Insurance on the hard

[Maple Leaf]

Can anyone advise if I can purchase 6 month of insurance for cruising as opposed to 12 months? I recently purchased a Catamaran and I am lost in the Insurance world.
I am only cruising for 6 months a year. The other 6 months the yacht will be on the hard. The marina where it will be hauled out offer Liability insurance. I have received 3 quotes from 3 different companies and they are quite different on their pricing.
I will be cruising the Eastern Caribbean in the winter with the yacht on the hard in Grenada in the Summer. (Hurricane season)
Any information will help. Perhaps a referral for an Insurance company.
I have time as the yacht is scheduled to transfer to me on November 30th.

Thanks everyone .

Robert

[rslifkin]

It's common to define a layup period in your policy. It's still a 12 month policy, but you define a set of dates where the boat will be out of service (where it would only be covered for damage that might occur in storage, but not for actual use). Doing that typically reduces the premium by a significant amount.

[Shrew]

You would want insurance for all 12 months regardless of whether we're talking about Liability or Comprehensive. I can't speak for policies in Canadian marinas and boatyards, but every one I've been in the New England region of the US wants at least Liability insurance on file to stay in either the slips or the yard.

Boats can fall down, catch fire and even 'sink' on land (Ever see a winter storm flood a marina yard? It can lift boats off of their cribbing and stands, floating slightly and coming down hard on the stands punching holes in the hulls. Enough surge and you can end up with a pile of boats. Ice can also do damage if covers fail.

My policies have always had dates when I was in the water and when I was hauled and laid up for the winter.

[Maple Leaf]

Thanks for your response. I am fully aware that my yacht will be insured for the time it’s in dry dock at a marina. The yacht will be insured for the entire year.

My question is, can my marine insurance provide coverage for only the 6 months that it’s in the water while I am living on it? The marina offers quite a nice policy for the 6 months it will be on the hard for a fraction of what the insurance providers are quoting me.

Is this a common practice?


Robert

[sail sfbay]

Every boat insurance policies I have obtained were always for a 12 month unlike a vehicle or house.

Are the 3 quotes on the same basis and for calendar year?

[blueblaze]

Hi Robert, I am an insurance agent and cruiser, most insurance policies are annual. Many things could happen to your boat while on the hard so you want insurance year round. My email is laura@legacyunderwriters.com

[piebuss]

If you're confident the yard cover is good, you could ask your insurer to have a full exclusion period of 6 months.

Unusual, and they probably already price the low risk of being in the hard stand into their annual premium, so I wouldn't expect a significant saving.

The yard's price would reflect the low risk, so compare the yard's price to the saving you might get excluding 6 months from your annual policy.

Still get an annual policy though, as insurers are funny with new customers. If you're going back every year after 6 months away, you might find one year nobody will insure you.

[S/V Illusion]

The only way to get what you want is to obtain annual insurance and cancel it prematurely whereupon you can then obtain an annual liability only policy which you could similarly cancel. Not a good idea and underwriters will quickly catch on to this scheme. Plus Grenada has tropical storms too. Plus if lots of people did what you intend, the rest of us would pay in increased premiums

[foothillsailor]

What I did was on each annual renewal in September, renewed for a year but with boat being specified as being on the hard (which it was). Then just before my cruising season starts I have my broker have the insurance policy endorsed (or changed) to specify the boat being in the water in its specified cruising area for my anticipated cruising period. Then before the end of my anticipated cruising season, I haul the boat back onto land. Worked well, uninterrupted insurance coverage, lower overall premium costs and only one call to my broker to change the policy. Of course there was a slight policy premium increase/charge for the limited endorsement. .... talk to your broker.

[zippy]

Because of COVID my boat remained on the hard in Martinique last winter. There was no insurance reduction for the boat spending the whole year in the yard. I asked.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Maple Leaf

The marina where it will be hauled out offer Liability insurance.

I missed this part.

Are you carrying Liability only now, or are you carrying comprehensive insurance now? Comprehensive includes liability. How much would you save cancelling your current policy and then attempting to renew it?

You'd deal with other issues like a new policy changing terms or premium prices. Or worse, requiring an insurance survey to write the new policy. These things are all typically waved on renewals, with the exception of small premium hikes.

[David B]

Originally Posted by Maple Leaf

Thanks for your response. I am fully aware that my yacht will be insured for the time it’s in dry dock at a marina. The yacht will be insured for the entire year.

My question is, can my marine insurance provide coverage for only the 6 months that it’s in the water while I am living on it? The marina offers quite a nice policy for the 6 months it will be on the hard for a fraction of what the insurance providers are quoting me.

Is this a common practice?


Robert

The policy the marina are offering - are you sure this is not just liability insurance? If so, that would explain the much lower price - your boat will be uninsured from your perspective.

It is quite normal for a regular comprehensive policy (including liability) to be reduced for the period the boat is on the hard.