Marina Insurance

I am having some fiberglass/paint work done on my boat which is out of the water for winter storage at the marina. We keep the boat there year round. Today, they informed me that they have just raised their requirement for contractor's insurance from $2M (it was previously $1M) to $10M. Fortunately it does not look as though I shall have a problem this time as my contract specifies $1M. I wondered whether this is becoming typical or whether they are just trying to squeeze out the smaller contractors.
Chris

Insurance rates seem to be going up everywhere and not just on boats.
As for liability in marinas, I would think that the minimum for contractors is probably going up all over especially if you are in a marina with high dollar boats.
I am an under $50K boat owner but in my marina it would be safe to say that most piers have well over $10M in boats not to mention the cost of the piers themselves.
As a general rule, liability insurance is not that costly. $10M in liability does not cost 10 times as much as $1M. If someone has any kind of a sustainable boat maintenance business then surely they can afford the insurance. Hiring work to be done on a boat is usually quite costly and insurance is a very small part of the built-in costs.
I have been around boats long enough to know that a good amount of claims are fraudulent. This drives the costs way up for everyone.

The work is being done by a self-employed contractor who has workers comp. and liability insurance, just not $10M worth. I checked with another nearby marina. They only require $1M. I think I shall move there next winter!

It's amazing where these things come from and there is always a new angle every year.

We had one boatyard up here and another marina, out of the blue, started asking their patrons to add them to their individual boat insurance policies. (Either they have the same attorney or insurance co. I guess?)

It wasn't too popular with the boat owners or boat insurance co. as they have both dropped the requirment after less than a year.
LB

One million dollars is not much these days. One could easily do more than one million dollars worth of damage to a marina or the boats.

A fuel spill called in to the EPA could easily cost a million dollars.

Money is funny! Insurance money has gone crazy!! Economies are simply going nuts!!! Next step is an accounting break-down - Globally! Then what? War!!... God forbid

I wonder what would happen if I asked the marina for a copy of THEIR insureance policy, and asked to be added as an additional named insured?

Keith said:

I wonder what would happen if I asked the marina for a copy of THEIR insureance policy, and asked to be added as an additional named insured?

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What is stopping you from asking?

Chrisjs said:

The work is being done by a self-employed contractor who has workers comp. and liability insurance, just not $10M worth. I checked with another nearby marina. They only require $1M. I think I shall move there next winter!

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For me, that wouldn't be sufficient reason to move my boat.

There are many reasons to chose one marina over another. Convenience, cost, attitude of owners and staff, ease of docking, slip neighbors, condition of the marina, amenities, the list goes on and on.

Chances are the marinas insurance underwriter as made that request for the change in liabilty coverage from service providers working within the facility.

Good chance other facilities will be forced to follow.

OFB said:

Chances are the marinas insurance underwriter as made that request for the change in liabilty coverage from service providers working within the facility.

Good chance other facilities will be forced to follow.

Click to expand...

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When I renewed this year, I asked my Insurance Co. if they had heard of adding boat repair yards/marinas to an individual policy and they said they had had a few inquiries. But to date, they had declined to bind a policy in that case. They would not accept the liability for a non-owner/operator.

The yard that was asking for it here dropped the request. If no insurance company would comply, then no one could haul out in their yard. (It would be hard to survive in the current econonmic conditions, if your yard was turning away business like that.)

Larry B

Our marina asked to be added an additional interest. I called our company, Progressive, and they had no problem adding them on at no additional charge. Said they do it all the time. Doesn't seem to be an issue to me.

Smart Marinas should ask to be additionally insured.

Most property insurance policies do not cover damage to tenants property caused by other tenants. By being added to your policy if your boat should catch fire and cause damage to another boat the marina is protected under your policy. This a common request in California and most insurance companies have no problem adding the marina to your policy at no additional charge to you. Sometimes they get a little cautious if you are adding more than a couple of marinas. Travelers Insurance automatically issues additionally insured certificates on every renewal to my marina at no cost to me. This also keeps the marina owner aware of your insurance status as they are issued laps of insurance warnings. One of the marinas in my area has a sunken house boat hanging off piling in it's slip. The marina owner is stuck with the cost of removing this hazard as the owner just walked. If this is becoming standard practice in California it be coming to a marina near you soon.