Boat Insurance and Steerer's

[GreyLady]

Does fully comprehensive boat insurance cover any member of a family to steer the boat or is it like car insurance (named drivers only) ?

 

 

Apologies for all these questions I've beven saving them up for a few months. Ha

[Guest]

 

Does fully comprehensive boat insurance cover any member of a family to steer the boat or is it like car insurance (named drivers only) ?

 

 

Apologies for all these questions I've beven saving them up for a few months. Ha

The policy itself usually names the policy holder and the boat it covers but normally they do not name the 'driver' and usually say something like a 'competent person has to be in charge of the boat' (this can allow for a minor to steer the boat under direct supervision).

 

If the boat is loaned to somebody else such as another family member some companies require you to inform them.

 

It all comes down to the policy wording which can vary between companies.

Edited March 14, 2016 by MJG

[GreyLady]

Thanks for that MJG, my dad would be the policy holder but he won't be aboard most of the time so I guess I could fit into the 'loaned to a family member catagory then'

 

Maybe we need to let them know from day one I need to be included within the insurance.

 

That's a big help thanks.

Edited March 14, 2016 by GreyLady

[Guest]

Thanks for that MJG, my dad would be the policy holder but he won't be aboard most of the time so I guess I could fit into the 'loaned to a family member catagory then'

 

Maybe we need to let them know from day one I need to be included within the insurance.

 

That's a big help thanks.

Our boat was insured with a company called Craftinsure.

 

They allow for policies to be in joint names. Others may do too.

 

http://www.craftinsure.com/faq/faq3.asp

 

7. Can my boat insurance policy be in joint names?

Yes, anyone with a financial interest in the boat can be included on the policy and would be insured for their respective rights and interest.

Edited March 14, 2016 by MJG

[GreyLady]

Our boat was insured with a company called Craftinsure.They allow for policies to be in joint names. Others may do too.http://www.craftinsure.com/faq/faq3.asp7. Can my boat insurance policy be in joint names?Yes, anyone with a financial interest in the boat can be included on the policy and would be insured for their respective rights and interest.

That's awesome thanks so much.

[Tony Dunkley]

The policy itself usually names the policy holder and the boat it covers but normally they do not name the 'driver' and usually say something like a 'competent person has to be in charge of the boat' (this can allow for a minor to steer the boat under direct supervision).

 

 

That is a quite worrying thought with regard to boat insurance cover, amounting as it does to most hireboats and a considerable number of privately owned ones moving around without valid insurance.

[GreyLady]

That is a quite worrying thought with regard to boat insurance cover, amounting as it does to most hireboats and a considerable number of privately owned ones moving around without valid insurance.

And no mention of cover for contact sport.

[Guest]

That is a quite worrying thought with regard to boat insurance cover, amounting as it does to most hireboats and a considerable number of privately owned ones moving around without valid insurance.

I do of course understand the point you are making however that is how policies seem to be worded, or very similar.

 

Like all (?most) insurance the wording is stacked in favour of the insurer and not the insured, ultimately in this case giving them the ability to say 'but you crashed your boat into another, meaning you are not competent therefore your cover is not valid'.

 

Have they ever invoked this? I don't know.

[Tony Dunkley]

And no mention of cover for contact sport.

 

I did see a TV program a while ago with Timothy West crashing his way along the cut in a hireboat and referring to it as 'contact sport'.

Despite his claimed long experience of boating, he doesn't seem to have learned very much. After watching that and some other episodes with him shouting at his wife as though all his balls-ups were her fault, I did feel rather sorry for Prunella Scales having had put up with so many years of it, but she is by no means on her own.

[Tony Dunkley]

Have they ever invoked this? I don't know.

 

No, I don't either, but that's the worrying bit. There is the very real possibility that someone doing a lot of damage or even injuring or killing somebody could be in effect 'uninsured' and their victims would have to pursue them for compensation themselves.

[GreyLady]

I did see a TV program a while ago with Timothy West crashing his way along the cut in a hireboat and referring to it as 'contact sport'.

Despite his claimed long experience of boating, he doesn't seem to have learned very much. After watching that and some other episodes with him shouting at his wife as though all his balls-ups were her fault, I did feel rather sorry for Prunella Scales having had put up with so many years of it, but she is by no means on her own.

Me and dad always have a giggle at those two especially when Tim has a bump, poor pru she gets all the blame.

 

Nice couple though.

[Peter X]

The word "competent" probably means different things to different people. For example, Foxy let me take his boat single-handed through the three locks in Sowerby Bridge because he had Tuel Lane booked and needed to be away that day, although my steering experience up to then was one lock and about 50 miles, plus quite a lot of watching other people steering in and out of locks. I was honest with him about this, by the way, and I think I made a good job of it, not bumping into anything.

 

My interpretation of the use of "competent" in this way in an insurance policy would be that the steerer must have enough prior knowledge that they can reasonably be expected to know how to avoid serious errors. A bit of maturity goes a long way; a sensible adult who's wise enough to pay attention to a good hire boat company's induction talk and then take things cautiously (and postpone any drinking until they're moored up for the night) is unlikely to get into trouble. I don't think the argument that someone made a mistake bad enough to cause an accident therefore they must be incompetent would in itself allow an insurance company to avoid paying out, what matters is could it have been foreseen that that person was a high risk?

[pete.i]

and lets face it no matter who you are insured with the insurers will do everything they can to wriggle and squirm out of paying up.

[KevMc]

When I got my first boat and insured it they asked what experience I had .. (none) ... then added a clause to say that I couldn't single hand. That was lifted when I renewed.

[Tony Dunkley]

and lets face it no matter who you are insured with the insurers will do everything they can to wriggle and squirm out of paying up.

 

One my all time favourite films is one made starring Billy Connolly some years ago called 'The Man who sued God'. It was about a man whose fishing boat was destroyed at it's mooring by a lightning strike in a storm. The insurance company refused to pay out on the claim on the grounds that the destruction of the boat was an 'act of God' and not covered by the policy. Faced with ruin and not able to repay the loan he had taken out to buy the boat he sued God's representatives on Earth, in the shape of the heads of the various Churches and Religions, for the cost of a replacement boat. A great film, and a well deserved dig at insurance companies for the way they conduct their business.

[John G]

The word "competent" probably means different things to different people. For example, Foxy let me take his boat single-handed through the three locks in Sowerby Bridge because he had Tuel Lane booked and needed to be away that day, although my steering experience up to then was one lock and about 50 miles, plus quite a lot of watching other people steering in and out of locks. I was honest with him about this, by the way, and I think I made a good job of it, not bumping into anything.

 

My interpretation of the use of "competent" in this way in an insurance policy would be that the steerer must have enough prior knowledge that they can reasonably be expected to know how to avoid serious errors. A bit of maturity goes a long way; a sensible adult who's wise enough to pay attention to a good hire boat company's induction talk and then take things cautiously (and postpone any drinking until they're moored up for the night) is unlikely to get into trouble. I don't think the argument that someone made a mistake bad enough to cause an accident therefore they must be incompetent would in itself allow an insurance company to avoid paying out, what matters is could it have been foreseen that that person was a high risk?

I would expect that any insurance company insuring a hire boat company would take great interest in the handover policy and procedure of the hire company, qualifications of staff etc. I know little about how insurance companies work, but I'd imagine it's a very specialist area of work for those involved.