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Wooden narrowboat insurance


Jrtm

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I already have insurance but after being moored near to somewhere that had a fire near our boat. Luckly while on it so had thw opportunity to move asap after calling 999.

My wife is now going on at me about getting more cover were going on dock in oct so will be the best opp to get and survay done my issue is its a wooden boat so its not as simple as slap a plate over it and job done.

 

Is there any insurance out there that would deal with e.g. 3rd party and fire cover? Full insurance is a bit pointless to me as the engine gearbox ect wouldnt be covered. I have no gas just a back cabin fire rest not fitted out. And the hold has a bed and loo.

 

As im sure i cant aford all the items that are on the survay as were currently concentrating on water line and just above the rest wont make me sink. Its more the fire side of things as no items are left on the boat apart from tea and a cheap bed cover.

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Not having fully comprehensive insurance for a historical boat is insane. You cant go out to a dealer and just buy a replacement can you? I have always used Micheal Stimpson and found the charges very reasonable.

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I have always used Micheal Stimpson and found the charges very reasonable.

Have you used MS/ Towergate Mardon recently, with no problem? There has been a takeover/merger and the new regime has become "difficult" in my experience. Renewals ok for those with current surveys, perhaps a different story where a survey has expired or about to. I understand also that there was a major change in insurance law within the last 18months relating to declarations to the disadvantage of the insurance co's , too complicated for this mere mortal to comprehend fully, sufficient to say that old canal boats are no longer regarded as good safe business. Interested to know others' *recent* experiences.

Bill

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Not having fully comprehensive insurance for a historical boat is insane. You cant go out to a dealer and just buy a replacement can you? I have always used Micheal Stimpson and found the charges very reasonable.

When you have a wooden boat that needs some work i ant going to get a signed off survey. Unless you replace every plank. Hence my question. Its being docked soon so am looking at sorting a survey out we saw the last one and wouldnt have got insurance fully comp. Hence why im asking i dont know how easy it will be to get a signed off survey right now.

 

+ with a historic boat what are you going to steal from it + most insurance wont cover a vintage engine or gearbox they will cover accidental damage but if you using your boat that your going to damage something your doing something wrong + if you call your insurance and say yes i need a new cabin it got hit on a bridge there not exactly going to pay out.

 

Can you tell me something on a historic boat thats only got a traditional cabin apart from the range what your exactly going to steal?? Everything elts is either really rare or has serial numbers on so not exactly easy to just sell on. As a quick call to the police and if that item ever got found you can just call them up and then arrange to collect it and the new owners cant do anything if you have the proof.

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"Can you tell me something on a historic boat thats only got a traditional cabin apart from the range what your exactly going to steal?? Everything elts is either really rare or has serial numbers on so not exactly easy to just sell on. As a quick call to the police and if that item ever got found you can just call them up and then arrange to collect it and the new owners cant do anything if you have the proof"

 

Having only ever owned traditional working boats through my boating years I can say there is plenty to steal.

Bilge pump, Chimneys, tool kits, batteries, personal items, spare parts, ropes, mooring pins, shafts and the list goes on.

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Im not on here to decide what cant cant be stolen. Im after advise on how to get better insurance and what i need to do as i have a wooden boat that needs some work some will be done but not all is there anything that insurance look at as as far as a hull servey goes it would prob end up with a bigger list than in 2015 dispite just above the water line and below being sound? I have a valid bsc and that will be new next month.

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If its a case of have some work done and pay for a survey and from it an insurance say it just wont be covered for accidentally dammage and damage if it sinks fine (it wont sink its no where near its fairly sound just a few odd bit that its booked for) but then i can cope with that but if its a case they want all very slightly rotten or planks replacing where a scarf joint above the water line has gone then there is no chance.

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Just had request for survey 9 months after survey and subsequent investigation resulted in 9000 worth of new bottom.. Will not insure boat without new survey... Trying to appeal to company for common sense given we were proactive and had the work done a year before their 5 year cycle requested it.

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Have you used MS/ Towergate Mardon recently, with no problem? There has been a takeover/merger and the new regime has become "difficult" in my experience. Renewals ok for those with current surveys, perhaps a different story where a survey has expired or about to. I understand also that there was a major change in insurance law within the last 18months relating to declarations to the disadvantage of the insurance co's , too complicated for this mere mortal to comprehend fully, sufficient to say that old canal boats are no longer regarded as good safe business. Interested to know others' *recent* experiences.

