Thursday, July 16, 2009

All You Need to Know About Boat Insurance

By Calvin Wapasa

Although not it is normally regarded by the general public, boat insurance is more than likely the oldest type of insurance in the world. All marine watercraft as quoted by the marine Insurance Act must have insurance before they are allowed to sail.

As with motorcar insurance, plans come with an excess to deter small claims and for boat insurance, this is usually quite a large sum of cash, as the intention of the insurance company is to cover you against substantial losses instead of just scratches and dents. Therefore the only real difference between the cover for a yacht and that for motorcar is the overall amount of cover involved.

Standard yacht insurance is a legal requirement in most US States and should be something that is done as soon as a individual acquires the vessel. In the marine insurance industry, houseboats although generally only moored, are categorized as a pleasure yacht together with jet boats, ski boats, sailing boats, cabin cruisers and party yachts. Nonetheless, a speedboat is in a totally different class to say a sport fishing boat owing to the nature of its actions and a higher insurance premium is likely.

Actual Cash Value boat insurance policies cover the cost of the boat replacement less any wear and tear form the time of the boats loss whereas most yacht insurance policies will pay for the replacement of the craft, the engine as well as the trailer. When the craft is a complete insurance right-off then the second hand value of the boat is used to estimate its market value.

If you require insurance to cover for additional situations like emergency services to your vessel, repairs, boat trailer and wreck removal for instance then it is possible to take out an Ex Gratia Insurance cover. Partial damage repairs on the other hand are calculated by working out the full charge to restore the yacht less deductibles.

A better boat insurance policy is the Agreed Value policy which is where both the vessel owner and the insurance company agree on a value for the boat and should it be written off, then this amount is paid out in full. This sort of policy also takes into account that old items have devalued and have less value but are still replaced with new ones. The majority of agreed amount value yacht insurance policies necessitate actual cash value on specific destroyed assets like sails, protective covers, batteries, dinghies, trailers and aged outboard motors, lower drive units etc.

The two chief aspects of yacht insurance are legal duty, or security and insurance or property loss. The liability section covers the owner against claims by a third party if any damage is caused to that individual or his property by the insured vessel.

At an early stage it is worth trying to employ the services of an insurance agent who has experience and a reputation for locating the best boat insurance and settlements for his customers. Make sure your plan also has provisions for lawful protection, in case one is charged for something that is guarded under the yacht insurance.

About the Author:

No comments: