European Insurance Coverage for US Citizen

[Stan Spencer]

My wife and I are doing the same thing, and insurance is the hold-up. We are buying a UK boat and are US citizens planning to re-flag the boat in the US. We have already received the green light from the USCG regarding documentation, but finding insurance for cruising the UK, Baltic & Mediterranean before returning to New England has proved to be much more difficult. I suspect this is more due to us not having the right contacts, but still there seems to be a vacuum of information. We have tried several of the companies listed above, but no luck yet. Pantenaus(sp) for example does not insure American flagged boats anymore.
Please keep sending in those ideas and concrete resources!

[Bill Garlick]

Good afternoon Stan

Your wife Lynn has already contacted us and we've already responded to her email. We should be able to assist.

[Stan Spencer]

Thanks Bill, glad to know. For the Forum's sake, why do you think American flagged vessels are being more isolated from the international insurance market? Are we worse sailors, more litigious, or trust evaporated after recent politics? This seems like a good point for people to try to understand.
-S

[George DuBose]

My current yacht liability insurer wrote me that they no longer cover yachts in the Med. My boat is a USCG documented 1973 Pearson 36 that has been completely renovated and upgraded. I haven't had a claim in over 41 years. I don't wish to change the flag to an EU country.

What to do?

George DuBose/Skylark Pearson 36/Barcelona

[EdenRose]

We had difficulty getting Europe coverage on our USA boat and we had great service and pricing from Hayes Parsons in the UK. We are covered currently for Northern Europe and for Atlantic crossing. We did not try the Med.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by George DuBose

My current yacht liability insurer wrote me that they no longer cover yachts in the Med. My boat is a USCG documented 1973 Pearson 36 that has been completely renovated and upgraded. I haven't had a claim in over 41 years. I don't wish to change the flag to an EU country.

What to do?

George DuBose/Skylark Pearson 36/Barcelona

Several likely complicating factors:

Mixed legal jurisdictions - US citizen, US vessel, international and foreign countries and EU trade.

Older boat, 51 years young.

Ask why your underwriter has opted to discontinue coverage, explicit details -
corporate legal matters as to their licenses to underwrite;
risk profile of the vessel;
profitability;
ability to service a regional claim;
????

Not sure that a change in nationality of the vessel will resolve your issue.

[EarlRaynal]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

From what I have experienced, not having a real, permanent address makes it hard for any insurer to write you a policy. Boats move around and insurance companies want a location to find you. That said I could be totally off the mark here.

I am a US citizen, bought a boat in Malta, and Pantaneous and others turned me down. I did secure a policy from a company in Malta and I have declared Malta as my home base. I have a mailing address in Texas which is my brothers house.

The policy covers sailing in the med, not east of 30 degrees.

I suggest that you do not look at the big companies, but look at locals who may be able to insure you.

How long were you able to stay in the EU? My understanding is that a non-VAT boat is limited to 6 months in an 18 month period.

I am also looking for insurance and have a similar situation where my permanent address is going to be a rental property in the US, unless I find out I have to have a permanent address in Europe to get insurance to sail the Med. Seems like an odd set of circumstances...

What did it take to declare Malta as your home base?