CGU Boat Insurance Review

IAG Group’s Broker-Channel Boat Insurance Product

CGU Boat Insurance is issued by Insurance Australia Limited (ABN 11 000 016 722, AFSL 227681) trading as CGU Insurance. Insurance Australia Limited is the Australian general-insurance operating company of the IAG Group - Australia’s largest general insurer by gross written premium - and is the same legal entity that underwrites NRMA Insurance. CGU commercial insurance is also a major IAG brand in the Australian business-insurance market.

The editorial reality: CGU and NRMA share their underwriter and their balance sheet, but they are materially different products on the personal-boat side. CGU covers PWC; NRMA excludes PWC. CGU includes social yacht racing as standard; NRMA makes yacht racing an optional extension. CGU offers both Agreed and Market Value; NRMA is Agreed Value only. CGU includes Power Boat Association time trials cover as standard; NRMA does not.

This is one of the most interesting corporate-design patterns in the Australian boat-insurance market - two IAG brands, two different products, one underwriter. Choose the brand whose product design fits your fleet, not the one whose logo you recognise.

What CGU Boat Insurance Covers

The product is formally called Accidental Damage Boat Insurance - CGU names it after its primary cover dimension. The PDS structure is a single-tier product (no Comprehensive vs TPO choice) with optional add-on covers.

Valuation - Market Value default, Agreed Value on request

The PDS describes itself as “a current market value policy” at p.47. That means the default settlement approach is the depreciated market value at the time of an incident, subject to the sum insured ceiling on the Schedule. Agreed Value is available on request and, if CGU agrees to quote Agreed Value, the words “agreed value” appear on the Schedule (PDS p.12).

For owners of newer or higher-value vessels, the Agreed Value nomination is a meaningful cover upgrade - ask CGU or your broker to quote Agreed Value explicitly.

Standard cover

• Accidental damage to the boat up to the sum insured on the Schedule
• Legal liability up to the sum insured shown on the Schedule (Schedule item, not PDS-published)
• Theft (with conditional storage requirements for higher-risk items)
• Social yacht racing up to 50 nautical miles, organised by a club or association, no spinnakers
• Power Boat Association time trials up to 25 knots
• Personal accident - $25,000 death/permanent, $250 per week for up to 52 weeks temporary, $1,000 ambulance transport
• Accidental discharge pollution cover (cleanup costs and legal liability for pollution)
• Berthing liability - covers liability under a berth, mooring or storage agreement
• Emergency repair costs when the owner cannot contact CGU
• Return home travel costs up to $500
• Temporary accommodation travel home up to $1,000 when the boat was being used as accommodation and cannot be used for 3+ days
• Food spoilage up to $500
• Accessories/tools/contents $1,000 aggregate (can be increased on application)
• Fishing gear $1,000 aggregate (can be increased on application)

Optional covers

• Agreed Value in place of the default Market Value
• Yacht Racing Risk Extension - for spinnakers, for racing beyond the 50 nm social-race scope, and for damage to sails/masts/spars/rigging at risk. Navigational limits: 200 nm from home port (moored) or last launch (trailer).
• Water Skiers or Aqua-planing Liability Extension - legal liability for injury to water skiers/aquaplaners towed by the insured boat, and third-party liability caused by them
• Lay-up period - premium discount for periods when the boat is stored and not used

PWC and Jet Ski Cover

Unlike its sister-brand NRMA (which excludes PWC via its Watercraft TMD tmdbo003), CGU covers PWC and jet skis. Theft cover has conditional storage requirements - either stored in a locked garage/yard with visible forced entry, or on a trailer with a commercially-manufactured purpose-built anti-theft device (immobilising the trailer).

This is the clearest product-design signal that CGU and NRMA, despite sharing an underwriter, are meaningfully different products. If your household owns both a boat and a jet ski and wants them on the same policy, CGU is the IAG-backed path where NRMA is not.

Claims Experience

CGU claims are handled by the IAG Group general-insurance claims operation - the same infrastructure that handles NRMA, CGU commercial and other IAG-branded claims. This is a mainstream generalist claims experience, not a specialist marine one. Club Marine remains the marine-specialist benchmark.

The 21-day cooling-off period (PDS p.28) matches NRMA, Nautilus Marine, GIO, Suncorp and QBE.

How We Arrived at 3.6 / 5

The overall editorial rating is the weighted average of the four dimensions in our methodology - Coverage Breadth & Depth (30%), Claims Experience (30%), Financial Strength (20%) and Policy Flexibility & Value (20%).

Coverage Breadth & Depth - 3.2 / 5. Mid-pack. CGU outperforms NRMA on inclusivity (PWC covered, social yacht racing standard, Power Boat time trials standard, both valuation types). The deductions come from the thin $1,000 accessories/tools/contents aggregate (same as NRMA’s $1K), the Schedule-item liability (NRMA publishes $10M), the 200 nm offshore limit, the single-tier structure (no Third Party Only option), and the absence of a published new-for-old benefit.

Claims Experience - 3.5 / 5. IAG Group operational scale is identical to NRMA’s. The deduction reflects broker-channel distribution (adds a broker intermediary layer) and the absence of a specialist marine claims team.

Financial Strength & Corporate Backing - 4.5 / 5. Insurance Australia Limited (IAG) is Australia’s largest general insurance group. Same rating logic as NRMA - ASX-listed parent, AFSL 227681, strong APRA capital.

Policy Flexibility & Value - 3.3 / 5. Both Agreed and Market Value available (an advantage over NRMA/GIO/Suncorp). Rich optional-benefit set (Lay-up, Water Skiers, Yacht Racing Risk Extension). 21-day cooling off. The deduction is the single-tier structure - unlike Youi, GIO, Suncorp and QBE, CGU doesn’t offer a Third Party Only tier for cost-sensitive owners of older vessels.

Who CGU Is Best For

CGU is a pragmatic choice when:

• You want IAG-backed coverage with PWC included - NRMA won’t cover your jet ski, CGU will
• You race a sailboat in club events within 50 nm - CGU includes this as standard
• You compete in Power Boat Association time trials up to 25 knots - CGU includes this as standard
• You want valuation flexibility - both Agreed and Market Value options available
• You have a broker relationship that can quote CGU Boat Insurance
• You own a moored vessel as well as a trailered one - CGU covers both

It is the wrong fit when:

• You want direct-consumer online quoting - CGU is primarily broker-distributed
• You want a Third Party Only tier for a low-value vessel - CGU doesn’t offer it
• You need deep standard contents cover - the $1,000 aggregate is thin
• You want a PDS-published liability figure - CGU’s Schedule-item approach requires quote confirmation
• You need specialist marine claims depth - Club Marine remains the benchmark

Compare CGU against NRMA for the direct-consumer IAG alternative with similar balance-sheet backing but a different product design. Compare against Club Marine for specialist marine depth. Compare against QBE for deeper global insurance group backing with similar Power Boat time trials inclusion.

Last verified against the CGU Boat Insurance PDS PID0302 REV14 12/22 (preparation date 1 December 2022) and SPDS (preparation date 19 October 2023, effective 25 November 2023): 21 April 2026. Rating methodology: see How We Rate Insurers for the four-dimension editorial framework behind every score on this site.