The ins and outs of insuring your luxury weekend ride

So you’ve splurged your summer holiday fund on a snazzy weekend ride. You may not be able to fly off overseas this year, but at least you can take your new super sleek sports car or jazzy jetski out for a spin, right?

Of course the spinning part is (probably) easier than making sure you have all the right insurance. We know paperwork can be boring, especially when you have places to be and people to see. But it’s also important, which is why we’ve put together a quick rundown of what type of cover you can get for boats, motorbikes and sports cars.

Once you’ve done this, you can head out on the open road or water, safe in the knowledge that your ride is insured properly.

Insuring a boat

Occasionally you will find that home insurance policies offer some level of cover for boats, although usually only for small ones without an engine. So if you have a paddle boat or a canoe, you might want to check whether or not it’s included in your contents insurance.

For bigger boats or boats with an engine, you will probably have to purchase a separate boat insurance policy. While these types of watercraft do usually have to be registered (check the rules in your state or territory for this), it isn’t often mandatory to have insurance for them. However, to protect your possession and make sure you’re covered for any legal liability, you may want to take out insurance anyway.

The levels of cover you can get for your boat are:

• Third party property. This is the most basic level of cover and will only apply if you damage someone else’s boat. It will not provide cover for any damage done to your own set of sails. 
• Third party fire and theft. This is third party property insurance, but with added cover for your own boat from potential theft or fire damage.
• Comprehensive. Just like car insurance, this is the highest level of cover you can get for your boat. It covers both damage to your own boat and damage to someone else’s boat.

Depending on your vessel type, comprehensive boat insurance usually covers damage to the hull, outboard motor(s), sails, masts, booms and rigging. Another thing to note is that when you take out boat insurance, you need to be upfront about where and how often you will sail it. For travel out to the open seas, you will most likely have to purchase additional cover.

Some insurers that offer boat insurance include Apia, CGU, GIO, the NRMA and Youi.

Finding cover for your motorbike

If you prefer to keep your feet firmly on the old terra firma, then you may have opted for a motorbike to cruise around on this summer. 

Now the first thing to note with this is that, just like insuring a car, you will need CTP insurance for your two-wheeled ride. That’s compulsory third party insurance. This provides liability for injuries your motorbike may cause to others and sometimes to yourself. It does not cover the cost to repair your actual vehicle.

Similar to car insurance, if you want to make sure you are covered for damage to someone else’s property, you will have to take out third party property insurance. Or if you want an even higher level of cover that also protects your bike, opt for comprehensive insurance. Read our guide on the difference between motorbike and car insurance for more information.

Getting insurance for a sports car

Officially speaking, sports cars usually fall under the category ‘high performance cars.’ The Auto Training Centre defines these as ‘vehicles that offer great speed and power.’ So if you have a luxury sports car, like a sleek Lamborghini or fancy Porsche it will most likely be categorised in this way.

When it comes to insurance, you do have the option to take out a standard car insurance policy, but you may want a little more cover for your sweet ride. You could do this by either tailoring your standard with some optional extras or by purchasing specialist insurance for high performance vehicles.

Some features specialist insurance for high performance cars usually comes with include:

• Agreed value - Insurance for high performance vehicles is more likely to offer you agreed rather than market value. This basically means that you and your insurer will agree on a value for your vehicle and you’ll know how much you’ll be compensated, should it ever be written off.
• Choice of repairer - This is usually only available as an optional extra with standard car insurance policies. However, most high performance vehicle insurers understand that your ride will need extra care and attention and so will let you choose your own repairer.
• Excess free glass replacement - A number of specialist high performance car insurers will offer excess-free windows or windscreen replacement. 
• Replacement vehicle - You may have noticed that most comprehensive insurers offer a variation of ‘new for old replacement’ cover. Generally this provides replacement cover for a vehicle less than one or two years old. Specialist high performance car insurance will sometimes offer replacement cover for older vehicles.
• Salvage rights - Some specialist insurers will allow you to keep your car if it is written off. That way you can decide whether to try and repair it or sell the parts.

If your car is somewhere between a super fancy high performance vehicle and a regular car, then you may have to toss up between specialist insurance and standard comprehensive car insurance with optional extras added on.

Check out the deals below to get started, or head to Mozo’s compare comprehensive car insurance page for more options.