Hydrolock (water ingestion), in the boat insurance glossary
Boat insurance term, area: Exclusions
Hydrolock occurs when a combustion engine draws in water instead of air. Water cannot be compressed, so the piston is stopped dead and connecting rods, pistons or the crankshaft can bend or break. On a personal watercraft it typically follows a capsize, when the craft is rolled back the wrong way or restarted too soon, or when water enters through the intake. The damage is costly and often invisible from outside. Many wordings class it as mechanical breakdown, not accidental damage, and exclude it unless it results from a defined event such as a collision.
What to check: Is engine damage from water ingestion excluded in your wording, and if so, is there an exception when it follows a collision or another insured event? Does a special section for personal watercraft change the answer?
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A general explanation in our own words.
What applies to you is set only by the wording of your own policy.
