Topic: Marine Insurance

Although Alyssa’s belongings were stolen from her boat, there was no evidence of forced, violent entry, as required by the policy wording, allowing the insurer to decline the claim

When Geena’s boat sank, she expected her loss to be covered by insurance and was surprised when her insurer said the loss was caused by wear and tear

Edwin took his jet ski to an amateur repairer, who disappeared with the jet ski a few months later. Edwin made a claim with his insurer, but his claim was declined. His insurer said his policy did not cover theft by a person to whom Edwin gave his jet ski. Was the insurer acting reasonably?

Bryan complained about his insurance broker’s communications and behaviour in helping him with a marine insurance claim. Can Bryan complain to FSCL about his broker terminating their relationship, or bringing disrepute to the insurance profession?

Edwyna’s insurer paid to repair some leaks in her boat. A few months later, she discovered the boat was still leaking, but the insurer was refusing to pay for more repairs. What could Edwyna do?

Bryan was an experienced mariner and he formed a view early on about how his yacht had been damaged. But did the insurer have to accept his view without question?

During a charter fishing trip, water gets into the motor on Bill’s boat, causing damage. Bill submits a claim to his insurer for the costs of repairing his boat, but the insurer declines the claim because in its view, the loss was caused by the boat having a ‘design flaw’.

The fridge on Darryl’s boat stopped working. On closer inspection Darryl found that all the boat’s electrical components are damaged and the inverter has failed. An electrical inspector thinks the inverter failed because of a power surge from the mains power supply while the boat was charging at the dock. Will Darryl’s insurance respond?

In March 2015 Josh contacted FSCL about a complaint against his boat insurer. Josh’s claim to cover damage to his outboard motor due to overheating was declined by Sail Away, but Josh did not agree with the reasons the claim was declined.

Catherine’s boat motor stopped working. She made a claim for the motor to be repaired. However, Catherine’s insurance company declined the claim because it considered that the cause of damage to her motor was caused by wear and tear and not covered under the policy.