Liability Insurance

[Head Sail]

A few weeks ago my 1st mate had a fall when flaking the main after an afternoon sail. Her medical insurance paid most of bill but left her with a significant copay. There were no other boats involved. Just wondering if anyone else had an incident where someone was injured and does boat liability insurance cover the copay.

 

[Rick D]

(Consider this information only as one source. I am not an attorney and do not know what happened beyond your brief description.)
I assume your First Mate was your spouse. In order to collect under liability insurance, it must found that the owner was somehow negligent. In this case, I'll assume you were not, that the injury was her imbalance alone. further, I will assume your jurisdiction, or that covering the operation of the boat, does not allow liability compensation from a spouse. If all that is true, then it is not likely your first mate can successfully collect damages from you, assuming you are an owner. The place to look for additional funds is the medical payment portion of your vessel's policy which does not have anything to do with liability; simply an injury on the boat is the trigger. Good luck!

 

[Head Sail]

(Consider this information only as one source. I am not an attorney and do not know what happened beyond your brief description.)
I assume your First Mate was your spouse.

Thanks for the reply. I should clarify, I thought spouses were referred to as "The Admiral". In this case she is 1st Mate.

Good point about the medical coverage. I didn't see any medical coverage but I'll recheck.

 

[Gunni]

#1 reason to do insurance business with an independent broker instead of direct with the insurer. Your broker can answer this question with accuracy and solid advice. I would want to know what an injury claim would do to my insurance record.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Thanks for the reply. I should clarify, I thought spouses were referred to as "The Admiral". In this case she is 1st Mate.

Good point about the medical coverage. I didn't see any medical coverage but I'll recheck.

LOL- I've had two sailing spouses and both of them would have murdered me if I referred to them as "the admiral" Both were capable mates, and in fact, capable sailors in their own rights.

The second one could kick your butt in one design racing.

So I would say-that depends totally on the lady involved

 

[rfrye1]

There would be no coverage. By definition in most policies, your spouse in considered a "Named Insured", even if her/his name is not on the policy. Regarding liability coverage, even if you are at fault, the liability coverage does not extend/cover yourself. Example would be, if you are liable in an accident and your spouse is hurt, you cant collect under your own liability policy. Same usually applies to children or blood relatives living in your household. Medical Payment coverage on a boat policy is usually "for others", not named insureds. Medical Payments is coverage for anyone injured regardless of fault/liability.

And yes I am an insurance broker........

Bob.

 

[Head Sail]

There would be no coverage. By definition in most policies, your spouse in considered a "Named Insured", even if her/his name is not on the policy. Regarding liability coverage, even if you are at fault, the liability coverage does not extend/cover yourself. Example would be, if you are liable in an accident and your spouse is hurt, you cant collect under your own liability policy. Same usually applies to children or blood relatives living in your household. Medical Payment coverage on a boat policy is usually "for others", not named insureds. Medical Payments is coverage for anyone injured regardless of fault/liability.

And yes I am an insurance broker........

Bob.

Thanks for the reply. I should clarify, she is not a spouse, but a guest.

 

[rfrye1]

Then there MAY be coverage under your Med Pay. Unfortunately these days it's really hard to find out for sure w/o actually filing a claim, which can be a bad thing. In most cases if you file a claim and there is no coverage or $0 paid out, it is still counted as a "claim".
Bob.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Then there MAY be coverage under your Med Pay. Unfortunately these days it's really hard to find out for sure w/o actually filing a claim, which can be a bad thing. In most cases if you file a claim and there is no coverage or $0 paid out, it is still counted as a "claim".
Bob.

Exactly. It's a Catch-22 and the insurers love it!