Insurance . Why i will use no one else other than Edward William

[Fish Finder]

Hi Guys  just a few words about the excellent standard of service we have had from our insurer. Edward William

We run the small tackle shop on Womack Staithe  at Ludham . On the night of Wednesday 18th/Thursday 19th of March we were broken into and the thieves took all the rods reels and blister packed terminal tackle from the shop destroying the door  the till and taking the rod stands too. We called the police and informed the insurer who requested an inventory of missing stock. Over the weekend we compiled the list of stock and submitted it to the insurer this morning. Within the hour my wife received a cheque for the amount stolen. NOW THAT is service . I would highly recommend Edward William Insurance to anyone considering changing their insurer. The rates were competitive and the no quibble service with fulfilment inside 24 hours has taken away all our worries about our ability to replace the stock before the season restarts which in a small business is paramount. Lets just hope the police are as quick to apprehend the perpetrators!

[Gracie]

Hi Fish Finder

 

Sorry to hear that, let's hope they get the people responsible asap. That's excellent service, especially when you hear of horror stories involving some Insurance Companies, well done Edward William. Good luck with stocking up, hope all goes well for you

 

Grace

[Hylander]

Well that is good to hear.   I have heard so many people knock Edward William and the guys there.   We are with them and have been for years, they are a great team.     A certain minority on the other side of the street have nothing  good to say about them.      I will always defend them.

 

So pleased you have sorted out the insurance but I would like to get hold of the scroats that did it.     So sorry this has happend to you.

[Paladin]

Well that is good to hear.   I have heard so many people knock Edward William and the guys there.   We are with them and have been for years, they are a great team.     A certain minority on the other side of the street have nothing  good to say about them.      I will always defend them.

 

So pleased you have sorted out the insurance but I would like to get hold of the scroats that did it.     So sorry this has happend to you.

Fish Finder, I'm sorry for your predicament, but pleased the insurance company came up to scratch. It's always good (but all too rare) to hear good positive reports about insurance companies paying out without quibbling. I note on their web site the agent's address is only given as Womack Staithe. Who do you deal with in the UK, please?

 

Hylander, I think your comment about 'the other side of the street' is rather unfair. I've just searched that side and of the 25 people ever commenting on Edward William, 3 advised caution about dealing with an offshore company which was not regulated in the UK (sound advice, in my opinion) and the remaining 22 either recommended them, or were positive about them.

 

The attraction seems to be that they don't require a survey. Another cautionary tale...my insurance company wanted a survey every 5 years. I had one done when my boat (similar to yours) was out last year for antifouling. There was substantial galvanic corrosion to the stern gear and the grub screws holding the cutlass bearing had been totally eaten away, allowing the bearing to rest on the back of the propellor. I am sooooo pleased a survey was insisted upon. I fitted a galvanic isolator before the boat went back in the water. That damage had not been apparent at it's pre-purchase survey in 2008.

 

Having said that, I then found a more competitive quote from a UK insurance company, which, strangely enough, didn't want a survey report.

[Heron]

Fish Finder, before I consider a change of insurer based on your experience, can you advise which insurance companies do  Edward William arrange their insurance policies through, and which European Community state authorises them?

 

I would not want to make a  false declaration to the Broads Authority to obtain my toll.

[Poppy]

I too am now insured with a company who uses a UK Loyds based syndicate. No survey was required  - only a condition report.

I feel much happier being with a UK based and regulated operation.

[Heron]

Poppy / Paladin, can you supply any details as I might want to follow your info up. Thanks

[Paladin]

Heron, what information do you want? About Edward William, galvanic corrosion or the insurance company I'm now with?

[Poppy]

Poppy / Paladin, can you supply any details as I might want to follow your info up. Thanks

 

PM sent.

[Heron]

Paladin, sorry it was not clear,  your new insurer please.

[Guest]

I too am now insured with a company who uses a UK Loyds based syndicate. No survey was required  - only a condition report.

