insurance

[colin_jones]

In a ‘soon’ issue of PBO, we shall be doing a personal review of insurance, similar to the recent report on Internet trading, to which ybw.com members made an interesting contribution to broaden our own research.

The insurance feature will be a similar project, looking at it from all sides ie insurers, loss adjustors, surveyors and we who pay the premiums.

If you have any serious comment, or anecdote – good or bad – which you feel should be aired to help other boat owners positively, or to avoid pitfalls, I should be grateful to learn of them, either by open forum, or by PM, or via an email address on pp2 of www.colvicwatson.co.uk. Alternatively, we can make telephone contact.

It is always good to talk about boats.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[MidlandsOnSea]

There are some interesting issues associated with sharing a boat or borrowing someone else's boat which are significant and which are not properly understood by some brokers or by the average customer. They arise out of the underwriters' "subrogation of rights". Put simply, this means the underwriters can bring claims in the name of an insured, which could include a claim for negligence against someone who the insured permitted to use the yacht. Anyone who deals with commercial contracts might have seen reference to 'waiver of subrogation' for this reason. Practically, it means some people should be thinking about making sure they are named as a co-assured. They might, however, be met with a broker who asserts that they have no 'insurable interest'...and so the debate goes on.

I perceive that there are also many people who compare quotes without comparing what they get for their money, thinking that all policies are more or less the same, in much the same way as one might shop for car insurance. In fact, the policies can vary significantly.

You shouldn't look at insurance without at the same time saying something briefly about the types of liability which can arise. In addition to the risk of physical damage to yachts, I wonder how many people understand the duty they have to the passengers and crew on their own craft? I was looking at a yacht for sale and I wanted my young son to go on board to see how he managed with the companion-way steps (only an issue for sails I know). Anyway, the owner said he was welcome provided it was at my risk. I think that was a reasonable thing to say and indeed I was happy to take responsibiluty for my son's safety. But, in law, it's not possible to validly exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by your negligence.

I know it's commonplace for folks to bash insurers at every opportunity. I can only speak from personal experience, but I've found that insurers meet you half-way if you make an effort to see things from their point of view as well as your own.

PM me if you want to develop any of these points. I have no connections to the insurance industry.

<hr width=100% size=1>