Watercraft

Yachts are obviously very expensive to buy and are valuable items. Therefore it is important to ensure that they are fully insured. Insurance cover should include such things as theft, damage, explosion - always a risk where a lot of fuel is being carried - and outright loss.

It is important to know what kind of cover is required for your vessel. The marine insurance industry classes vessels over 26 foot as yachts and they qualify for yacht insurance. If they are less than 26 foot they are eligible for boat insurance cover.

In order to adequately insure your yacht, you need assess how much it would cost to replace the vessel if it were lost or completely destroyed. Then it is a case of finding out how much it would be to replace the items and equipment on board.

You will also need to make provision in your cover if the yacht is docked in a region that is susceptible to violent weather conditions such as hurricanes. It is also important to consider indemnity coverage in the event that your vessel causes damage to another persons boat or property through a collision.

Yacht insurance will save you a massive outlay in cash should your craft be lost, stolen or cause third party damage. Therefore, like with any other valuable object, it is worth having. But of course, it will be costly, depending on the value of your yacht and the type of cover purchased.

Other factors will also determine the cost of your cover. These include such things as the length of the vessel, its age, where it is going to be sailed, and the type of engine it has. However, there are several factors which can lead to a discount in premiums. They include the provision of on board safety equipment, whether the owners have taken safety courses and if the yacht is laid up for a long period.

Depending on your type of yacht insurance it may contain certain warranties which restrict its use. A navigational warranty will limit the amount of time you can sail your vessel in certain parts of the world. Under a lay up warranty your yacht must be docked during certain times of the year.

Yacht insurance is vitally important for owners should anything unforeseen happen to what is a very expensive item of property. Should you take the time and care to insure your craft properly, the benefits of insurance will then become apparent should misfortune strike. But hopefully you will soon be out at sea sailing again.

One of the key things to realise before embarking on insurance for your watercraft is to be clear about which type of policy you actually need. The way to differentiate between the two is actually fairly easy. A good rule of thumb is as follows:

Boat Insurance - Watercraft that are up to 26 feet in length

Yacht Insurance - Watercraft that are 27 feet and over in length

Once you have established which type you need (you will find that most boat insurance companies will offer both) then here are two important factors that you need to bear in mind before finally settling on which policy to get:

1/ Agreed Value vs Actual Cash Value Settlements - You want to be clear about this ahead of time, because an agreed value settlement is far more favourable to the boat owner, and an actual cash value settlement is much more favourable to the boat insurance company, because it factors in asset value when the loss, theft etc was ACTUALLY suffered.

In practice this is likely to give you a headache, because unless you are an actuary you are going to have a hard job knowing what the insurance would pay out at any particular point.

So, for a quiet life, and the sake of your wallet, you should always get an agreed value policy wherever possible.

2/ Deductible Amounts - Make sure that you are clear how much the deductible on the policy will be. This can vary much more than you might think both from policy to policy, but also depending on the type of accident that the boat suffers that requires you to seek a settlement.

For example, hull damage is likely to be a 3% deductible on a yacht, but windstorm damage is likely to be a totally different amount.

Make sure you know what they are.

The best way to proceed is to get yourself a boat insurance quote right now so that you can immediately get a feel for how much the policy will cost. In this way you will be better prepared, and can better gauge the differences between the policies.

When you are considering yacht insurance the first thing that you have to consider is whether you want a plan that covers a single voyage, or a plan that is based on a particular period of time.

Single Voyage Yacht Insurance - This covers your yacht when you are undertaking a specific voyage that you have agreed previously with the insurance company. This can be a good plan to go for if you don't use your yacht very often, and most of the time it is in mooring. You should however remember that this is NOT a comprehensive policy, and that if your yacht suffers damage in dock (perhaps because it got hit by another boat, or some weather event like a hurricane hit it), then you would NOT be covered.

Time Based Yacht Insurance - This is preferable if you take a large number of trips with your yacht, and hence don't want to have to re-negotiate your boat insurance every time. This also has the advantage that whether your boat is in dock, or at sea you are still going to be covered, and hence it is not as worrying. The downside of this is that you are paying for the privilege.

With either of these two policy types it remains the case that your yacht insurance company will assess any damage based on whether the loss at hand is total or partial. In other words, whether or not it is possible for the yacht to be repaired, or whether it is a total write off.

In each case you should make sure that you get adequate cover for any losses you might suffer.

In considering taking out comprehensive marine insurance you are embarking on an important financial decision, because it is a fact that a boat is probably one of the largest expenditures you will ever make in your life.

If it is damaged in dry dock or out at sea than the cost to repair it will be considerable, and if you have a problem at sea then you also need to make sure that you have some kind of emergency cover in place for storm damage, hi-jacking and recover costs.

When looking for marine insurance quotes online you should endeavour to have certain information readily to hand so that your insurance can be readily arranged. With this the four things that virtually all online marine insurers ask for are:

- Hull Size

- Intended usage for the craft

- Engine Type, and

- Production Year

If you try to get boat or yacht insurance from a boat insurance broker offline then you will find that considerably more information than this is requested, so it is a good idea to get a few online quotes, even if you do end up seeking out more specialist advice from an insurance broker you trust.