I feel much happier being with a UK based and regulated operation.

 

Me too.

 

They've always been a big topic of discussion nationally on the Yachting and Boating World Forums.

 

Quite a lot of concern about them not being covered for compensation under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ybw+forums&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=w6QRVZXjHdLhaLGvgPgP#q=ybw+forums+edward+william

[Paladin]

Heron, pm sent.

[Fish Finder]

Fish Finder, I'm sorry for your predicament, but pleased the insurance company came up to scratch. It's always good (but all too rare) to hear good positive reports about insurance companies paying out without quibbling. I note on their web site the agent's address is only given as Womack Staithe. Who do you deal with in the UK, please?

 

I dealt directly with the head man, Clive Lewis. and it was he who wrote the cheque out immediately

 

hope that helps

[Guest]

Just out of interest, I googled that name and "edward william"......

 

 

I'm sorry if this might look like malicious sh*t stirring, but I posted this reply because I'm genuinely thinking about the other boat owning people on this forum....

[Paladin]

I dealt directly with the head man, Clive Lewis. and it was he who wrote the cheque out immediately

 

hope that helps

Not exactly. Their website shows the UK address as:

UK Postal Service Address:

Womack Staithe,

Horsefen Road,

Ludham,

Great Yarmouth

NR29 5QG

 

That address is incomplete and I'm wondering who would be getting my letters at the staithe.

[Guest]

This intermediary's name has been mentioned on both the "main" broads forums (well,certainly NBF, less certain about over here) regularly over the years. At the end of the day, as with any service industry, peoples' views will be coloured by their personal experience. Nothing wrong with that. But there are a number of things about this operation which concern me (lack of UK regulation, lack of transparency, lack of a proper UK place of business, uninformative website, lack of clarity about the actual insurer. I could go on...). Personally I wouldn't touch them with a quant, but perhaps that is just my suspicious nature. They may be an entirely legitimate, honourable, customer-focused business, there just isn't enough information out there to make me feel comfortable.

 

There was a thread somewhere recently about poor service provided by a couple of boat brokerages. I'm afraid that the answer here is much the same - caveat emptor.

[Poppy]

Interestingly, when I did a 'Google' search  for 'Clive Lewis Edward William', there were as pointed out by Strowager some worrying links, but at the bottom of the first page, I saw this  

 

"Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe."

 

I've never seen that before........

[Hylander]

From the horses mouth........    An email received from Malcolm Skinner himself.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your email. I can confirm that the article that you have seen dates back to 2011 and was in fact not entirely accurate at the time. Edward William Marine Services is an agent not an insurer and our registered office is in Spain. We are not regulated by the FSA in the UK because our company is not a UK company, The managing director of Edward William Marine Services is however registered with the Spanish Financial services authority. At the time of that article we were advised that we were not allowed to advertise in Magazines in the UK which we subsequently stopped doing, however legally there is nothing to stop a UK citizen from obtaining marine insurance from any company anywhere in the world.

 

We are agents for three companies Northernreef who you have your cover with they are purely marine insurers and are the best available for that type of cover. We are also agents for Ibex and Liberty Seguros in Spain. We do have a postal service in the UK for you to send post to and this is allowed under the financial services act, the postal address for the UK is in Ludham. Edward William Marine Services has now been in operation since 2004 and we have thousands of happy customers around the world.

 

I hope this helps as I always say that insurance is a contract of faith and trust as you do not know how good the policy is until you need to use it. For that reason if you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

Kind Regards

 

Malcolm Skinner

for Edward William Marine Services

 

 

 

And yes I have permission to post this email from Malcolm himself.

