One cannot place enough emphasis on how essential insurance is to any boat owner. No matter how small your vessel is, it’s the time-and-time again situation where one often tends to overlook or delay insuring to save a monthly premium or quick buck, in the belief that no costly incidents will occur.
While many companies only offer marine or watercraft insurance cover, marine and boat insurers offer a wide range of cover that’s specific to marine-related risks, which is not generally understood. Unlike automobile insurance cover, there are many factors to consider before taking comprehensive marine insurance.
Apart from fire, theft, repair, parts replacement and accidental damage, one of boat insurance’s most overlooked reasons is liability coverage. We spoke to Club Marine Insurance financial and operations manager Russel Duvenhage, to help shed some light on the issue.
According to him, an unfortunate event can result in the boat owner being legally liable when damage is done to a third party’s property, loss of life or injury. “Negligence on the part of the boat owner or his passengers could result in exorbitant claims, and cripple one’s financial well being,” said Duvenhage.
