This week’s article comes to us via a press release from Boat US. Whether your boat is docked or stored at a marina year round, or if you frequently use marina for dockage you may want to look into your insurance coverage. There are two marine insurance brokers that sponsor Charlestonfishing.com and I can ensure you they are well versed on the subject and can help you determine if you are adequately covered.
NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com
BOATERS NEED TO CHECK THEIR MARINA SLIP CONTRACT
AGAINST THEIR BOAT’S INSURANCE POLICY
Do You Have the Coverage You Need?
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 17, 2008 – Before you sign your annual slip contract with your marina this year, be sure to read it carefully – it may obligate you to pay more than just the slip fee as marinas are inserting language in their slip contracts that shift the marina’s legal liability to the slip holder in an effort control increasing marina insurance costs.
“What this means in real terms, for example, is if a boater’s guest is injured due to the marina’s negligence and sues the marina, or a boat is damaged by the marina and it declines to pay for repairs, the boat owner could be responsible for defending the marina and paying any amounts that the marina is responsible for,” said BoatU.S. Vice President of Underwriting, Jim Nolan.
“In the insurance industry it’s called contractual liability,” said Nolan, noting that such slip contract language includes terms like “hold harmless and indemnify” and “defend and indemnify”. “If they see this language, boaters should check to make sure that their boat’s insurance policy provides them with coverage for these types of contractual liabilities before they sign their slip or storage contract,” he added.
If the boat insurance policy does not include contractual liability