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Explorer and expedition yacht insurance
Short answer
An expedition yacht is built for waters with no boatyard. That is exactly where the salvage limit becomes the most important promise in the policy.
Explorer yachts are long-range displacement vessels, usually steel or aluminium, often with a reinforced bow. Nordhavn, Bering, Damen, Circa Marine with the FPB models, Cantiere delle Marche, Selene and Kadey-Krogen build them, plus one-offs for high latitudes. The purpose is the long passage under power, and that shifts the risks.
The costliest loss is rarely the hull, it is the salvage. Break down in Greenland, Patagonia or the Aleutians and towage and transport cost many times what the same casualty costs in the Mediterranean, and many policies cap exactly this item. Check what limit applies to salvage, wreck removal and repatriation in your policy, and whether it runs alongside the sum insured or is paid out of it.
The second point is ice. Voyages in ice waters are not included in most wordings, not even under a worldwide cruising area. Radar does not see drift ice when the pieces are small, and the hull has to be designed for it. Tell us before the season where you are going and we agree it expressly, rather than examining it afterwards.
Questions and answers
What owners of these boats ask
Is salvage covered without limit?
No, it carries a limit in the policy.
We tell you what it is and raise it for expedition waters where necessary.
May I sail in ice waters?
Only by express agreement.
A worldwide cruising area does not automatically include navigation in ice.
What applies to paid crew on board?
Paid crew need their own cover.
Ask us about it; it is not part of the boat policy.
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