Insurance for EU boats staying in the USA.

[RH112]

Hi fellow sailors,

We are planning to sail our Beneteau First 47.7 from The Netherlands (EU) to California by the end of 2023. When checking out with my insurance agent (specialized in marine insurances) I was told that they could cover almost the whole world, excluding some obvious dangerous areas and ... the USA. It seems that the rules and regulations in the USA are so prone to very high claims that European insurance companies do not want to be involved with.

So my question is: is it possible for an European to get an insurance from a US agent/company?

I am very curious to learn about the experiences of other Europeans who stayed in the USA for months in a row.

Thanks for reading and for any advice and fair winds to all!
Robert

[goboatingnow]

Normally , your insurance is a function of flag and sometimes your personal residence address. Hence US insurance unless approved to operate in your flag state can’t legally offer insurance. Hence your best bet is to contact all your normal legitimate national insurers and seek quotes.

It’s some time since I did that but in my case my national insurer extended cover while I was in the US. They excluded medical cover except repatriation costs.

[RH112]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Normally , your insurance is a function of flag and sometimes your personal residence address. Hence US insurance unless approved to operate in your flag state can’t legally offer insurance. Hence your best bet is to contact all your normal legitimate national insurers and seek quotes.

It’s some time since I did that but in my case my national insurer extended cover while I was in the US. They excluded medical cover except repatriation costs.

Thanks for helping out and the great info. I will contact my current insurance agent again as well as some others. From what I understood so far it is becoming harder and harder to get insured for long term ocean crossings and even more for USA coverage. If I know more I will post it here again.

Anyone else with (other) experiences or tips?