Liability on the water · mooring · how the package fits together
Boat insurance through AnsvarIdea
Most boat owners think of their own hull when they think of insurance. The most expensive claim, however, is damage to another vessel, a lock gate or someone on board.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Bootverzekering via AnsvarIdea.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
AnsvarIdea is one of the insurers Finass works with. We also act as an intermediary and compare the offering of more than thirty other insurers objectively; which one it becomes follows from your boat, your sailing area and the cover you need. You will find this insurer's wider range at the overview page, and the general product explanation at pleasure craft insurance.
The section most often underestimated on a boat policy is the liability cover. If you run into another vessel, damage a jetty or a lock gate, or injure someone on board, you are liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Do not count on your ordinary personal liability insurance to absorb that: it almost always excludes motorboats and larger sailing boats and covers only rowing boats, canoes and small sailing dinghies. Liability therefore belongs on the boat policy itself, with a limit that suits busy waterways.
Also, the mooring. A boat moored at a public jetty is judged differently from a boat in a supervised marina with camera surveillance and a locked entrance. Also state where the vessel spends the winter. What you have to tell the insurer when you apply is set out in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; if the picture is not accurate, the insurer can later rely on Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code and reduce or refuse the payout.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare pleasure craft insurance.
What to look out for
Four points that lead to discussion on a boat policy more often than the premium does.
Damage to others and to the waterway
Alongside the collision itself, there are the salvage and clearance costs. If your boat sinks in a navigation channel, the waterway authority can require the wreck to be removed, even if the vessel itself is worthless. Those costs have their own limit, separate from the sum insured for the hull. Also ask about cover for environmental damage caused by spilt fuel or oil.
People on board are not automatically insured
Injury to guests on board falls under the liability section, but only if you are at fault. If someone trips without any fault on your part, there is no liability and therefore no payment. If you want to offer people on board something in any event, you need separate personal accident cover for those on board.
Four exclusions that always apply
Excluded are, among others hire, charter and any form of carriage for payment, taking part in speed contests, and damage caused by gradual pollution: osmosis, rot, corrosion, seams drying out and glued joints ageing. Nor is frost damage to the engine, the cooling system and the pipework paid for if the boat has not been made ready for winter in time. The insurer does not have to pay for damage you cause deliberately. That follows from Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Reporting a claim and limiting the damage
If the boat is taking on water, the insurer expects you to act at once: pump it out, moor it safely, have it lifted. Those costs of mitigating the loss are paid, but failing to incur them counts against you. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report the claim as soon as you can reasonably be aware of it. If you wait until the end of the season, the cause often can no longer be established.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type and length of the boat: an open day boat is judged differently from a cabin motor yacht
- Value and year of construction: including engine, electronics and fixed equipment
- Maximum speed: above twenty kilometres per hour the risk picture changes
- Sailing area: inland waters, the Waddenzee or a wider area in Europe
- Mooring and winter storage: supervised marina, your own jetty or storage ashore
- Extent of cover and excess: liability only, or liability with own-damage cover
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Liability | Own-damage cover |
|---|---|---|
| Damage to the vessel you run into in a lock | Yes | No |
| Damage to your own hull in that same collision | No | Yes |
| Your boat runs onto a sandbank and the propeller shaft is bent | No | Yes |
| Theft of the outboard motor from your boat lying at the jetty | No | Provided that |
| Fire in the engine compartment caused by a short circuit in the battery cables | No | Yes |
| The trailer you use to take the boat to the slipway is damaged | No | No |
The liability section pays for what you do to others and the own-damage section for your own vessel; most boat policies combine the two, but that is not automatic.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Does my AVP cover damage I cause with my boat?
As a rule it does not. Personal liability insurance (AVP) largely keeps craft outside the cover and at most makes an exception for rowing boats, canoes, surfboards and small sailing dinghies without an engine. As soon as there is an engine, or the sail area is larger, you need the liability section of the boat policy. Check this before you go out on the water.
May someone else use my boat?
Usually yes, provided that person has your permission and meets the requirements the policy sets on age and boating licence. For a boat capable of more than twenty kilometres per hour or longer than fifteen metres, the boating licence requirement applies to the borrower too. Hiring the boat out for payment is a different matter and falls outside a private policy.
Are the contents on board covered as well?
Fixed equipment belongs to the hull; loose items do not automatically. Bedding, crockery, clothing, tools and loose electronics fall under a separate section with its own limit, and theft is then almost always paid only if there are signs of forced entry. Valuable navigation equipment or sports equipment is better listed separately on the policy schedule.
What happens if I sell the boat?
Cover follows the owner, not the boat. Report the sale, because from the moment of transfer you no longer have an insurable interest and the buyer has no cover. If you buy a larger or faster vessel, have the policy reassessed; an unchanged policy on a heavier risk is exactly the situation in which an insurer falls back on the duty of disclosure.
Read more
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