Who do you use for your Charter Vessel insurance. I’ve been with the same company for 10 years now almost. Feel like I need to check out what else is available.
Strickland
I used Charter lakes
Marsha
35 Contender
Have gotten several phone calls (not for ST) but from the sea school side from several caps, it seems that several insurance companies have instsiuted “caps” on the number of charters they will allow in a years period…anybody else been told this? seems strange…and it from a couple of big name carriers…
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com
Interesting that this thread reappeared. It was gone for awhile last night. Thanks Marsha, I have a quote from them as well and they are who I used my first year in business. Mike i was reviewing a policy last night and was concerned about a statement in it that said my maximum number of passengers was 6. I know this is true for my charters but what happens when I am out in the boat with friends and have my boat limit of around 10 people onboard? And yes folks I do have 10 friends that will go in the boat with me.
Fritz,
I would think you could get an endorsement for more than 6 while not chartering.
Mike,
Full-time, commercial charter coverage provides for unlimited charters per year (unless stipulated otherwise for some reason). Part-time charter policies set a cap on the number of charters run per year; some of these set a max number of charters per year, as selected by the company, and with some the caps are selected by the insured. We sell all of the above, from part-time to full-time commercial policies.
As for the number of passengers, as asked about by Fritz, if your charter policy limits you to 6 passengers (i.e., it says “6-pack charter”), that’s for charter purposes, and it is also set per the reasonable expectation of a given-sized boat for commercial charter use, and set per the U.S Coast Guard limits on a given license. Even smaller boats may have a 4-pack charter policy, beacuase they can’t feasible carry 6 on a charter anyway. Most nearshore, small-boat captains have an OUPV Licence (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels), which is limited, by law, to 6 passengers. Since the U.S. Coast Guard only allows 6 passengers under this license, that’s all the coverage an OUPV Captain can get for charters. Other captains have 100-ton licenses and can carry more passengers commercially. It depends on the license you have, the boat you have, and the policy you have.
But, regardless of that, pleasure boating is not chartering. The maximum number of passengers listed on a charter policy is for liability purposes with regard to commercial use (i.e., while running charters, or other commercial activity)–not personal/pleasure use. Pleasure use (whether on a charter or personal/pleasure policy–unless it’s a yacht or boat where a licensed captain is required, and the captain’s license restricts the number of passengers he can carry) does not limit number of passengers, with the exception that your compliance with any safety regulations or manufacturers’ suggested maximum capacities is both expected and required (so, carrying more than a boat is rated to carry could cause you insuranc
Bump to the top for Fritze,
Growing old is MANDATORY, Growing up is OPTIONAL!
Sorry it took me this long to read this thread…and I do not do/nor do i understand all the nuances of insurance…so in short…lee answered fritz’s question to me bumped back up by mudball…
your either working under your license or you are not…if you do carry more than the boat is rated for, you do leave yourself open for legal problems…
OUPV= 6 total passengers (unispected pssnger vessel)
Masters license= required for that 7th pssngr and the vessel must be inspected (it also covers OUPV there are no dual licenses) although you can have a masters inshore and do offshore 6paks…it gets kinda funky, so no whatifs please…
if i’m on my boat that does charters on mon-fri and have a bunch of friends out for the weekend…its not a charter, BUT, the small vessel stability rules apply (boat capacity plate)if your overloaded (and we all see this) you leave the door wide open should something untoward occur…are you held to a higher standard because you are also a licensed captain or master…not supposed to, but it happens…
I carry MOPS insurance on my license for my protection…So Lee, do you offer this insurance also?
I hope this helps, Lee’s the insurance guru here…me, I teach maritime law as it applies to getting your license and keeping it all legal…and I’ll come tow ya:smiley:
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com
Mike who do you carry your license insurance thru??
21 Contender
http://www.mopslicenseins.com/
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com
My boat is rated for 11 people so I wont go over that. I was just curious how insurance companies see a charter captain using his boat for pleasure.
