Insurance claim or not?

I self insure most things except my house, car, health and boat.

Anything that would potentially bankrupt me if there was a claim or where legally required.
 
Many of the posts are missing the point of the original question. The OP was referring to claiming for damage to his boat NOT a third party claim. You do not "claim" on your third party insurance - the third party claims on you and your insurer.

Very few of us do not have insurance against third party claims - it is a standard in household insurance and compulsory in car insurance. Optional for boats but it would be unwise to self insure against third party claims. It is however common to self insure your boat, particularly if it is low value, not necessarily because of cost but often because the cost of a survey and the large excesses imposed make it uneconomical for many.

Marina berthing contracts have a third party insurance condition, but in the UK it is rarely checked, but it is in most places in Europe where insurance is compulsory rather than optional.
 
As well as being advisable to have at least 3rd party cover, boats on the inland waterways require 3rd party insurance as a minimum to obtain a river or canal license.


The marina where I keep my boat only recently started asking for insurance details to be provided at each renewal. I expect they would be happy with 3rd party cover.
 
Momac said:
You are not thinking this through logically.
Being uninsured might not end well .
As an example there was a case where a boat caught fire and the fire damaged the marina fuel island and damaged two adjacent boats beyond repair.
I heard the uninsured owner lost everything including his house .
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And most likely the injured parties were not made whole/lost something. Not fair.

You have to be responsible for your actions, and your actions (including all types of honest accidents) can go beyond you're ability to make it right. Thus, insurance.

Yes, liability-only insurance is perfectly fine, but as a rule it is not much cheaper than full coverage, because the BIG risk is liability. I've had liability-only coverage at times.
 
Momac said:
As well as being advisable to have at least 3rd party cover, boats on the inland waterways require 3rd party insurance as a minimum to obtain a river or canal license.


The marina where I keep my boat only recently started asking for insurance details to be provided at each renewal. I expect they would be happy with 3rd party cover.
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Yep on the Norfolk Broads it's 3rd party of at least £2 million cover, required for vessels of over 6sqm block area ( max LOA x max Beam) and all powered craft.
As it is my sailing keelboat is just under the 6sqm but since I race, it's a club requirement for insurance anyway, it's fully comprehensive for racing as 3rd party was not that much cheaper.
The broads authority though, just say you must have insurance, they don't ask for proof.
 
The Q said:
Yep on the Norfolk Broads it's 3rd party of at least £2 million cover, required for vessels of over 6sqm block area ( max LOA x max Beam) and all powered craft.
As it is my sailing keelboat is just under the 6sqm but since I race, it's a club requirement for insurance anyway, it's fully comprehensive for racing as 3rd party was not that much cheaper.
The broads authority though, just say you must have insurance, they don't ask for proof.
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Not so much big risk but potentially big consequences. I think inland waterways 3rd party only is quite cheap. Not sure if the same applies on salty water. Although I have only had all risks coverand I also have the optional legal cover.
 
OP here again. Some good thoughts and info thanks.

Would never go without insurance. Had TP on old boat, comp' now on newer one. Just airing random thoughts on when insurance just becomes a compulsory savings scheme.

I trashed some sort of man overboard frameage on a big mobo (never seen such a thing - googling throws up nothing like it).

Instinctively I'd lean towards just stumping up a few hundred quid to save hassle and avoid any possible premium hikes. Premiums don't look to be too badly affected though, from the thread, maybe I'm over-cynical.

Wondering why it's not more like cars where you have a transferable NCD, and you know roughly the impact of loosing it (setting aside any other premium hikes).

I'll see what the sum is and take view.
 
Unless the sum is trivial, claim on your insurance (or rather refer the third party to your insurer). That is why you pay insurance. Claims on yacht insurance are rare compared with car insurance which is why there is not the same premium and NCD structure. Claims are relatively random and difficult to establish risk profiles to grade premiums unlike cars where there is a huge amount of data that allows insurers to more accurately apply risk to individuals. There really is not a structured NCD pattern and typically if one is offered/earned it is 20% or less.
 
Marinas are like car parks, in that when you enter you agree with their terms and conditions like having minimum 3rd party cover.
3rd party i have used for £100 pa covers up to 60ft and max 17knts, 5 million cover, £50k wreck removal
 
Re the original post, feel free to claim when necessary, marine insurance companies don't tend to shaft you for having the teremity to claim on the policy you paid for.
Re showing proof of insurance. Many years ago, when entering a sailing event, you had to show your policy. The RYA changed that to signing to say you had a policy as it was felt that the original way put the onus on the club if the policy was invalid, but now, if you lie that's your lookout. I don't know if there was case law or just opinion
 
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