You may well find that the quotes that you get online are in fact cheaper, because the amount of information is less, and hence the quotes tend to be more general. Clearly, before you sign any policy documents therefore you should make sure to double check that the policy is as comprehensive as you like, and that it offers both adequate protection, and the nuances of cover that you were seeking.

Securing boat insurance at an affordable price involves many different factors, and here are two of them to ensure that you can get boat insurance that fits your budget.

1. Shopping Around For Lots of Competing Quotes - Whilst this may sound obvious, it is amazing how few people actually bother to get multiple quotes for insurance. They get maybe one quote, and because it seemed like a lot of effort to fill in the form, or talk to a marine insurance broker, they simply purchase it.

What you should do instead is look around for as many different places as possible to give you a boat insurance quote. Because in that way not only do you get to compare the prices of the policies. You also get to compare the terms and conditions, what is covered or not, and the ways that the different marine insurance companies choose to pay out their settlements.

These can vary greatly between the different companies, so watch out for them.

2. Calculate How Much Cover You Really Need - There is no point in spending money on extra boat cover that you really don't need. If your insurance has an option to cover canals for example, but you have never been to a canal in your life, because there are only lakes where you live. Then there is no point in taking out the cover. It is simply an extra expense that you can do without.

Boat insurance policies are crammed with these kind of extras, and you can very quickly lower the costs of your insurance simply by eliminating the items of cover that you don't need.

The costs of boat insurance can be extremely high. In itself this is not surprising, because the cost to buy a boat has always been high, and has been increasing over the years as the costs for shipping yards to build boats has gone up.

However, if you consider some of the following factors then you will get a better idea about how the insurance companies price up boat insurance, and what is involved in the process.

These are steps that you should carry out even before you buy the boat, because they can really help to clarify in your mind how much boat insurance will cost you, and how much it is going to impact on your budget.

1. Start Planning BEFORE You Buy The Boat - It is a good idea to do some online boat quotes for any potential boat that you are considering buying, BEFORE you actually buy it. In that way you can get a clearer idea about what the future costs of the insurance may be, and whether or not you will be able to afford it.

2. Use Your Common Sense - You KNOW that a 50 foot yacht is going to cost more than a small sailing boat, so make sure that the cost of any insurance is factored into any cost price for the boat. Remember, this is more than likely an expense that you will have to meet EVERY year, and so a rough idea of what it will be is important in terms of overall cost implications.

3. Get Clear About Your Usage Patterns - Here are some questions to ask yourself about your prospective boat purchase:

- Where do you plan on using your boat? In the ocean? On a lake? In a canal?

- How old a boat were you planning on buying?

- How big a boat did you want? Are you flexible on the size?

- How experienced are you as an operator?

- Will you need to hire crew?

- Is the area you plan on using the boat prone to storms? If it is then your premiums will be more expensive.

If you consider these questions before you buy the boat, then you will have a much clearer idea about how much the whole boating experience may end up costing you.

Anyone who enjoys spending time in lake or ocean water riding a personal watercraft, often referred to as a PWC, should investigate purchasing watercraft insurance. Although recreational vehicles powered by inboard engines are fun to ride, they can also quickly become a source of financial liability should an accident or injury occur to anyone riding on or standing on a PWC. Although some recreational water vehicles accommodate one or two people at most, many models can hold as many as four individuals which increases the risk of accident or injury while operating the vehicle on the water. Many a friendship has been ruined when a watercraft accident occurs and the vehicle's owner neglected to insure the craft against liability for damage, accident or injury.

PWC or watercraft insurance provides the policy holder with coverage against accidents, liability or vandalism to the watercraft itself. This type of insurance covers the watercraft owner against being held financially liable whether they are riding the vehicle themselves or loan it to another person who misuses it or is involved in an accident or injury event while using it. Not all watercraft insurance policies offer the same benefits. When discussing obtaining insurance coverage for your PWC, there are numerous features to consider.

Watercraft insurance can be obtained to cover any damage that the vehicle does to a public or private dock or by coming into contact with another watercraft. If the PWC's owner is found to be negligent in operating the vehicle properly and an accident or death occurs as a result, watercraft insurance can help protect the owner against legal claims brought for bodily injury or wrongful death. A PWC owner can be protected by having insurance if they loan the vehicle to another party who is ruled negligent in operating the craft, causing damage, death or injury to other parties.

Another benefit to having proper insurance is if the watercraft is used to tow water skiers or wake boarders who are then injured. Another benefit to having insurance coverage to handling the cost of any physical damage that takes place to the vehicle's engine equipment, machinery or hull. A watercraft insurance policy can also provide protection against another watercraft operator who is uninsured, yet causes injury to your vehicle or anyone riding aboard the vehicle. Insurance coverage also means peace of mind when out on the water by providing towing assistance should the craft become disabled or run out of gas.

When reviewing any type of watercraft insurance policy, it is equally important to know what conditions are excluded from coverage. Some of these may include any vehicle that has been modified for speed and performance, if the watercraft is involved in an accident or injury while operating after dark, or if the operator of the vehicle cannot show a valid and current driver's license.

The type of watercraft that an individual owns also dictates the kind of watercraft insurance that they can purchase. Stand up PWCs in which the driver stands or kneels while riding on the craft is one type, while the other type PWC is the sit-down model which accommodates up to 4 people on the vehicle. PWC owners who already have boat insurance can often simply add a watercraft insurance policy to their existing boat coverage.