How to compare jet ski insurance
It’s not hard to find the right insurance if you know what you are looking for and compare wisely. Here are some things you need to keep in mind when comparing.
What level of cover do you need?
At the very least, you should have enough cover to help pay for any medical bills or property claims that you could end up owing to others. Otherwise, one mistake could cost you tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Beyond that, you need to decide whether it is worth insuring your jet ski. If it’s brand new, or you have a loan out on it, it’s probably worth taking out a higher level of cover like third-party fire and theft or comprehensive. On the other hand, if the jet ski is a few years old and already paid off, you might decide it’s worth the risk to leave it uninsured.
How much will you insure the jet ski for?
When you insure a depreciating asset like a jet ski, you have the choice to insure it for an agreed value or the market value. Say your jet ski cost $10,000 brand new and you immediately insure it for market value. A year later, it will be worth significantly less, and if it gets destroyed, you’ll only receive that lesser amount.
But if you insure it for an agreed value and can get the insurer to agree it’s worth $10,000, you’ll get the full $10,000 even if the jet ski has gone down in value.
How much public liability do you need?
Public liability is the section of your policy that covers damages and injuries to others. Since the sky’s the limit for how much damage one person could do, most policies will offer $5-$10 million worth of cover. It makes sense to have several million dollars in protection: just imagine if you have to cover someone’s hospital and rehab fees for the rest of their life.
If you race your jet ski or take people waterboarding or water skiing, you’ll need to have the racing or watersports add-ons because standard cover usually won’t cover you for those activities – even on comprehensive policies.
What exclusions does the policy have?
Make sure you look over your insurer’s exclusions as described earlier in the article. Most exclusions are fairly similar across the board, but there may be minor differences between insurers that could end up making a huge impact. For example, some insurers may allow any licensed driver to operate the jet ski with your permission, while others may require you to have each driver listed on your policy.
I have been with my insurer since I bought my JetSki in 2018, but I just got an email advising that they are no longer providing pwc insurance and that this other insurance is taking the insurance and that will contact myself to welcome.
I haven’t got any communication from the new insurer but the charge my account for the monthly directly from my account.
Previous insurer had direct debit account to take the monthly insurance charge.
I am bind to continue with this agreement or can I rejected and look for another option myself and save on the price of the insurance.
What I need to do to get out from this agreement legally?
Hi Jose, We can’t provide personal advice so you’ll need to contact your insurer directly to discuss your policy. Generally in Australia, insurance policies can be ended without penalty so you should be able to move to a different insurer quite easily, however you’ll need to confirm with your insurer.