Home / Glossary / USA and Canada excess

USA and Canada excess, in the boat insurance glossary

Boat insurance term, area: Liability

Third-party liability wordings often treat claims arising in the United States or Canada differently from the rest of the world, because defending a claim there can be very expensive. Common devices are a separate excess for those claims, defence costs counted within the limit of indemnity instead of on top of it, or an outright exclusion. An owner who crosses the Atlantic and winters in Florida can be affected even when the cruising area itself is insured. Example: a berthing mishap in Fort Lauderdale damages the yacht alongside and her owner sues locally.

What to check: Does your liability section apply a separate excess, a percentage share or an exclusion to claims arising in, or brought before courts in, the United States or Canada? And are legal defence costs there met in addition to the limit, or counted against it or against your excess?

More terms