Monday 10 April 2017

Insurance quandary

Jubilee's boat insurance is due for renewal in a few days and I am unsure of the best thing to do. We have been with EIS (Euromarine) for the last five years and have been very happy with them, but we have had a quote from a rival for considerably less. The difference is probably because EIS is insuring the boat on an "agreed value" basis, whereas the competitor is quoting on a "market value" cover. EIS is able to insure the boat for the price we paid for it as we haven't had it valued since then. As I understand it, this becomes relevant only in the event of a total loss, through fire or sinking, for example.

Is it worth paying an extra 30% to be "sure"* of getting the full payout in this very unlikely scenario? We're talking £40 per year. I have to decide by the end of the week.

I suppose all insurance is like this.

*Reading through the list of exclusions in the policy I don't think you can be sure of anything. The list of get-out clauses is vast.

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Indeed. Which is why I have never put my trust in any insurance and always buy the least I possibly can - in the case of the boat, sufficient third party and salvage to get a licence. It costs my £70 and I don't have to get a survey. I could pay more (and pay for a survey too) for more cover but it wouldn't give me any extra peace of mind as I know they'd get out of paying if they could.

KevinTOO said...

Halfie you are quite correct, there are far too many 'get out' clauses in insurance cover, whatever the item being covered.
However, if I could get 'agreed price' cover for my car I would certainly pay the extra premium. My little banger cost £8.5k to buy and will not cost any less to replace in a total loss event. Will my insurer pay out that much, well obviously not so I am envious of your current cover ;)

Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah said...


Sarah11 April 2017 at 20:29
My big banger cost £200 to buy and would be around five times that to replace which no insurer is ever going to swallow. Although ironically I have fully comp on the car as it was cheaper. (Deleted and reposted thanks to overenthusiastic autocorrect!)