Newbie looking for a long range dive boat
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/newbie-looking-long-range-dive-boat-45733.html
So, reading through your very first post and then this one, have you actually got a boat yet?
Add: Checked your profile and yes is the answer
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s53/50yo-new-me-steel-trawler-53935.html
My boat is my house. I would not let my house be uninsured.
Respectfully, I take issue with your statement. Our club is in NY like you. I’ve had direct dealings with the NY DEC. Fuel spills in tidal waters is a very very bad situation. I have personally witnessed their “attentiveness” and tactics pertaining to spills from a fire. It’s brutal.
Having a clunker of a boat of consider size, worth for arguments sake say $20K will NOT limit your spill liability to that figure.
This is a bet that is fraught with danger.
If you lived in a $10,000 double wide, and your insurance premium was going to be $2500 a year you may rethink your coverage A LOT.
Would liability only cover the boat dying on a haulout cradle(common here) or Travelift? I`m not sure.Liability only insurance. Then you only risk loosing the boat.
Would liability only cover the boat dying on a haulout cradle(common here) or Travelift? I`m not sure.
The OP is not keen on insurance, understandably so. However unlikely as it is, not having liability cover is a big punt.
Ok if you have little in the way of assets and don`t mind the risk of getting saddled with a debt. Turns on your personal situation and appetite for risk.
In the US, I have to provide annual proof of insurance and the Marina must be named as additional insured on the insurance policy. In Canada, while using a yacht club’s reciprocal dock, I have been asked for insurance. Ditto while mooring for a week at a Marina other than my own in WA State. Also when mooring in Alaska.
Liability - very unlikely but potentially VERY expensive
IMHO..If Liability Only insurance is too expensive, then it is doubtful you have the financial means to pay for the potential damage that you might cause to other people's property.
Liability insurance is likely one of the least expensive things you will need to pay for on a boat. If you find liability only insurance too expensive, you simply cannot afford to own a boat.
It was said earlier that other countries are a bit more laid back than the US and not as litigious.
To those, I would ask. If someone crashes into your boat and does damage, is the response really "Oh, no worries mate!" while you gladly pay for the damage caused by someone else out of your own pocket??
Thanks. I've never heard of this one. Would you expand, perhaps with some applicable countries. I doubt most of my nearby Asian countries would be included but I'll investigate.
Cheers
IMHO..If Liability Only insurance is too expensive, then it is doubtful you have the financial means to pay for the potential damage that you might cause to other people's property.
Liability insurance is likely one of the least expensive things you will need to pay for on a boat. If you find liability only insurance too expensive, you simply cannot afford to own a boat.
Thanks. I've never heard of this one. Would you expand, perhaps with some applicable countries. I doubt most of my nearby Asian countries would be included but I'll investigate.
Cheers
Shrew I think he was saying that your exposure to liability costs could be huge (although unlikely). Not that the premium costs are huge.
BD
what a lot of people don't understand, and generally only find out after there has been an accident/issue, is that their policy was a bad policy, and for many losses, which were excluded in the coverage of their policy, they were in fact "self insuring" anyway!
So, any old insurance policy will give that feeling of comfort, but i want a policy that will continue to give me that feeling of comfort after there has been a problem!
Why carry insurance? Because the insurance company will hire the attorneys to defend you against a lawsuit.
Personal liability insurance is quite cheap in the US - so losses must be very small or the insurance companies couldn't make a profit.
And the most important reason to have liability insurance is that the insurance company lawyers handle the defense if you get sued-- at their cost. In most cases they settle it with the other insurance company long before it gets to court. Without their lawyers defending you (not to mention defending their money), I expect things would turn out much worse.
Not sure if this is available in Australia but in the US you can purchase "umbrella" insurance that provides additional liability coverage above the other policy limits. One umbrella covers all your risks - auto, home, personal - and boat.
Let's say a guy has a $1M net worth, but is at fault in an incident that subjects him to liability of $3M. If he has $3M coverage, his net worth is not impacted. But if he has only $1M of coverage, he stands to lose everything. I am not sure my understanding is correct, but no one has ever explained to me why not. I have heard lots of theories -- one of my favorite is that as long as your coverage exceeds your net worth you have no exposure, but I don't believe that is the case (at least not in the US). Given the potential liabilities, how does one know how much liability insurance to carry?
Generally, insurance companies require a claimant to relieve the insured of any additional liability before they finalize a settlement. So to get, say $100,000, they have to let you off the hook for what they think is the balance of the damage.