Page 57 - BNB Fishing mag | May 2020

BOATING OATING
Insights into boat insurance
That way, the owner has the boat fully repaired – perhaps even by the original boat manufacturer if the company offers this service.
The owner is now back in a 6m boat without being trapped in the gulf be- tween the payout figure and the now-un- affordable cost of buying a new replace- ment.
Being a specialist, Nautilus Marine Insurance understands the industry, its participants and the realities of the way it operates.
www.bnb shing.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2020 – Page 57
In the past, Nautilus has even negotiat- ed directly with manufacturers on behalf * continued P58
& marine
Ensuring your insurance policy is up to scratch
For the past six years, the owner has taken his rig back to the authorised marine dealership from where the boat was bought, and requested a formal valuation.
pay out the $80,000 to the owner as the agreed value. However, had the owner not continued to provide evidence of the real, current value of the rig, some policies would default from the ‘agreed sum insured’ to the ‘market value’ of the vessel.
The owner’s boat does not get fixed and he or she knows a new replacement boat cannot be afforded. The owner is in a financial hole. Even more so, if the owner had allowed the boat to lapse into general ‘market value’ rather than its immaculate ‘agreed value’.
And with that possibly comes a solu- tion. It may consider the boat to be an acceptable economic repair even if the repair bill represents 80 percent of agreed value depending on the type of repair required and the salvage value.
Every year the owner has provided the dealership’s documentation to the in- surer, as evidence confirming the boat’s
Consequently, the payout figure might
S
vessel write-offs and considering what is and what is not, ‘damage beyond eco- nomic repair’.
outstanding condition and its true value. And every year, the marine insurer has accepted $80,000 as the agreed value of that boat having regard to how the owner
drop significantly – perhaps to $60,000. Bear in mind that eight years later, the real replacement cost for a new boat might now be very much higher than the original $85,000 purchase price.
pecialist marine insurers such as Nautilus Marine Insurance are the ones to be with when it comes to
Why? Because specialist marine insur- ers know the value of boats and equally as importantly, they know today’s costs of replacing them. That’s a critical factor for the boat owner.
has kept it in immaculate condition. Now let’s assume that during the term of the policy, something very untoward happens to the boat – it is stolen, or terminally damaged. Let’s also assume that the circumstance is clearly covered in the product disclosure document and
This time let’s assume the boat was severely damaged in an accident. A non-specialist marine insurer might be inclined to write the loss off, if the estimated repair costs amounted to 70 percent of the market value.
Consider this hypothetical scenario – eight years ago a person bought a new, brand name, 6m powerboat, motor, trail- er and electronics package for $85,000.
insurance contract.
The insurer therefore is prepared to
The insured would still get the entitled amount of the payout, but would now miss out on having a 6m boat because the insurer determined it to be damaged beyond economic repair.
The dealership has confirmed in writ- ing, every year, that the boat package has a current market value of $80,000.
And in this circumstance, the payout figure would be based on a typical val- ue for a boat of that model and vintage and how it typically had been used and looked after.
However, a specialist like Nautilus Ma- rine Insurance, which is focused on boat insurance rather than trying to insure your house, pets, health and household effects, is well aware of the issue likely to be confronting the boat owner.
Any advice contained in this article is of a general nature only and may not apply or be right for you as it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any advice provided in this article, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.