Bush ‘n Beach has brought Nautilus Marine Insurance on board to expand the fine print and provide readers with clear, easy-to-understand and helpful tips on protecting their boating assets with boat insurance.
The scenario
You used to run a Garmin 126 GPS so you could navigate to your favourite offshore fishing spots, but you’ve since upgraded to a Garmin GPSMAP 7410. And you used to own a Lowrance X85 sonar on your boat, but now it’s a Furuno FCV-588 with Rezboost. So where do you now sit with your insurance? nautilus marine insurance
The answer
Very comfortably if you’re with a specialist marine insurer such as Nautilus Marine Insurance and you’ve contacted the insurer to advise of the upgrades. When you add equipment such as an electronics upgrade running into thousands of dollars, it is important to immediately advise your marine insurer. That way the insurer can manage a ‘variation of equipment’ note to your insurance policy and make any necessary adjustments to the value of property covered.
If you fail to notify your insurer of the changes, you will probably run into difficulties if things ever go pear-shaped and you wish to lodge a claim. It’s a simple exercise these days to make that variation. Ordinarily, you would just make a phone call or send an email noting your policy number and details of the new equipment purchased and installed. nautilus marine insurance
Providing evidence of the purchase, such as a sales and/or installation invoice will help to ensure there are no misunderstandings about the model and value of the new equipment installed. Your insurer might progress the amendment over the phone and then send a confirmation note, or you may be sent a variation form to fill in. Irrespective of how it is managed, always ensure you have confirmation of you having advised your insurer of the changes and that the insurer has confirmed those changes in writing.
Years ago, people buying a boat for fishing used to think in terms of boat, motor and trailer as the key components and therefore, the key items to insure. Today, it very frequently is boat, motor, trailer and electronics. And when you think of electronics, don’t forget to include the mapping card sitting in the SD slot of your GPS plotter. nautilus marine insurance
Similarly, it is not uncommon these days for a recreational fishing boat to have two or more transducers. Remember to include them all when advising your insurer of the upgrade you have made. As with all insurance policies, always check your product disclosure document and if you have a query, ask for clarification.
If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements.
