I just got off the phone with Overseas Insurance, one of the companies recommended by Nordhavn.  I am currently with Zurich (purchased through Overseas).  When I advised Overseas I planned a departure this summer for a 2 year Caribbean cruise they said Zurich would not carry the policy, and that I should submit an itinerary and a boating experience resume for my wife and I.  They would then submit it to Loyds of London and see if they would write a policy.  I'm certain my wife and I don't have enough boating experience to satisfy them.  I am prepared to leave without insurance and simply "self insure".

My question is this:  How many of you cruising couples have succeeded in acquiring insurance?

Was this an instant process or did you have to "earn your stripes"?

Assuming you do NOT have insurance, have you been refused moorage at any marinas in the U.S., Central America, Mexico, or the Lesser Antilles?

Would it be possible to get a "Liability Rider" on my personal insurance that might substitute for Yacht Insurance.  I'm not concerned about insuring the boat against loss, but am concerned about liability.  One of the problems with a "Rider" is you have to have something for the policy to "ride" on.  Having sold the house, cars and other belongings, I'm not sure what I'd use as a base policy?  Any thoughts on this are welcome and appreciated!  Thanks, Scott

Scott:

If you speak to more insurance companies, and if it isn't any extra work,
can you ask them about whether your ability to get insurance varies based on
whether or not your vessel is US flagged?

I have been told, but have not verified this, that insurance is much
cheaper, and simpler to find, if your vessel is not US flagged. The reason I
was given is that the US has the most expensive litigation should anything
go wrong (punitive damages, etc)

We will be taking delivery of our new boat in a few months, and I'm on the
fence as to whether or not to US flag it. The majority of our cruising will
be non-US, so it might make sense for us.

As I start my quest for insurance, I'll let you know what I find.

-Ken Williams
Nordhavn68.com

-----Original Message-----
From: passagemaking-under-power-bounces@lists.samurai.com
[mailto:passagemaking-under-power-bounces@lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of
scottebulger@comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 10:12 AM
To: PUP
Subject: [PUP] Offshore insurance

I just got off the phone with Overseas Insurance, one of the companies
recommended by Nordhavn.  I am currently with Zurich (purchased through
Overseas).  When I advised Overseas I planned a departure this summer for a
2 year Caribbean cruise they said Zurich would not carry the policy, and
that I should submit an itinerary and a boating experience resume for my
wife and I.  They would then submit it to Loyds of London and see if they
would write a policy.  I'm certain my wife and I don't have enough boating
experience to satisfy them.  I am prepared to leave without insurance and
simply "self insure".

My question is this:  How many of you cruising couples have succeeded in
acquiring insurance?

Was this an instant process or did you have to "earn your stripes"?

Assuming you do NOT have insurance, have you been refused moorage at any
marinas in the U.S., Central America, Mexico, or the Lesser Antilles?

Would it be possible to get a "Liability Rider" on my personal insurance
that might substitute for Yacht Insurance.  I'm not concerned about insuring
the boat against loss, but am concerned about liability.  One of the
problems with a "Rider" is you have to have something for the policy to
"ride" on.  Having sold the house, cars and other belongings, I'm not sure
what I'd use as a base policy?  Any thoughts on this are welcome and
appreciated!  Thanks, Scott

Scott - I worked with the folks at Overseas several
years ago to develop an insurance certification
program. Here's a basic list of skills that needed to
be covered (I no longer do this type of work, its for
example only). It was designed to be covered in a
couple days and was reasonably priced:

http://tinyurl.com/yjmvrg

You're probably better off than you know - I believe
you have crewed up/down the coast a few times. As far
as your wife, depending upon her interest, aptitude,
and skill, spending some time with the good folks at
Sea Sense might make sense (www.seasenseboating.com).
Sea Sense teaches men and women, but their forte is
working with women. They're located in Florida - given
the winter you've endured in the PNW, it might be a
timely trip anyway. They usually do a charter trip in
the PNW once a year, you may be able to hire them for
a day or two of private instruction aboard your boat.

Intuitively, big boats are purchased by people with a
fair amount of disposable income. I can tell you from
first-hand experience they didn't get that way by
messing around in boats - many, many people have a
skills' gap. Yet they all get insured somehow. Don't
despair, and don't get discouraged by your first
quotes.

Honestly, the only insurance sign-off work I did was
the occasional person who had a bad accident and the
insurance company wouldn't lift 'port risk'
restrictions (can't leave the slip) until they spent a
bunch of time with someone like me (oh, the
stories....). Which tells me insurance companies are
writing a lot of policies without comparable
experience

Good luck -

Peter
www.SeaSkills.com