Re: [bolger] Insurance & USCG regs - was air-cooled - was hydraulic - was something
Getting liability insurance and having it protect you are two different
issues. I talked to a couple of marine insurance underwriters about it.
They stated that if you were found to be in non-compliance with
published standards your insurance coverage is toast.
One example given was the use of an automotive starter in a boat. If it
is the cause of an accident, you are not covered.
Paul Esterle - Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7/Matilda 20
North East MD
www.captnpauley.com
pages.preferred.com/~pesterle/
issues. I talked to a couple of marine insurance underwriters about it.
They stated that if you were found to be in non-compliance with
published standards your insurance coverage is toast.
One example given was the use of an automotive starter in a boat. If it
is the cause of an accident, you are not covered.
Paul Esterle - Freelance Boating Writer
Columbia 10.7/Matilda 20
North East MD
www.captnpauley.com
pages.preferred.com/~pesterle/
While compliance with the USCG regs as laid down in
COMDTPUBP16761.3B, "Safety Standards for Backyard Boat Builders" is
all to the good, I think that the blanket assertion that non-
compliant boats are uninsured or uninsurable is mistaken.
First, when talking about insurance, we need to differentiate
between "property" insurance, which insures you against the financial
loss of damage or destruction to your boat, and "liability" insurance
which insures you against suits by persons (or their executors) for
loss of life, limb or property for which you are potentially legally
liable.
In either case, whether you and/or your boat are "insurable" depends
upon an underwriter's appetite for risk and the depth of your pocket.
"Property" insurance coverage is probably a requirement of any lender
if you are financing your boat. If you are putting a substantial
portion of your assets into a boat as housing or a business
proposition or some such, you would be well advised to
obtain "property" coverage. If you are building a small boat out of
discretionary spending, it would be probably be stupid to insure it
for loss - kind of like insuring your shoelaces against breakage.
"Liability" coverage is another matter. You just can't get too much
of it, but even a minimum policy will provide you with a defense
attorney, the cost of which would otherwise force most people into
bankruptcy in a short time.
Most homeowners insurance policies provide liability coverage up to
their liability limits for owned boats up to certain horsepower (e.g.
no more than 25 hp. total), length (e.g. auxillary sailboats no more
than 25' L.O.A.), or some similar restrictions and/or combinations
thereof, as well as many other exclusions (such as "business use").
You will have to check your own policy, but I've never seen a
homeowners policy that excludes coverage on the basis of the boat
being non-USCG reg. compliant.
If your boat does not fall within the categories of boats insured
under a homeowners policy (or if you are not an insured homeowner),
you will need to purchase a separate "marine" policy covering the
boat. I needed to do this a few years ago when I purchased a 20+ year
old, 40hp powered boat. I had to jump through some hoops to get State
Farm's underwriters to write the policy, but they did and while the
policy has, as all policies do, many conditions and exclusions,
compliance with USCG regs. is not among them.
Ciao for Niao,
Bill in MN
COMDTPUBP16761.3B, "Safety Standards for Backyard Boat Builders" is
all to the good, I think that the blanket assertion that non-
compliant boats are uninsured or uninsurable is mistaken.
First, when talking about insurance, we need to differentiate
between "property" insurance, which insures you against the financial
loss of damage or destruction to your boat, and "liability" insurance
which insures you against suits by persons (or their executors) for
loss of life, limb or property for which you are potentially legally
liable.
In either case, whether you and/or your boat are "insurable" depends
upon an underwriter's appetite for risk and the depth of your pocket.
"Property" insurance coverage is probably a requirement of any lender
if you are financing your boat. If you are putting a substantial
portion of your assets into a boat as housing or a business
proposition or some such, you would be well advised to
obtain "property" coverage. If you are building a small boat out of
discretionary spending, it would be probably be stupid to insure it
for loss - kind of like insuring your shoelaces against breakage.
"Liability" coverage is another matter. You just can't get too much
of it, but even a minimum policy will provide you with a defense
attorney, the cost of which would otherwise force most people into
bankruptcy in a short time.
Most homeowners insurance policies provide liability coverage up to
their liability limits for owned boats up to certain horsepower (e.g.
no more than 25 hp. total), length (e.g. auxillary sailboats no more
than 25' L.O.A.), or some similar restrictions and/or combinations
thereof, as well as many other exclusions (such as "business use").
You will have to check your own policy, but I've never seen a
homeowners policy that excludes coverage on the basis of the boat
being non-USCG reg. compliant.
If your boat does not fall within the categories of boats insured
under a homeowners policy (or if you are not an insured homeowner),
you will need to purchase a separate "marine" policy covering the
boat. I needed to do this a few years ago when I purchased a 20+ year
old, 40hp powered boat. I had to jump through some hoops to get State
Farm's underwriters to write the policy, but they did and while the
policy has, as all policies do, many conditions and exclusions,
compliance with USCG regs. is not among them.
Ciao for Niao,
Bill in MN