In 8 years owning MB I have paid about $9000 in premiums. I am seriously considering whether it is value for money. Even if my boat was hit it is unlikely that the damage would be over $5000.

I agree with Ramona's view that to own a boat means you need to be able to accept its loss. 3rd party coverage is on the radar for the next renewal.

MorningBird said..

I agree with Ramona's view that to own a boat means you need to be able to accept its loss. 3rd party coverage is on the radar for the next renewal.

That is where we are at.

lorri said..

I am not worried about the loss of my boat, more the damage bill it could have if it broke free of its mooring in a storm and hit someone's million dollar boat! Some of these insurance mobs wont even do third party, then where will we be?
cheers Lorri

I have trouble finding Third Party insurance, after Suncorp dropped liability insurance for swing moorings. Suncorp owns GIO and Apia, and the Suncorp CSO advised they would not also not cover swing moorings.

Could not find 3rd party from Nautilus or Club Marine for swing mooring in NSW.
Its a free market, and you cannot blame any business for changing policies towards what they believe will increase profits. That's the game.

My main reason for seeking 3rd party is to be able to use boatyards for slipping, and possibly stay overnight at marinas. Seems all of those I checked in Pittwater would not slip without 3rd party.

Since this has been a recent policy change by many insurers, it may be that market forces will bring new providers into the game. After all, insurance premiums is calculated carefully to cover claims plus business costs and profits. But it may take a year or two.

I would be happy to take up a specialised 3rd party insurance that only covers when I'm actually at a marina or boatyard. That would really reduce the risks to the insurer.

Via "hearsay" I heard there was a business in Auckland, New Zealand, that would do 3rd party for Aust boats. Apparently some international boats arriving in Opua take out from them when arriving in NZ in order to visit marinas.

It seems that there are many and varied experiences out there. Even from the same insurer. I have had my boat insured with Club Marine for many years now and she has been on a swing mooring all the time. This thread has made me want to go back and double check the wording of the cover but I am fairly certain that the policy provides cover for the boat whilst on the mooring.

A couple of years back we had the issue of the mast and rigging not being covered because it had been in place for a longer period than their threshold allowed for. The standing rigging was due for replacement anyway and once that was done and I showed the insurer evidence of this they amended the policy to cover this also. I have a feeling the time period on this is 7 years which is probably on the conservative side.

Every two or three years (can't remember which) they request a survey because the boat is 'of a certain age'. The local shipwright fills out a fairly straight forward tick n flick form that I send to the insurer and they seem happy with that.

I suspect that some of the factors that account for the differences in people's experiences may be related to factors such as the length of time the insurer has held the cover on the boat and the critical one of the location. My boat is on Lake Macquarie which I imagine is deemed to be a fairly low risk mooring.