Marine Insurance Continued...

Hello again!

This week I’m continuing to talk about marine insurance.

As I mentioned in my last blog, the vast majority of removal companies who are not FSA regulated have to rely on their own standard or extended liability insurance. They can make a claim against this should the worst happen.

Important: This type of insurance covers the removers and not the customer.

If something does go wrong, you as the customer may have to pursue legal action against the remover in order to gain compensation. This can be very costly, take a lot of time and even if successful, may not result in appropriate compensation. Beware!

So what are the benefits of using an FSA authorised removal company?

Your possessions are comprehensively insured

• Policies are underwritten by major insurers providing complete peace of mind
• Professional policy documents are written with easily understood terminology
• Claims are professionally handled and promptly settled
• It is you, the customer who is insured – not the remover
• Claims are settled direct with the insurer
• Your goods are covered no matter where you are going
• The insurance is authorised and regulated by the FSA

Anyone shipping without their own quality marine insurance policy is asking for trouble.
Let me tell you why.

If the ship is in danger of sinking, the Captain often has to make a decision to offload containers. His priority is his ship, and he is thinking about the cost of replacing the ship versus the cost of replacing containers. There really is no contest; a Captain will always save his ship. So it’s not unusual to hear of this happening. What I am trying to say is there is a possibility your container could end up in the sea. If this happens and you have no personal marine insurance, you may have lost everything.

Also, be careful about which policy you choose. You should always have “Total Loss” which will cover you for the circumstances mentioned. Don’t underinsure either; it’s a big mistake.

Marine insurance isn’t cheap but I strongly advise you to purchase it. If you are using a professional removal company who are FSA regulated, they will already have good policies in place or access to them. Just be careful about what you are buying – read the small print closely and ask questions.

Ask your removal company what happens if you suffer a “Total Loss” and see how they answer you. How are claims handled? What happens in the meantime – you’ve lost all your possessions. Are claims settled direct? How long does the insurance company take to pay out? The list goes on.

I strongly advise you not to ship without a good insurance policy unless, of course, you are prepared to take a high risk.

Next week I’m going to cover putting your possessions into storage and moving cars.

Until then, keep smiling!

Best wishes

Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/

Marine Insurance

Hello!

It’s hot, hot hot! The heatwave has returned to Cyprus, so I am on total meltdown yet again.

Let’s change the subject and continue with more about marine insurance. I stressed last week that you should never ship without this.

Not many people are aware that new rules were introduced in January 2005 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which mean that the UK’s removal companies have to be authorised by the FSA if they wish to provide bespoke removals and storage insurance; or they have to become an Appointed Representative of a firm who is authorised.

Make sure you check this carefully; otherwise you could end up picking up the bill if something goes wrong during your move resulting in your most valuable and cherished belongings being lost, damaged or destroyed.

The vast majority of removal companies who are not FSA regulated have to rely on their own standard or extended liability insurance. They can make a claim against this should the worst happen.

Important: This type of insurance covers the removers and not the customer.

So, if something does go wrong, you as the customer may have to pursue legal action against the remover in order to gain compensation.

This can be very costly, take a lot of time and even if successful, may not result in appropriate compensation. So beware!

Next week I’m covering the benefits of using an FSA authorised removal company.

See you then!

Best wishes

Jackie

Shipping Security, Insurance and Paperwork

Hello again

Amongst my emails in the last few days were a few from readers of this blog about shipping. Two of them are quite worrying.

In a nutshell, both readers used a local shipping company in Cyprus to return their personal possessions to the UK. They contacted the company to find out why their goods have not arrived. Apparently this company were unhelpful - and don’t appear to even know where their consignments are.

Worst of all, these trusting customers say they handed over cash and were given no paperwork.

OK. There are a few burning questions here. First and foremost, I have only one side of the story. But why wasn’t any paperwork issued if they were a “reputable” company? More importantly, what about the inventory and insurance documents? And the most worrying thing of all – did the goods actually get shipped or have they “gone elsewhere?” Who knows? Your guess is as good as mine, but I hope it all gets resolved soon for their sakes.

This brings me nicely onto talking about shipping security, insurance and paperwork.

Apart from making sure you are shipping with a reputable company, always check your removal company has a tracking procedure in place. They should be able to tell you where your goods are at all times.

Sometimes ships do get diverted for various reasons and this can delay your shipment. So when you are given the arrival date for your container, please remember this is always “estimated”.

We waited an additional 3 weeks for our container to arrive in Cyprus as the ship was diverted at the time due to the war in The Lebanon – but we always knew where it was.

We were concerned, because at the time this was such a dangerous zone, but we made sure our insurance covered all eventualities by purchasing a “total loss” marine insurance policy. So worst case scenario - say the ship had been bombed - we would have received the sum we insured our goods for.

Let’s move on to marine insurance.

Should you buy this type of insurance? Definitely! I cannot stress this enough. Thousands of people ship their personal possessions without appropriate insurance. What does this mean? Quite simply, you are putting everything you own at risk and you could lose it all.

Please remember when you are moving house, things can - and do - go wrong.

I’ll talk more about marine insurance next week and reveal some information from an insider who works in shipping that shocked me!

Until then, have a great weekend.

Best wishes

Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/

Packing and Unpacking Your Goods Overseas

Hello, how are you?

Well, it’s national holiday time in Cyprus for the next two weeks – and a good job too! We are experiencing the hottest summer since August 1956 with temperatures at 46.5 degrees and 97% humidity. Phew!

Let’s get back to shipping. This week I am covering packing and unpacking. It all sounds simple – just shove everything in boxes and away you go. But that’s not the way to do it when your goods are travelling overseas.

So how should things be packed? Carefully is the word I would want to hear! Joking aside, good removal companies do pack with the greatest of care, particularly when exporting.

Packing for exporting is completely different to packing for a UK move because of the shipping involved. It tends to take more time because the packers are more careful than usual, particularly with delicate items, such as china and glass.

It is very important that nothing moves in the container, so more wrapping than usual is used. Wooden crates are sometimes tailor made for special items that need more protection than usual.

I shipped over some very delicate porcelain roses, which I made in evening classes back in the UK. I never believed for one minute that they would arrive in one piece – but they did. The chap who packed them in the UK used a huge box, an enormous amount of tissue paper and assured me they would arrive safely. He was used to packing valuable antiques - so I guessed my roses would be safe in his hands and I was right.

Strong boxes are always used which are sealed with heavy-duty tape. Here is a helpful hint. Our move took place overseas in July, at the hottest period. When the container arrived, it was 60 degrees inside. Although all our boxes had been taped securely, when they were unloaded the glue on the tape had melted. As a result, very careful unloading had to take place. So make sure that your packers double tape every box, to avoid any accidents happening.

Our biggest fear was that our computer would be ruined because of the heat, but it was fine. It just goes to show how robust they are.

The removal company can also organise unpacking. We decided to unpack ourselves at our leisure. For us, this turned out to be the right thing to do.

How many staff will come to pack and load? Again, this depends on the amount of possessions you are taking; your removal company will advise you. It is always best to check that the removal company are sending their own employees, not sub-contractors. Permanent employees of the removal company tend to be more careful and reliable. Sub-contractors can often disappear overnight.

Oh, and remember, your removal company is also responsible for all the shipping paperwork in conjunction with their agent at your destination.

Next week I’m going to talk about two very important issues – security and marine insurance – so don’t miss it!

Well, that’s it for now; I’m off to cool down.

Keep smiling – it’s infectious!

Until next week

Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/