No we did not insure at all and we were fine. As I said....how often do ships actually sink. in my lifetime I can only remember it happening a couple of times and with the thousands of ships operating around the world on a daily basis...we felt the odds were in our favour.

i think the shippers get a big kick back from the insurance companies, so they put the emphasis on selling the insurance, even putting the frighteners on in some cases. We have always been the type of people to value insurance highly, house, life, contents, car, but when you consider the risks to those are far far greater.....we felt that a trip across the pond did not warrant the expense. As I said, it is a personal choice and at the end of the day....every pound counts when you are making a move of this size.

Stef

No, ships don't often sink, but container damage is commonplace - getting dropped during loading, or storm damage at sea when the cargo shifts. We had a couple of thousand dollars of damage on kitchen items and a large steel tool chest years ago and were glad we could claim on the insurance, we more than covered our premium.

There was a long thread on this subject a while ago - you can find it here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ight=insurance


I insured through this company (direct) - it was a lot cheaper than through one of the shipping companies: http://www.unirisc.ca/Corp&IntReloca...urance_ENG.htm

As to damage, I had an antique table that had the legs smashed after being either dropped or crushed in transit - they paid for a complete repair at no cost to me.

This risk here is not do much the loss of your goods, it is General Average. If any or part of the load is jettisoned to save the ship, say in bad weather, everyone who has goods on that ship pays to cover the losses of the goods tossed overboard. Insurance covers this, if no insurance and it happens, you're on the hook personally. So if the goods jettisoned are extremely valuable, you may not need your furniture as you 'd have no house to put it in and maybe no shirt on your back.

Yes, that was well over two years ago now, we chose not to take insurance and that risk we took paid off, as it will in most cases...our stuff arrived safe and sound.
Stef

We've decided to insure everything, with LP. They offered 1.4% which was considerably less than any of the shipping companies were offering, but the policy included more! Only difference was excess.
The whole process is expensive, and I'm not a fan of shelling out for insurance, but I'm neurotic enough as it is about the shipping process without going without insurance! Anyway, we didn't use an immigration consultant so I guess. I'm using some of the money I saved there to pay for insurance!

Well done, you made a decision which you feel is right for you.....that is all any of us can do. I wish you all the best for your new life in Nova Scotia.
Stef

Big risk though, which saves for those who are not impacted and has major consequences for those who are impacted. A bit like playing Russian Roulette, I guess.

I didnt think it much of a risk to be honest, after spending five years on seagoing vessels in the Merchant Navy, Masters never take the decision to jettison cargo lightly and certainly not been heard of in the atlantic in recent years to my knowledge. our shippers actually told us that insurance was not really necessary once they knew that we were questioning it. yes it paid off in our case and I know there has been many others who have gone down the same path. Boils down to pros and cons and your decision has to be based on weighing up what is best for your situation. Russian Roulette?, not really as the odds are much better than that.

Stef