Insurance - the elephant in the room.

Do you have the money to pay for damages to the property or life and limb
of others if you run into them, or drop your tri on them? It could run into
many thousands of dollars.

I agree that insurance premiums seem like a racket, but
(1) somebody has actually tried to work out the risks to the company, and
(2) why, as a business, should they make a loss?

I also suspect it could be difficult to get insurance because (since the GFC)
some people might use it as a means of getting rid of their expensive toys.

 

I reckon you are going a bit far in defence of the insurance cos. I agree they should make a profit, but they have lost sight a long time ago of the fact that they are there to serve the insured and not the shareholders. Profit is not the word I wouls use for the money these guys rake in. I think they also want to _maintain_ the profits of the glory days, not wanting to share thr pain of leaner times.

I also think that the number of people who are trashing their boats for the insurance is a very small portion of the client base. At least as true to say that WE are paying for the GFC, in that all the big money people are just pulling away to protetct themselves.

 

I agreed that insurance companies are rip-off merchants. And yes, they do
rake it in.
But where did you get the idea that they are there to serve the insured?
Their responsibility is to the shareholders and you can bet that the execs
and directors own lots of shares themselves.

 

responsible

Leo I don't have the money to repair a Mercedes if I hit one but I have driven cars uninsured for 33 years and have only had to pay out for a few car park scrapes, I am fully aware of the risks and drive accordingly, I refuse to live my life cowered by "what if"

 

It's your choice, just as it is the choice of others to demand boats be insured,
or companies to set exorbitant premiums if they want.
Personally, insurance is not a concern for me as I don't own anything of value
except a couple of computers. If somebody was to sue me for damages they
would get about $1000 at the very most.

 

You must have insurance. If you cant afford it stay home

 

Oh Michael, what the hell is must !

Sorry but I find that answer rather pathetic.

 

As soon as you enter a country the Port Officials ask for Ships Documents, Crew List, Licenses and Insurance. If you don't have insurance you will not get a cruising permit and as a result you will have to go back home. Its as simple as that.

As soon as you enter a marina or shipyard the yard owner will ask for Ships Documents, Crew List and Insurance. If you don't have insurance you will not be able to use the shipyard or marina and you will have to go back home. Its as simple as that .

Must means REQUIRED. As in YOU MUST HAVE INSURANCE

 

Either you carry insurance, or you force the person you hit to insure your reckless behavior.

Simple as that.

Believing that they should sue you for damages and the most they can get is a couple thousand dollars because you are worthless is irresponsible.

But, in a socialist world why shouldn't you profit from the person you injured?

If this offends ya'll, maybe you should think through what you write.

And realize, that I pay every day for someone else's reckless disregard for my safety.

Regards,

Wayne

 

At least in the Americas, this is untrue. Officials do ask for the boats ownership papers and a crew list but that is it.

SOME marinas and yards require insurance, some don't.

What kind of Licenses are you talking about?

Maybe not so simple...might want to check your facts.

Mine are based on cruising for the last two years from California to southern Chile via Central America, including a haul out and 6 month marina stay in Valdivia. All without insurance, or any sort of license for me, my girlfriend or the boat. The only official paper I carry is the registration and title for my boat.

We also do not have an engine, so we received more than the usual scrutiny from the Chilean Armada. Lots of questions about safety gear and they wanted to look our boat over, but was never asked about insurance. They happily gave us a zarpe for the southern channels after seeing that the boat was safe and well prepared.

Many of the boats are uninsured down here since it is nearly impossible to find a company to insure for double handed cruising in high latitudes. The few that will insure charge insane premiums, and would never touch our boat since it is ferro-cement and has no engine.

I am in agreement with El Guero and wish I could get 3rd party/liability insurance. I am willing and financially able to walk away from my boat if I put her on the rocks, but would hate to be in a collision with a large expensive boat and be unable to cover damage if I was at at fault. I have nothing they could sue for, but would feel an obligation to do the right thing. I carry very high limit liability policies on all my road vehicles for this very reason, even though not required to by law.

 

So this means that when uninsured... you wreck you boat...you walk away and let the poor local taxpayers clean up your mess.

The last shipwreck on the beach near my harbour. An uninsured gypsy multihull... cost the authorities 100 thousand to clean up.



Im asked for licences all the time. The insurance company wont insure me without qualification. Dont leave home without it. radio licences are important. Crew qualifications to STCW 95 are important.

I am preparing to clear into a country right now. The sailing directions state.

Certificate of Seaworthiness.

Document certifying that the person in command is qualified to operate the vessel and its equipment in accordance to flag state..

Certificate of Insurance for vessels with engine power greater than 15kw .

Certificate of Ownership



I've sailing in high latitudes, in season, fully insured.

 

If you can find someone who will insure my boat for third party damage I would love to know about it...

Things are different in different parts of the world, I don't doubt everything you say is true where you are, but it is far from universal. At one extreme, there are states in the USA where we would not even need to register our boat since it is small and has no engine. It also depends on where you are from, in Chile the local yachtsman need an operators license, but foreign boats do not. Wise to stay away from general statements.

 

That can be the start of a Kafka movie.
You have to prove to the insurance you have a berth in the marina, but the marina don't want you if you don't have an insurance
I think even Kafka will have given up

 

Just noticed this over on the f-boat list not sure if it will be of any help rogerf.

"Hi all, just went through the process of Insuring my F28r, was with Nautilus @ $1600 per year and no race cover, got great deal from RACQ with race cover for $970 per year which I think is fantastic. While re-insuring my house with YOUI found out they now cover boats, Tri's included, now have cover in my hot hand for $593 per year with Race cover (50 Nautical mile limit) for boat $83000. !!! how good is that!"

Cheers

Tony

 

Thanks Corley

They seem to be aggressively buying business which is good for me.