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Design and material defects, in the boat insurance glossary

Boat insurance term, area: Exclusions

A design defect lies in the drawing, a manufacturing defect in the build, a material defect in the stock itself: an undersized fitting, a faulty weld, a void in a casting. Responsibility for such faults rests first with the builder or seller under warranty. Hull wordings usually separate the defective part itself, which is not paid for, from the damage its failure causes to the rest of the boat. Example: a rigging screw fails because of a flaw in the metal and the mast comes down. The screw is a warranty matter; the mast is a question for the hull insurance.

What to check: Does the exclusion apply only to the defective part, or also to the damage that follows from its failure? Is there a latent defect clause, and does it extend to the engine and machinery or only to hull and rig?

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