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Third-party liability insurance is compulsory for recreational craft on the Spanish register, and harbour authorities and marinas in the Balearics check the certificate on arrival. The legal minimum sum insured is far below what a serious personal injury costs. If you manoeuvre every day in crowded marinas, from the Costa Brava to Andalusia, the minimum is not enough.

The claims pattern here is very specific: knocks while berthing, anchors dragging in packed coves in August, summer thunderstorms with sudden downdrafts and equipment stolen from unattended boats. Anchoring over Posidonia seagrass meadows is restricted. That is a matter for the authorities rather than your insurer, but breaking the rules can still end in formal proceedings.

If the boat stays in Spain, tell your insurer where it is berthed and check that lay-up and winter storage ashore, including craning and chocking, are part of the policy. Read the boatyard's contract too: it insures the shed, not your boat inside it. Confusing the two can leave an owner with no protection at all after a fire in the building.

Is boat insurance compulsory in the Balearics?

For boats on the Spanish register, yes. In practice ports ask for the certificate on arrival whatever the registration, so a foreign-flagged boat should carry proof of liability insurance as well. Keep the certificate on board rather than at home.

Can I leave the boat at anchor unattended?

Check your own policy before you do. This is the point on which insurers differ most, and some require the boat to be permanently crewed. In a packed cove in August, a dragging anchor on an empty boat is exactly the situation that wording decides.

What about wintering ashore in Mallorca?

Declare where the boat is laid up and ask whether time ashore, craning and chocking are part of your cover. Also read the boatyard's contract: its insurance protects the building, not your boat, so it will not help you after a fire in the shed.

Liability

Why third-party liability is the part most countries ask to see.

Hull

Agreed value, market value and what decides a hull claim.

Boat insurance in English

The clauses worth checking before you sign, in plain English.

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