Insurance conditions

[sarabande]

Apart from the replacement of rigging more than 10 years old, has anyone had a request from their insurance company for either crew or equipment to have some form of certification, please ? RYA qualifications, physical health, proper maintenance schedule by qualified engineers, electric wiring to IEEE standard, etc.


TIA

 

[tillergirl]

I recall my neighbour on buying a motor boat had a clause that he needed to be accompanied by someone competent until he had passed a practical course. But he was late 60's and declared no previous boating experience.

 

[johnalison]

My reply is entirely in the negative to all the above questions. I phoned my insurers after 10 years and they were happy for me to keep the rigging for a further ten, though I got it professionally checked at the time. They don't load me for going to the Baltic either.

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Topsail my current insurers,asked about level of crew experience on the recent Atlantic crossing ,not mine .
My crew to the Azores had spent the last 10 years sailing around the world,vastly more experienced than me!

 

[Bav32]

Once asked by a propective insurance company if anyone who would sail on the boat had every committed a dishonest act.
I asked for a definition of a dishonest act.
Where we talking about a criminal prosecution, parking on a yellow line, standing up a girlfriend, taking a pencil from the office etc?
They could not define for me but wanted me to make the declaration
(methinks great excuse to not paying out on a claim) so gave them the foxtrot oscar response.

 

[KellysEye]

For ocean sailing through Pantaenieus, rigging as you mentioned, no qualifications just sailing experience (places and mileage), survey. Nothing else. There are higher premiums when you leave Europe because of more expensive repairs and ocean sailing (total loss although rare).

 

[BlackPig]

Last insurance company had a "no anchoring off a beach". What else would you do with the boat?

 

[Searush]

It's quite clear that some insurance company employees haven't the least idea what a boat even is, never mind how it is used! BTW, I quite often sail onto the beach rather than anchoring off, easier to get the kids ashore & back on by ladder than dinghy (or throwing them over the side).

 

[EugeneR]

Last insurance company had a "no anchoring off a beach". What else would you do with the boat?

My insurer - a well know one, for that matter - says I should not leave my boat unattended off an exposed beach. I asked but they could not define what an exposed beach is. Does that mean anchoring at Studland and leaving the boat means it's not insured... if someone else was to crash into it?

It's reminds me of my home contents insurance cover that requires all accessible windows to be locked with a metal lock and the keys to be stored out of sight from the window. So, what's the definition of an accessible window? Any window where an intruder came through is, per definition, an accessible window - even if they used a ladder to reach it

 

[DanTribe]

Not to do with qualifications but my insurance stated no single handed sailing. I told them that I did sometimes day-sail single handed and wanted it changed. The policy came back "excluding night time single handed sailing"

It's what I said, but not what I meant.

 

[sighmoon]

Not to do with qualifications but my insurance stated no single handed sailing. I told them that I did sometimes day-sail single handed and wanted it changed. The policy came back "excluding night time single handed sailing"

It's what I said, but not what I meant.

That's what they gave me too. Next year, we're hoping to go to Orkney and Shetland, which means there will be no night anyway.

The actual wording was that there must be "at least 2 competent people on board", which I think is nebulous enough to avoid paying many claims as human error could be interpreted as skipper not being a competent person.

 

[Searush]

Yeah, mine said solo was OK but not at night.

I pointed out that I wouldn't always be in control of that (being a sailing vessel) and they said, yeah, OK a passage may get prolonged by adverse weather, but I shouldn't PLAN to be sailing after dark.

That seemed pretty reasonable as I generally wouldn't anyway, but I have never claimed so don't know if they would still be as reasonable if push came to shove . . .

I like to think they will as past minor claims, following break-ins & a mooring failure in an exposed location, have been dealt with very reasonably by the various companies I have been with.