Insurance: Is single-handed sailing unseamanly?

In a loose series, we therefore address the most frequently asked questions - and misunderstandings - about yacht insurance. In the first instalment, with the help of Dirk Hilcken from the boat insurance broker Pantaenius yacht insurance the fundamental Sense and purpose of a liability and comprehensive policy for the ship.

The second episode was all about the question, how high a ship should be secured. Especially if you buy a second-hand boat. Episode three dealt with the question, whether and to what extent older yachts should be insured. And in episode four we clarified, what the so-called personal effects are all about. The question of whether torn sails and broken masts are covered by the insurance we answered in the last episode.

Today we're looking at the topic of single-handed sailing: Is it fundamentally unseamanly and is there a risk of trouble with the insurance company in the event of damage?

Dirk Hilcken explains:
Unfortunately, there is no universal answer to this question. To explain, it may help to remember the purpose of boat insurance: to protect against sudden unforeseen risks. Let's take single-handed sailing: Would it have been unforeseeable if you, as a single-handed sailor, had caused damage after a certain period of time?

Otherwise, a look at the insurance conditions will clarify which risks are covered under the respective conditions and which are not. In the event of damage to your own boat, the hull conditions are decisive. The Pantaenius hull conditions include all-risk cover. This means that everything that is not expressly excluded is insured. This can also be the collision of a single-handed sailor with a buoy.

Observe the rights and obligations of the policyholder

However, you always have to look at the specific case. In addition to claims, every policyholder also has certain obligations, which in insurance parlance are called duties. These obligations serve to protect the interests of the insured community. At Pantaenius, the obligations in both liability and comprehensive insurance cases include, for example, the obligation to "take all reasonable measures that can be considered suitable to avert and minimise the damage". The insurer can reduce the benefit if the policyholder breaches his obligations through gross negligence.

This raises two questions: What is gross negligence? And: What does it mean to reduce benefits?

Gross negligence: According to the established case law of the Federal Court of Justice, anyone who breaches the duty of care required in traffic to an unusually high degree and fails to observe what should have been obvious to anyone in the given case is acting with gross negligence. For this purpose, the respective individual case must not only be assessed objectively; subjective circumstances must also always be taken into account. Experience, motives and other personal reasons for the skipper's behaviour must also be taken into account.

The decisive factor is the behaviour in the individual case

Single-handed sailing is not conditionally excluded with Pantaenius and is not generally considered to be grossly negligent. However, this does not mean that in individual cases damage may not have been caused by gross negligence due to single-handed sailing. This is conceivable, for example, if an evasive manoeuvre prescribed by the COLREGs was not carried out due to a lack of crew or watch. However, all circumstances of the individual case must always be taken into consideration. It is therefore not possible to make a general statement.

More about boat insurance:

• Burglary, collision, accident: Checklist for the correct procedure
• What to do in the event of damage? Prevention, mitigation, settlement
• The right policy for everyone: 7 sailor types at a glance
• Attention, trap! How to read the small print
• Legal advice: The most important answers in the interview
• Contract types: What policies are available

Reduction of the benefit: If the insurer has reason to assume gross negligence, it will make a proposal to reduce the insurance benefit. The policyholder will probably not agree to this, so that an agreement must be reached on a division. A complete rejection of the claim due to gross negligence is extremely difficult and very unlikely. There is therefore little reason to fear losing your insurance cover completely.

What can be said: Anyone who acts in the spirit of good seamanship cannot be accused of having breached their duty of care.

The expert:

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