In contrast to many other countries in Germany, liability insurance for the boat is not compulsory. Nevertheless, every owner of a dinghy or yacht is well advised to take out appropriate protection. Otherwise, in the event of damage, he is liable with all of his private assets in case of doubt. Today, insurance sums of 10 to 15 million euros are common for liability in the water sports sector.
Helvetia is now going one step further. So far, their customers have had the choice between a boat liability insurance with 7.5 million or 10 million euros coverage. As of recently, they can also opt for protection of EUR 20 million, which includes personal injury and property damage as well as financial loss.
Most providers in this country have not yet offered such a high liability sum as standard. Especially not because damage caused by an ordinary yacht is unlikely to trigger such enormously high claims for compensation.
With boat hull insurance, Helvetiihren has recently granted customers a short-term extension of the scope of the policy: the insured can leave the area for which they have taken out the insurance with their boat for up to six weeks a year. This applies to the North and Baltic Seas, the Mediterranean, the European Atlantic coast and the Black Sea.
But be careful: if damage then occurs, the deductible is automatically doubled. And: If a boat is only insured on a single, named inland waterway, for example on Lake Boden or Tegernsee, the extension of the scope does not apply.
In principle, most insurance companies allow their customers to travel to neighboring sea areas for a certain period of time, for which there is actually no comprehensive insurance. You should make yourself smart about the details in advance, they vary from provider to provider.
The scope of Helveti's hull policy now also includes damage to the boat resulting from strikes, labor unrest, political or terrorist acts of violence. These have so far been excluded. In addition, the Swiss company promises its existing customers from now on that they will benefit from future performance improvements as well as new customers (update guarantee), but will be spared any performance restrictions (vested rights clause).