Dinghy Insurance on the Internet

by Sail-World/GJN on 29 Jun 2006 Together with call centres the Internet has become an essential pillar of the modern marketing strategy.

In the same way they both promise cost savings and information on tap but due to poor technology implementation and cost cutting, often fail to live up to the hype.

And in the micro-world of marine insurance - and more especially, dinghy insurance - this holds true. If you Google 'dinghy insurance' you will be presented with about 253,000 pages! Fortunately the most realistic links make the opening pages.

Headed by a link to Noble Marine, followed by one to Newton Crum and then Zurich. Now with these three on the first page you can really ignore the other 252,999 pages except for one - Craftinsure, a pure on-line company that has prospered since the dot.com boom.

In the side bar of paid-for-links, you will see a surprising lack of dinghy insurance links, they are mostly car and home insurance. The few that do cover dinghies, often claim to search the web for the cheapest price, but as they all seem to fall back on your filling in an applications form for one of the three main players, you might just as well cut to the chase.

The main difference between the various websites, apart from cost, is the ease of actually getting a quote for your boat and completing the deal on-line. Companies differ widely in the amount of information they require to be entered before they will present a price, and how far they go in maximizing the Internet experience. Some of the bigger marine insurers require you to wade through forms designed for large one-off craft, when all you want is to cover the kids Oppi.

My experience with one such website involved completing three pages of questions requiring to know class, material, where registered, length, beam, number of engines, type, horsepower, mooring location etc. And then sending me back to complete 'max speed with this engine' despite already having indicated no engines! Followed by a further 20 plus personal questions.

Apparently just indicating Enterprise or Solo did not supply sufficient information to prepare a quote.

Fortunately there are some websites out there that do provide competitive dinghy insurance from basic information and this can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes.

First with Newtoncrum.com:

A basic typeset website, no money wasted on fancy graphics, straight to a list of insured types. Clicking dinghy insurance produces a list of the main dinghy classes, which omits anything too radical - International 14 any RS with a trapeze, 49er, 505 etc.

Choosing your boat type here produces a Premium Table for the Insurance Group (1 to 8) of the boat, giving you all the prices and what you get for your money. The system presents basic third party insurance through three levels of cover each priced and itemised. You complete the usual personal and boat details and indicate the type of insurance required.

Now this is where Newton Crum has taken the penny-plain a bit too far. You have to print out the form, write a cheque and send it all to them. Not horrendous but not a true on-line experience (and yes I do know some prefer this method because of security worries).

Let’s try NobleMarine.co.uk:

Bit of style about the opening page with straightforward menu choice. Dinghy Insurance takes you to a statement of the quote process and a Summery of cover, again covering all the main points.

The usual form, which has a drop down list of dinghy classes, this time including the more extreme types - 49er, all the RS etc. By choosing a class and entering a value you get an instant quote and excess value - very neat.

Once you have the required quote you can complete the minimal personal and boat details, and after a check, move to a secure area to complete your credit card details. Your Certificate is sent by email to you for printing. All in all a nice experience.

Next to the Zurich group who supply dinghy insurance through their Navigator and General offshoot.

Straight forward website, choosing the Smallcraft section gets you a simple form which presents a drop-down list of the vast majority of UK classes. But even although the RS800 is included, after completing the remainder of the form (thankfully short) they reject cover on the grounds of 'dinghy performance'. Even removing the club-racing requirement fails to change the database mindset!

Trying something with less 'dinghy performance' gets a quick on-line quote (with a 10% discount if you remove the racing requirement). After this the usual personal details are entered and your credit card details to complete the transaction. Except for the wasted time for boats listed but not covered a straightforward experience.

Lastly a company that claims to be of the Internet - Craftinsure.com

'The craftinsure.com insurance policy sets new standards of plain English and is customised to your particular type of boat. It is not a complex wording trying to cover eventualities for all types of boat from narrow boats to racing yachts. It contains coverage details relevant to your type of boating only.'

So, select your boat type, give it a value, answer a couple of questions and your quote is presented - a choice of two different excess values and an option for monthly payments - very straight forward.

You can save the quote to return later if you wish. Selecting the quote takes you to a secure server area for personal and boat details and payment options. And yes, Craftinsure will cover such dinghies as the RS800, 505 but not the I14 or 49er.

Your policy and details are all held on-line and can be accessed whenever you require.

I did try one other, the Nationwide Marine website but only for one token quote (but it was competitive) because it wanted just too much unnecessary information, one of which was a box to tick if you require the quote in any other form than the standard snail mail - In fact the quote turned up next day, the email never did!

So much for the investigation, how do the quotes vary?

Class	Optimist	Ex	RS Feva XL	Ex	Solo	Ex	RS800	Ex	Laser SB3	Ex
Value	£3000		£5000		£6000		£6000		£15000
Company
Craftinsure	47	50	103	50	119	50	270	100	412	300
Newtoncrum	40	35	78	55	90	55	N/A		N/A
Noblemarine	58	25	98	45	110	45	320	100	449	250
Navigator & General	63	35	94	50	128	50	N/A	X	N/A	X
Nationwidemarine.com	X	X	X	X	121	45	X	X	X	X
Norwich

From the table you can see that at the cheap end a Feva XL varies from £78 to £103 a £25 saving. The RS800 range is £270 to £320 giving a £50 saving.

But it’s not all about price. It is important to carefully read the small print to ensure that the type of cover provided matches your use of the boat. Sails and Carbon masts seem to a particular area where cover differs. There can be an additional cost for carbon mast cover and the limitations on new for old cover on sails and spars is area to check carefully.

Remember that loose bits, foils sails etc should be marked with the boats sail number and/or your postcode. And some companies do not cover any loose gear (sails, foils) left in the boat.

Newton Crum, whilst coming out well in the initial quotes, have a whole list of opt outs – including Solos with Proctor C masts, older Ents and GPs and over twenty areas and clubs where your boat will not be covered.

One thing you will not know until it happens is how your company will deal with your claim. It can be worth having a look at some of the forums to gauge the experience of others in this area.

Typical Summary of cover:

New for Old Cover – For spars and sails if damaged beyond repair irrespective of age.
Full Racing Risk Cover – Without deduction for spars and sails apart from the policy excess.
Comprehensive All Year Round Cover – On inland and coastal waters of the UK, including transit risks.
Continental Europe extension – Up to a maximum of 30 days.
Third Party Liability - £3,000,000 - Excluding third party risks while being towed by a motor vehicle. (Usually covered by your Motor Insurance policy).
Legal Fees Protection – Optional at an additional premium.
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) – All premiums quoted include Insurance Premium Tax at the current rate.

Web Links:
www.Newtoncrum.com
www.NobleMarine.co.uk
www.navandgen.co.uk
www.Craftinsure.com
www.Natio