Boat insurance: what is compulsory and what is advisable

The compulsory part is cheap. The voluntary part is what shows on the invoice, and also what decides who pays if the boat sinks at its berth.

The sections

Compulsory third party liability, covering damage to third parties within the limits set by regulation. Extended third party liability, raising those limits. Hull and machinery, covering damage to the vessel itself from collision, grounding, fire or storm. Theft. And ancillary covers such as assistance at sea, towing, wreck removal, legal defence and personal accident for those on board.

The navigation area

This is the clause that causes most trouble. The policy defines a geographical scope, for example Balearic waters or the western Mediterranean, and outside it cover does not apply. Anyone planning a passage to the mainland, to Sardinia or to North Africa must extend it before leaving, a step usually resolved within 24 hours for a modest additional premium but one that has to be requested.

The exclusions that repeat

Damage arising from lack of maintenance, which is the route by which most claims are declined: a deteriorated skin fitting causing a leak is not an accident but an omitted maintenance task. Navigation with a skipper holding insufficient qualification. Participation in racing where not declared. Ordinary wear. And theft of an outboard without the anti theft device required by the policy.

Keeping invoices for annual servicing is the simplest way to evidence maintenance when a claim arises.

Setting the premium

Declare a realistic value: over insuring does not increase the settlement, since indemnity follows actual value, and it does raise the premium. Choose a proportionate excess, since raising it from 600 € to 1,500 € can cut the premium by 10 to 20 per cent. Declare the berth and any security system. And review the insured value every 2 or 3 years, because a policy frozen for a decade insures a value that no longer exists.