Lee’s gonna have to help you with that onee…
what I do in class is tell the students that you are not supposed to be held to a higher standard…so a charter is a charter and a pleasure trip is just that…should something happen, well maybe Phin can join and and give us his opinion…
but I will share this with you…i did the expert witness for a charter capt not long ago and the “other” attorney raked his buut through the coals based solely on his license and that he was “supposed” to be more highly trained…someone got hurt on his boat on a “for pleasure” trip…he still has his license…
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com
If there was a lawsuit for someone getting hurt most likely the suit would be brought as negligence against the operator or captain. Negligence is established by the captain 's duties falling under what the standard is in a like situation. Net net is a captain is going to be held to a higher standard than the average boater regardless if he is doing a charter or pleasure. Reason, a captain, especially someone that earns his living on the water has more knowledge and his duty will be higher than the average Joe.
If you are really worried about liability, I would look into an umbrella policy on top of your typical boat insurance.
Mike,
Yes, we do offer MOPS.
For any who are unfamiliar with MOPS (while I’m confident that Mike knows the following), MOPS is an insurance company/branch that is owned and underwritten by Lancer Insurance, and it provides a specialized, additional coverage–to be added along side a commercial boat policy–for captains to protect their licenses from legal action by the Coast Guard and some other similar risks. It is primarily designed and intended for captains who operate ships, tugs, crew boats, and barges for large operations, and for delivery captains and independent-contract captains (mostly for large operations), but it is available to others also (though, in limited form in some cases).
The normal commercial or charter boat policy covers the boat from physical damage and the owner from legal liability, providing property insurance, and “protection and indemnity” (defends and pays lawsuits, covers oil spill, etc).
A MOPS policy is added to defend the captain’s license from charges levied by the Coast Guard against the captain with the intent of revoking his license. In other words, MOPS pays your attorney’s fees, and/or provides attorneys, to defend you in court against the revocation of your captain’s license by the Coast Guard. It does not cover the boat or the owner (if he is someone other than the captain)–just the captain, and just against certain risks, such as license revocation (see below). It does provide some coverage for personal navigational equipment on-board, though.
Optionally, (if the option is purchased) MOPS will also provide loss of income for one year while you’re defending your case from the Coast Guard. Also optionally, (if the option is purchased) it will pay for legal defense against fines imposed against you by the Coast Guard (but it won’t pay the fines themselves if the Coast Guard wins the case).
MOPS will also (where the option is available and selected/paid for) write professional liability for captains of larger operations, but does not generally pro
I’ll restate this for clarity. Regarding the question of whether a charter policy will allow 11 people onboard an unpaid, pleasure-only trip, even though the policy specifies a max of 6 passengers, there is no problem, as long as you are (1) not collecting payment or running a “charter” or commercial operation at the time, and (2) do not exceed the max rated capacity of the vessel. The max-passenger stipulation on the charter policy is for charters and commercial operations, not pleasure use. This is subject to the assumption that all safety and legal regulations, specifications, reasonable precautions and conduct, and manufacturer’s recommendations are duly followed, though.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance, Inc.
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
Well this is more questions on the same topic. I have a side business charter service with a sole proprietor busines license. Everyone says, no you need to be a corperation. I feel like if I’m the owner operator, how can I insulate myself from liablilty by saying “no it’s the corperations fault”. My brother is a civil lawyer in GA. I told him about my policy and that I’m a sole proprietor and he said I need to increase my coverage to a million dollars. My current coverage is 300,000. I know these are some pretty heavy questions Lee but any input you can provide would be appreciated.
Ian Harle
22 ft Sisu hardtop downeaster
jeez Ian, why dontcha just ask me how to mix a dopamine drip at 3am?
LLC or PC…I just found a good attorney(yeah come on bring the puns on) and she set it all up for me…everything is seperated from my personal assests…and that is the extent of my knowlegde of this…
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949
Sea School Charleston
843-747-1000
www.seatow.com
www.seaschool.com
If you want to talk to a maritime lawyer about setting up your business & being an LLC, contact Scott Bluestein.
21 Contender