have to carry? Do you have to carry insurance as a capt even if you do not charter? thanks
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
Good question, not sure you need any liability insurance at all but you’d be crazy not to have it if running trips. Some of the Charter “brokers” in town require their captains to carry a certain amount before they will book you charters. Call Strickland marine and ask them about it.
thanks
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
The simple answer to “how much liability coverage should I have” is “the more the better”. The full answer is really a full article in itself that will require some effort to address thoroughly.
As for REQUIRED minimum limits, things that set required limits, depending on the situation, can potentially include things like your bank who holds a mortgage on your boat, your lease agreement, your charter agreement with a referral agency, the owner of a boat that you will be operating, and the marina out of which you operate. Other than those things, as far as I know, there’s no legal (CG) requirement for you to have liability insurance just because you are a licensed captain. It’s actually more of a practical necessity if you are running charters or operating a vessel than a legal requirement just because you have a license.
Now, as for how to choose how much liability to have, your really need to first think about what your exposures are, identifying the contingencies against which you need to insure yourself, your assigns, your work, or your property. Keep in mind that what you are insuring against with liability insurance are, basically speaking, the following things: damages potentially awarded to a plaintiff and the legal costs to defend against such a lawsuit. There are different forms of liability insurance involved in fully answering the question asked here, though. For example, there is liability exposure to the captain himself, involving his operation of a given vessel, and there is liability exposure regarding the boat itself and maintenance and operation thereof, which attaches to the owner (and potentially others, also). There is also a difference in forms of “liability” when it comes to a boat policy. “Watercraft liability” typically only covers bodily injury and property damage. True Protection and Indemnity insurance (P&I) adds coverage for other perils, such as wreck removal and oil spillage, etc. These are all very commonly encountered perils.
Additionally, keep in mind that b
Thanks for the follow up Lee - very informative and I’m sure that answered a lot of folks questions about what they need. (I know it did mine) Hope your feeling better by now-
Mike Austin
“HATTERASER”
You’re welcome, and thanks. Feeling much better; thank God. Rough weekend. Going to lay low for a couple of days until I’m sure I’m out of the woods, but I’ll be working from home on my cell phone and computer, so don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. 509-2526
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance, Inc.
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
My policy will not cover my boat if operating “under hire”. What are my options Lee? New policy or is there an option I can get to cover me and the crew while operating the boat?
What if damage is done to the boat durring the charter? Sounds like I am hosed under my current policy.
What about the situations that someone else is driving even if not under hire?
This gets really sticky.
Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them again!!
Scouting,
As for the “under hire” language, I would need to see your policy to be sure because I’m not sure what section you’re reading, but it sounds like what you’re telling me is that it’s a pleasure boat policy (although, without my looking at it, it’s also possible that the language you’re talking about is referring to what I discuss in the fourth paragraph–below–pertaining to non-affiliated professional operators, but I don’t think that is the case, and I’ll have to look at it to be sure). Pleasure boat policies do not cover vessels that are chartered, hired, or leased out, generally speaking. However, some pleasure boat policies can be endorsed to cover occasional charters up to a certain number per year, while others do not, and the maximum number allowed, if offered, varies per company. Also, you’ll need to make sure you have P&I and Jones Act coverage, and not just Watercraft Liability.
If something happens–damage or otherwise–during a charter, and you don’t have a charter policy (and it sounds like you probably don’t), then yes, you are hosed.
So, for charters (or to operate your vessel under hire), you may need another policy, but you may just need to endorse the current one. If you call me, I’ll confirm the necessary path for you.
Pleasure boat and charter policies also BOTH exclude certain coverages while your vessel is being operated by a marina operator, a boat dealer, or some other professional other than yourself or your private operators. As I mentioned parenthetically above, since I’m not looking at your actual policy, it’s possible that the section you are reading that mentions something about “under hire” may be referring to this exclusion; I will have to read/see your policy (or pull your file if you’re already our customer) to see exactly what you’re talking about and make a determination for you. It’s common for marinas to move boats around and for mechanics to test drive boats they are working on for customers. Such organizations and professionals have to have MOLL
You can get license insurance as well from MOPS as well. It will cover you if you have an incident & you have caused damage, ie oil spill, personal injury, collision, etc.
21 Contender
We offer MOPS insurance also.
