A yacht is an object that lies unmanned for most of the year, and it is precisely those idle months that determine what your own-damage cover is worth.
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In brief
A pleasure craft is not subject to compulsory insurance the way a car is: Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies only to motor vehicles on the road. Your liability as a skipper runs through Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and in practice is enforced by the marina, which almost always requires liability cover in the mooring contract before you are allocated a berth.
Own-damage cover stands or falls with two limits on your policy. The first is the sailing area: inland waters, wider inland waters, coastal waters within a set number of miles, or a defined sea area. The second is the period: many policies have a sailing season and a storage period, each with its own obligations. If you sail outside the area, or the vessel lies outside the agreed storage, there is no cover, not even for damage that has nothing to do with that limit.
What makes a yacht expensive to repair is rarely the hull. It is the engine, the electronics at the helm, the rigging and the interior. A vessel that has not been drained down for the winter and in which a pipe freezes produces exactly that kind of damage, and that is precisely the item insurers exclude as inadequate maintenance.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Liability
Liability
Damage you cause to others with the vessel.
Collision and jetty damage
No legal obligation
Often required by the marina
The vessel itself
Own-damage cover
Damage to the boat, the engine and the fixed equipment.
Fire, storm and sinking
Theft
Collision and grounding
Extensions
Extensions
What you add separately.
Trailer on the road
Occupants
Salvage and wreck removal
What is covered
Situation
Liability
Own-damage cover
Damage to another vessel or a jetty
Yes
No
Theft of the boat or the outboard motor
No
Provided that
Fire and storm damage in the berth or ashore
No
Yes
Sinking through a leak or through rainwater
No
Provided that
Salvage and removal of the wreck
Provided that
Provided that
Osmosis, wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
There is no statutory insurance requirement for pleasure craft. The WAM applies only to motor vehicles. Marinas, harbours and hire companies do generally require liability cover. Pay attention to the sailing area described and to the lay-up or winter storage period: outside the sailing area or during undeclared storage, cover may lapse.
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The sailing area is a hard limit, not a guideline
Your policy states a defined sailing area. If you cross an estuary in a vessel insured for inland waters, you are uninsured that day, including for a fire on board that has nothing to do with the location. A temporary extension of the area for a trip to the Baltic or the Mediterranean can usually be arranged, but only in advance and with details of the crew. Reporting it afterwards does not work.
Winter storage: the policy sets requirements, not just the marina
Separate provisions apply to the storage period: the vessel ashore or in a shed, water systems drained or filled with antifreeze, batteries disconnected, gas bottles taken off. Frost damage to the engine block, the cooling system or the calorifier because the system has not been drained is not covered; that is regarded as deferred maintenance. Record who made the vessel ready for winter and on what date, certainly if you leave that to the yard.
Crane work and time at the yard are a separate risk
When lifting in and out of the water, things go wrong with strops in the wrong place, with the propeller shaft or with a deckhouse touching the crane jib. If your vessel is at the yard, the yard is liable for that under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, but the yard will rely on its general terms with a limited cap. Check that your own hull cover simply continues during time at the yard, transport by road and the trial run after repair.
Wear and inherent defects set against sudden damage
A hull policy covers sudden and unforeseen damage. Osmosis, corrosion, a worn propeller shaft coupling, chafed sailcloth and an engine that gives up after twenty years do not fall under it. What can be covered is the consequential loss that follows from that defect, for example water damage after a perished hose clip lets go. You pay for the defect itself. What the defect damaged may fall under the policy. Ask how your policy conditions draw that line.
What does your premium depend on?
Sailing area. Inland waters, coastal waters or a sea area. Every extension raises the premium and the underwriting requirements.
Type and speed. A sailing boat, a displacement cruiser and a fast motorboat each have a different pattern of damage.
Sum insured and valuation. On unusual or classic vessels, a valuation under Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code fixes the value in advance.
Mooring and storage. A supervised marina, open water or covered storage ashore. The winter location counts separately.
Security and tracking system. An outboard motor lock, an alarm and tracking all count, above all on open boats and tenders.
Experience and boating licence. The skipper's qualifications, years of experience and claims history help determine acceptance.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
No. The obligation under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies to motor vehicles, not to pleasure craft. In reality liability cover is made compulsory by almost every marina and by most foreign harbour authorities, as a condition for a mooring. Without that cover you bear damage to other vessels, jetties or locks yourself under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What happens if I sail outside my sailing area?
Then cover lapses for that trip, and not only for damage connected with the location. A fire in the galley outside the agreed area is just as uninsured as a collision. Report a planned trip in advance. A temporary extension of the area is usually straightforward and is not granted after the event.
Am I covered if I hire out or charter my boat?
Generally not. A private pleasure craft policy assumes use by you and by people you know. Hire for payment, charter work and use in races are excluded as standard or call for separate commercial cover. If you fail to disclose that use when you apply, the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 DCC comes into play and the insurer can reduce or refuse payment under Article 7:930 DCC.
Are the belongings on board covered as well?
The fixed fittings that belong to the vessel usually are, up to a limit. Loose items such as camera equipment, jewellery, laptops and a tender with its own engine often fall outside that or are subject to a low sub-limit. Special items are better insured specifically through a valuables cover, which also applies when you take them ashore.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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