[Paladin]

This intermediary's name has been mentioned on both the "main" broads forums (well,certainly NBF, less certain about over here) regularly over the years. At the end of the day, as with any service industry, peoples' views will be coloured by their personal experience. Nothing wrong with that. But there are a number of things about this operation which concern me (lack of UK regulation, lack of transparency, lack of a proper UK place of business, uninformative website, lack of clarity about the actual insurer. I could go on...). Personally I wouldn't touch them with a quant, but perhaps that is just my suspicious nature. They may be an entirely legitimate, honourable, customer-focused business, there just isn't enough information out there to make me feel comfortable.

 

There was a thread somewhere recently about poor service provided by a couple of boat brokerages. I'm afraid that the answer here is much the same - caveat emptor.

Spider, I am aware that the local agent was within DRL Marine, which is now defunct. There is, as you say, a lack of clarity and I'm trying to clarify just one point.  If I wish to deal with Edward William today, who is the person at Womack Staithe to contact?

 

Poppy, the search term you used consists entirely of personal names. There are probable millions of people called Edward, William, Lewis or Clive, any of whom may have had good reason to have their details removed. I've just searched for 'algernon bonaparte' (as you do) and got the same message at the foot of the first page. Nothing sinister.

[Paladin]

Hylander, I think you'll find that Mr Skinner is both Edward William and Northern Reef.

 

Insurance, for the consumer, is about minimising risk and expense, when something goes wrong. For the sake of a few £££ on the premium, I'm happier to get my peace of mind from a company regulated in the UK.

 

My doctor recently gave me a diagnosis and told me NOT to Google it when I got home, as it would frighten me to death. I would offer the same advice to anyone insured with Edward Lewis/Northern Reef.

 

You pays yer money...

[Hylander]

Personally I think all insurance of any kind is a fear thing.     Ok you have to have car insurance and boat insurance but as for life insurance if you put the money in the bank from an early age you would have a good 'pot' at the end of it.       As for Health Insurance,  I was insured with one of the big private companies and the day I needed to use the insurance I was told - oh we dont cover that.    So what had I been paying £125 a month for for years.     I hope to God to never have to claim any insurance of of anyone and would rather just live a quite life.

 

The one good thing is everyone is free to choose who they may.   What works for one person may not work for another,  I can only speak from my experience.

 

Hylander, I think you'll find that Mr Skinner is both Edward William and Northern Reef.     No he is an Agent for those companies.

[Paladin]

Hylander, if Mr Skinner is only the agent, can you explain to me why he owns the domain name of the Northern Reef web site?

[Hylander]

God only knows  I will ask him myself.

[Poppy]

Hylander, if Mr Skinner is only the agent, can you explain to me why he owns the domain name of the Northern Reef web site?

 

 

http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Malcom-Skinner/1300971364

[Fish Finder]

hi guys i posted about it because i am happy with the service  and the rapid payout  from what i can see in some of the follow up posts some of you are more concerned about the nationality and who is in charge. which in my case has been irrelevant. 

 

so here is the low down

 

I deal with Clive Lewis he is the broker for Edward Williams his office  is situated at Womack Staithe at the address that some kind forum member posted earlier in this thread so anyone wishing to discuss insurance can speak directly to him on Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays during working hours.   We insure our Fairline with him and our business. They are not regulated by the UK FSA  but are Spanish based and their head is registered with the Spanish FSA so i believe.

 

As for insurance  per se whoever and whatever company you go with regardless of national registration body the first question any insurer asks is "how can we mitigate our losses or reduce the amount on paying out compensation". that is standard with ANY company and UK based ones are just as guilty of it as foreign ones. So I personally think that the fact of whichever nationality the company is is somewhat irrelevant . I am speaking from my experience in dealing with Edward William  and i cannot fault the service. I speak as i find and i offered my experiences for any interested parties. But I am sure that such a rapid payout would not have been forthcoming from a UK insurer or indeed a US one

 

I am sure all of you are capable of deciding who you prefer to insure with. This was meant as an informative post and my recommendation is based entirely on my own experience. Whether you decide to look further into this is entirely up to individual personal preference. 

 

regards

Fishfinder