For any who are unfamiliar with MOPS, it 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 only 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 provide this coverage for smaller operations, such as inshore guides,
Lee can answer this better than anyone, but you can typically “stack” your other liability coverages as well. Stacking enables you to pool all your liability coverages in the event of an accident. Need to sit down with your agent and look at the details.
Lee can answer this better than anyone, but you can typically “stack” your other liability coverages as well. Stacking enables you to pool all your liability coverages in the event of an accident. Need to sit down with your agent and look at the details.
its it required to be legal? or can you still be a capt and take the chances?
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
210 are you thinking about just getting a license to have one if so then no you want have to have charter insurance just to have a license.
But if you plan on taking anyone for hire cross all your Ts and dot your Is. coasties and dnr check boats regularly and inspect
183 ranger ghost
www.teamallurefishing.com
I’m no maritime attorney or Coast Guard officer, but I know of no law that requires you to have marine insurance in SC, 210Scout. If you want to double-check just to make double sure, call the Coast Guard and the DNR.
However, I will tell you that it is very risky to operate a boat without liability coverage–captains’s license or no captain’s license–and that’s even more true if you’re running charters or operating as a hired captain. You will be putting your entire estate at risk of being taken in a law suit, including any college funds you have set aside for your kids, etc. Running charters for hire increases your liability exposure, but there is plenty of exposure even if you’re just running a boat for pleasure.
Now, most people automatically think that boat and/or charter insurance is going to be really expensive. I can insure you for a lot less money than you probably think, though. We have extremely competitive programs, and we develop newer, more competitive ones frequently with our companies. We sell for about 3 dozen companies.
The same goes for pleasureboat insurance.
Give me a call, and let me just give you a quote. I will probably pleasantly surprise you. I usually do make people happy when I quote them. If not, then you’ve only spent about 5-10 minutes or so of your time, and you’ll at least know what it costs. It’s a pretty easy and fast process.
If you don’t call me, though, please call some agent and get coverage–at least liability coverage if nothing else. Incidents on the water are very common, and the judgments awared by the courts are usually very high. The choice is yours, obviously, but of all the forms of insurance, liability coverage on a vehicle of any kind is among the most important and least costly.
Keep in mind that I’m happy to answer questions and help you whether you call/use me or not. No pressure. I hate high-pressure sales. Just let me know if I can help. You won’t owe me anything.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Mari
I have insurance on my boat now, I just didn’t know if it changed if you turn your boat into an ocassional charter boat, I want to get my Capt Liscense but will not charter, if I do I may charter 4-5 a summer just for fun.
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
quote:If this is the case then charter 6-8 times a summer and pay the $500-$1000 difference in your insurance.
Originally posted by 210 ScoutI have insurance on my boat now, I just didn’t know if it changed if you turn your boat into an ocassional charter boat, I want to get my Capt Liscense but will not charter, if I do I may charter 4-5 a summer just for fun.
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
Not meaning to argue, but I can almost certainly add part-time charter for quite a bit less than that. Thanks for the positive comments about us above, by the way, Fritz. Much appreciated, sir.
210Scout, here’s the deal on what you need.
- From a Coast Guard perspective, you don’t have to have insurance just because you’re a licensed captain.
- From a risk/insurance perspective, if you run even a single charter on your boat, you DO need to have charter coverage because, if you don’t, your insurance company can/will deny coverage on your pleasureboat policy, and probably cancel it, because you are in material breach of the policy. There is specific language that forbids commercial operation on a pleasureboat policy.
To recitfy this, you can do one of three things. First, if you are only running a few charters per year, some pleasureboat policies (not all) will allow you to add coverage for a specified number of charters per year for an extra charge; if your present company will do that, then add the coverage. Second, most policies do NOT allow for that, but we have companies/policies that DO. Let me know if you’d like me to hook you up with a pleasureboat policy with part-time charters (e.g., 21 per year). It’s very inexpensive. Finally, and obviously, you could get a full-time charter policy.
If you call me, you will likely be pleasantly surprised about how cheaply I can cover this need on any of the above options.
- If you don’t call me, then call someone and get proper coverage in place. Incidents are common, and court awards for maritime liability suits tend to be high. You will be flying naked if you run any charters without charter coverage.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance, Inc.
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
thanks gotcha, If everything goes as planned I will give you a call.
Thanks for the help! It will be sometime around the start of summer
21 scout w/150 yam 4str
16’ Alum. w/40 yam
For the cost of 1 charter you could be properly insured. Seems like a no brainer.