Bill

 

I can only speak from my experience, but I have not had great difficulties with Towergate.

 

Flamingo was put on full cover with them on the basis of somebody else's survey, and I believe I can use that for the normal duration they allow before resurveying is required.

 

Sickle, on the other hand, was surveyed last Autumn, and work found to be necessary, but which it has not been possible for anyone to do until now. My previous insurer would only then cover it strictly third party, whereas Towergate under Michael Stimpson have been prepared to put it under full cover with an exclusion that says that if anything happens that can be attributed to the specific points picked up by the survey then they are not covered. This seems to be a very good compromise by them, and is frankly far more cover than I expected to get.

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We were due a survey for Towergate before renewal this year, so we had one done last year, which identified some hull work needed doing. We got the work done, and sent the survey report along with invoices for the work and the insurance was renewed without any problem.

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My issue is i can get a survay done but there is no way in hell i can do all the work in one hit.

Were looking at having 3 bottoms 2 new planks and all re corking and pitching around and bellow the water line and the hole boat blacking. But i know the servey will pick up on 3 scarf joints that are currently filled in with wood then patched to make sure it cant fall out a top bend plank thats rotted near the cratch and was cutout and again filled with wood and patched and a top back end plank thats got a knot in the wood that started to open up that we have had filled with tar. So i know the servey is going to show these extras that i have no intention of doing yet as there not going to cause an issue for a few years till i then next dock and will replace them.

 

Hence why i didnt know if you could get insurance that would cover fire if a survey says the risk of internal fire e.g. the back stove was very low.

I am insured i just didnt know how easy it was to get it upgraded.

 

I didnt know if they just do 3rd party and then fully or if there was indervidual agreements between that like i said would cover againts fire from arson but not from internal e.g stove. Or water damage to stuff unless is was coz it sank

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Insurance is a scam. End of. And just another reason I don't now own a boat.

 

Mind you, it's almost as bad when insuring classic cars.

You are quite right. I pay £90 a year for my car to sit on the drive and not aloud to move just incase it gets stolen.

 

I also pay silly money to keep a car on the drive 5 days a week when i bike to work.

 

I do beleive boat insurance is very sim find any way not to pay or take forever in doing so but kick and scream if you are 1/2 a second late with a payment

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I can only speak from my experience, but I have not had great difficulties with Towergate.

 

I would agree. Four years ago I was faced with the need for a full out of water hull survey. Hitherto such a survey was required every twenty years, so it came as a bit of a surprise to find I had only a few weeks to organise the survey which is now required every six years.

A call to Michael Stimpson at Towergate soon sorted things out. Provided I sent a letter from my surveyor stating he knew my boat and could vouch for its condition, I was able to postpone the hull survey for two years when the boat was due for its next blacking.

 

I'm not sure why the rules changed. I think it has something to do with the demands of the underwriters and, as such, outside Towergate's control.

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I believe that the six year term for survey validity relates to staying within the seven year Statute of Limitations.

 

With Towergate you are advised to check that they have given you another six years before the next survey is due. I have had repeated problems getting the correct repeat date for surveys done in November prior to insurance renewal the following February.

 

The requirement for a first survey seems to vary from boat age of 20 to 30 years.

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Generally the requirement is for a recent survey with all the Surveyors recommendations complied with.

The art therefore is reccomendation management. Get the surveyor to recommenod a programme of works that you can undertake in a specified timescale and which he is professionally happy with. .

 

Not a wooden boat expert but from your list I might have started with the bottoms and caulking immediately followed by the planks and then the scarf joints. The top bends etc will keep longer, unless you need to shift 30 ton of DS nuts somrwhere.

 

Summary-find a friendly surveyor who will manage the insurers expectations.

 

N

Edited by BEngo
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Clypeus isn't wooden, but I'm also insured with Towergate and have had no problems with them. They were happy with my pre-purchase survey (which signed off the hull as in good nick) and just asked me for blacking. Surveyor identified a bunch of things, some of which needed fixing urgently, but the insurers didn't care as they were all in the living cabin.

 

It sounds from your description like a reasonable and friendly surveyor would sort this situation out.

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That why didnt know the solution. Ill have to do some phoning to towergate.

I can get most done but beeing wooden ill never get a fully clean hull ever

 

There are thousands of wooden boats insured everywhere, they range from large off shore craft to small river boats. Your statement doesn't ring true, there are specialist insurance firms that can and will take you on, may cost a bit more but then wooden boats are expensive to own.

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