Dinghy insurance

Apart from the restrictions noted below, boat insurance usually does cover anyone driving your boat with your permission. That said, minors under 18 years old are not normally covered to drive the vessel without an adult being on board and in charge at all times. 

If there’s someone who’ll regularly use your boat, with or without you being on board, it’s a good idea to inform the insurer. Give the person’s name, age, record, and experience, together with any claims history they may have.

Make sure anyone borrowing your boat is aware of any limitations in the policy – for example, about where the boat may be used or moored. Our Haven Knox-Johnston ‘All Weather’ boat insurance policy has this to say about who may drive your boat:

• If you let someone else take charge of your vessel, you must make sure they have enough experience to do so safely.
• There’s no liability cover for anyone operating, managing or working on the vessel who is employed by a shipyard, repair yard, marina, yacht club, sales agency, delivery contractor or similar organisation. So if anyone covered by these categories is going to drive your boat, it’s essential they confirm they have their own professional indemnity cover.
• If you’re lending your boat for any form of compensation, this won’t be considered ‘private pleasure use’, but rather ‘hire or reward’. Hire or reward is normally excluded under insurance policies unless insurers have given their prior agreement to such use.
• If you’re arranging for a delivery skipper to sail or deliver your vessel, you should get a copy of the skipper and crew’s sailing CV, and make sure they have the appropriate professional indemnity in place – insurers often want to see this before agreeing cover. 

The above is for information purposes only. It’s not intended to define legal terms, or to affect the interpretation of any policy we may issue. If you have any questions about your insurance, the best thing to do is get your particular questions answered individually by your insurance broker or insurer.

Don’t panic. Any extended cruising trip is likely to be a long one, especially if you’re going the whole way round the world. Boat insurance policies will be written on an annual basis, and should at least be able to provide cover as far as your next destination, or near to it. If, for example, you can’t get boat insurance in the US, arrange it with the local market when you arrive in the Caribbean. As long as effective cover is in place at the time of arrival in any port, you can stay there while solving the problem of the next stage. The locals understand the market, and will be able to provide your boat insurance needs for that region.

Please email us on claims@havenkj.eu with your name, policy number and the nature of the claim. If it’s urgent, please call +44 (0)1732 223610 and we’ll aim to get back to you as quickly as we can.

See also our ‘Claims’ FAQs.

• • Find a surveyor who is knowledgeable about the type of boat you have. 

• The surveyor must be independent of the seller and any intermediary involved in the sale. 

• The surveyor should have professional indemnity insurance. 
• Many surveyors carry qualifications and/or are members of professional bodies, such as the Yacht Designers and Surveyors Association (YDSA) and the International Institute of Marine Surveyors (IIMS).
• To find a surveyor, get in touch with a professional body, check their websites, or ask your local marina or a yacht broker for their recommended list.