Yacht and pleasure craft insurance through Hienfeld
Not every vessel fits a standard underwriting model. A classic steel cutter, a home-build project or a boat wintering abroad calls for assessment case by case.
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In brief
Hienfeld is an authorised underwriting agent: the policy is issued on behalf of one or more insurers and underwriting runs through the agency itself. That makes assessment case by case possible, which counts above all for vessels that do not fit a standard rate. Finass acts as an intermediary here and also compares the offering of more than thirty insurers objectively. This party's wider range is set out at the overview page, the general explanation on pleasure craft insurance.
The vessels that bespoke underwriting is about are easy to recognise: a classic or historic vessel with a wooden or riveted steel hull, a home-built or heavily converted hull without CE marking, a vessel with a mooring or winter storage outside the Netherlands, or an owner who stays on board for months at a time. Standard policies come unstuck on these, not because the loss is larger, but because the underwriting model has no box for it.
On such vessels the valuation is the foundation of the policy. A report from a recognised expert fixes the value and at the same time describes the condition of the hull, engine and systems. That report works both ways: it determines what you are entitled to, and it is the yardstick against which the insurer later checks whether you have maintained the vessel as agreed. If it contains recommendations about hull plating, skin fittings or the electrical installation, carry them out and keep the invoices.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare pleasure craft insurance.
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We compare your pleasure craft insurance across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Pleasure craft insurance
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that are decisive on a vessel with an unusual profile.
Rot, corrosion and the line with an insured event
On wooden and older steel vessels the key question is always where gradual deterioration ends and a sudden event begins. Rot, pitting corrosion, hull plates rusted through and corroded skin fittings are excluded. If the vessel sinks because a corroded skin fitting gives way, the consequential damage may fall too. Periodic inspection with thickness or moisture readings is therefore not a formality.
Winter storage and moorings abroad
If the vessel winters in France, Germany or on the Mediterranean, that has to appear on the policy, including the address of the yard or marina. If that is not declared, Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code on the duty of disclosure comes into play and the insurer can reduce the payment under Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also ask how assistance and surveying are arranged locally.
What is not covered
Outside the cover are, among other things charter and hire, permanent occupation of a pleasure craft without separate houseboat cover, damage caused by an inherent defect, woodworm, mould and vermin, and damage during transport by road or lifting by a third party where that is not included. Taking part in speed races is also excluded, as are deliberate acts under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Home builds and conversions
A hull you have fitted out yourself or converted extensively is insurable, but the insurer wants to know what has been done and by whom. Home-installed gas installations and electrical systems are the main causes of fire on board. An inspection report from a recognised installer makes the difference to both underwriting and claims handling.
What does your premium depend on?
- Hull material and year of build: wood, riveted steel, welded steel, aluminium or polyester
- Agreed value and period of validity: an expired report puts you back on market value
- State of maintenance: shown by the inspection report and the recommendations carried out
- Sailing area and passages: inland waters, coastal waters or longer trips in Europe
- Mooring and winter storage: in the Netherlands or abroad, afloat or ashore
- Use of the vessel: weekend trips, long voyages or living on board for long periods
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| A lightning strike during a thunderstorm knocks out the navigation and engine instruments | Yes | Yes |
| You run onto a sandbank at low water and the propeller shaft is bent | No | Yes |
| While mooring you strike a quay wall and the riveted plating of your cutter is dented | No | Yes |
| The vessel sinks at its mooring because a cooling water hose comes off the engine | Provided that | Yes |
| The inflatable tender disappears from the aft deck while you are lying at a public jetty | No | Provided that |
| Someone on board falls on the wet side deck and holds you liable for their injury | No | No |
Liability towards third parties and towards those on board runs through a separate section of the policy and not through the hull cover.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
What does it mean that the policy runs through an authorised agent?
An authorised agent issues the policy on behalf of an insurer and, within that authority, also handles underwriting and claims. For you that means shorter lines on a file that departs from the standard pattern, and a proper conversation about your vessel rather than an automated refusal. The insurer behind the authority ultimately carries the risk.
Can I insure a vessel without CE marking?
Often yes, but the insurer will want to know how the vessel was built and whether the systems were installed or inspected by a recognised party. A survey report with photographs of the engine compartment, the gas installation and the switch panel helps here. Without that evidence, fire damage remains the point on which the discussion concentrates.
I live on board part of the year. Is that a problem?
It changes the risk fundamentally: there is cooking, heating and washing on board, and there are contents that do not belong on a weekend boat. Declare it, so that the policy is set up accordingly or converted to houseboat cover. Not declaring it is exactly the circumstance an insurer comes back to later.
How is damage to a classic vessel assessed?
By a surveyor who looks at repair using the original construction methods. That is more expensive than a modern repair, and that is precisely why the valuation has to be right beforehand. Report the claim in good time, because Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires it and on woodwork and steelwork the damage worsens quickly. Photograph the situation before the yard starts stripping or blasting.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare pleasure craft insuranceThe main page
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- Watersports insurance through UnigarantModular structure, equipment on board, people on board
- Insuring a wooden boatMaintenance, valuation, rot
- Insuring a yacht and motorboatOwn-damage cover, sailing area, winter storage
- Insurance through HienfeldUnderwriting authority, specialist risks, valuation