Yacht Insurance
You should get a quote for Yacht Insurance and then buy a suitable policy to insure your investment. Nowadays yachts are expensive and if you think yours is not that valueable you can be sure the one you collide with one day, will be! I have had all sorts of collisions and near misses over the years. Two in particular stand out. Both while fishing on my boat. The first was a near miss with a Nuclear Submarine returning to its base on the Clyde. In my defense all I can say is it just seemed to creep up on me! There it was less than 100 metres away with the crew all trying to attract my attention and a police patrol boat coming up at high speed from behind this huge black vessel! I got away with a verbal warning to keep a look out in future.
The second was also with Her Majesty’s Navy, but this time the vessel was on sea trails from its builders! Without going into the nitty gritty because of the subsequent legal battle, my nets were cut when the large grey vessel left the channel to avoid a Bulk Carrier coming up the channel and my vessel was in the way! Two years and lots of correspondence later, a cheque arrived. Nuff said.
So to return to the business of yacht insurance, you should not put your boat in the water until you have at least Liability Insurance. This will cover you if you cause damage to another boat or cause injury. The industry standard provides a limit of £2,000,000 in the UK.
In addition, there are other things for you to consider. If you regularly race with your yacht you need to ensure your policy provides cover for racing under sail. This needs to be told to your insurer when you ask for a quote for yacht insurance, even if you only race once or twice a year at the opening and closing regattas. Offshore racing definately needs to be mentioned in your application if this is the type of sailing you intend to do. Sometimes your insurer may insist on your boat being laid up ashore during the winter months. If you intend to keep her afloat, make sure your policy reflects this fact. New for old, is another part of the quote for yacht insurance to be considered. Some equipment may not be included in this, depending on its age. It may be too old! So your mast or other spars may not be replaced, for example, only a pay out of its value and this may not be enough to pay for a new replacement mast. Check the detail!
Damage to your yacht under the waterline, such as propeller, shaft etc. may be limited in some policies and this needs to be looked at before agreeing to buy. Accessories abound on yachts nowadays. In fact the deck space and guardrails seems to get cluttered with all sorts of expensive gear. Outboards for the dinghy are very often clamped to the rail. Unless these motors are secured under lock and key, you will not be covered for their loss! Its the same with other gear that could be stolen easily for your boat, but should really be secured by an anti theft device. I mentioned elsewhere about the recent theft of outboard motors in Essex and Suffolk. The local police have come up with a really good solution. Replace the outboard cowling cover with one that has the police telephone number on it and other warnings. The theives do not steal these outboards because the replacement cowling would be expensive, and it is too much hassle for them!
If you keep your yacht on a trailer when it is out of the water, then this also needs to be fitted with an anti theft device to meet the insurance company policy requirements. Also if you have a piece of kit that is expensive such as some of these electronic navigators etc. you should single these out to the insurer and tell them you have it aboard. If you do not tell them and then make a claim for some fancy do da they might not pay out!
To find out how much cover is going to cost you, go here for a quote for yacht insurance.
