Insurance: The underestimated dangers

The yachting season is coming to an end. Those who bring their boat into Winter storage If you bring your car with you, you should make sure that it is adequately insured for this period. Martina Hellhoff from the Esa Euro Ship GmbHthe yacht insurance branch of Allianz. Hellhoff: "Significantly more than a third of the claims we settle occur when boats and yachts are moored ashore during the cold season."

The most common cause of damage is fire. "Boats are often completely destroyed in warehouse fires," explains the expert. "Every boat owner should therefore make sure that the boat is also insured during winter storage as part of their insurance policy," says Hellhoff. The same applies to launching and retrieving the boat and transporting it over land to the berth.

In addition, the consequences of strong winds and hurricanes have also become increasingly noticeable in Esa's claims statistics due to climate change. Comprehensive comprehensive cover helps in cases of force majeure. For example, the hall operator's liability insurance generally does not cover damage caused by gale-force winds or exceptional snow pressure that could not be avoided despite the greatest possible care. "If you don't want to be stuck with the damage, you need your own boat insurance," says Hellhoff.

In addition to liability, hull insurance is also useful for another reason: it also covers you if your boat is damaged by a third party. "Boat owners should not rely on the liability insurance of the person who caused the damage to pay for the damage. This is because they have to prove that the person who caused the damage was at fault in order to receive compensation," explains Hellhoff. Moreover, in some cases, such as arson, the perpetrator cannot even be identified.

The yacht insurance broker currently points out a completely different, also often underestimated risk. Firmenich there: Consequential damage. Thomas Gibson, Head of Department at Firmenich Yacht Insurance, says: "Consequential damage can put sailors in much greater distress."

He cites the grounding of a yacht as an example. The owner does not carry out a visual inspection until later in the winter storage area, after which he simply repairs a few scratches on the keel. That was the end of the matter for him. Two years later, however, the keel suspension suddenly comes loose during a cruise, the ship takes on water and only reaches a harbour by the skin of its teeth. The cause turned out to be the previous grounding.

"Unfortunately, incidents like this happen more often," explains Gibson. But what should the owner have done differently? "The right thing to do would have been to report the grounding to his insurer immediately," says the expert. If all risks cover is included in the contract, the insurer is obliged to commission an expert to check the seaworthiness of the ship.

Gibson: "It is important that owners get their insurer on board. We'd rather have one too many calls than the long-term consequences of damage." Incidentally, the fact that the owner did not report the initial damage means that the insurer may refuse or reduce the settlement of the subsequent damage, as it would have been much cheaper to settle the initial damage.

And in a four-and-a-half-minute video, yacht policy broker Pantaenius the problem of theft. Burglaries on yachts and the resulting consequences had an average impact of 15 per cent on the annual balance of all losses.

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