Third-party liability
Compulsory in some waters, demanded in nearly all of them
There is no single European rule. Germany has no general requirement for pleasure craft, Spain, Croatia and Italy do, and a certificate is demanded by nearly every marina regardless. The practical question is not whether you need one, but whether the one you hold is accepted where you berth.
At a glance, clause by clause
What the boat liability cover from €39 includes
Around €39 a year is the entry premium when you apply with us directly; the online calculator works from your boat's details and starts higher. Every line below is taken from our liability wording (Basis, Basis-Plus, Premium), with the clause number so you can check it.
Limit of indemnity
Up to €10m, €25m or €50m per claim depending on the tariff; your schedule shows the agreed figure. In Premium personal injury is capped at €25m. Across a whole policy year twice the limit applies.
Clause A-11 (Basis), A-13.1 (Basis-Plus, Premium)
Defence of unjustified claims
Liability is checked first. Claims without merit are resisted, valid ones are paid, and any lawsuit is run in your name at the insurer's cost. Those costs do not reduce the limit, except for claims abroad.
Clause A-4, A-11 (Basis)
Excess
The wording sets an excess in only two cases: claims in the USA or Canada, 20% with a minimum of €2,500, and from Basis-Plus search and rescue costs after an accidental EPIRB or DSC alert, 10% with a minimum of €500.
Clause A-4 (Basis), A-15 (Basis-Plus)
Where it applies
Claims arising abroad are included, from the Solent to the Balearics. Clean up of environmental damage is covered within the scope of the EU environmental liability directive.
Clause A-7, A-10.6
Marina, pontoon, berth
Hitting another boat or the pontoon in the marina is your legal liability as owner and user of the boat. From Basis-Plus damage to hired pontoons, storage rooms and hardstanding for the boat is included; in Basis hired property is excluded.
Clause A-1.5 (Basis-Plus), A-6.2.6 (Basis)
Trailer
From Basis-Plus your liability from using the boat trailer, at no extra premium once it is named in the application, up to €2m within the limit. Where the towing vehicle's motor insurance pays, that comes first. Not part of Basis.
Clause A-1.4 (Basis-Plus, Premium)
Guests on board
If a guest is injured and you are liable, that is injury to a third party. Claims by relatives living in your household are excluded. From Basis-Plus the skipper's personal liability is included, in Premium also claims between crew members, without property damage under €200.
Clause A-6.2.5, A-1.5, A-15.1 (Premium)
Towing skiers and tubes
From Basis-Plus your liability for towing water skiers, wakeboarders, parascenders, bananas and tubes. The personal liability of the person being towed is not covered.
Clause A-1.5, A-6.1.1
Water and environment
Pollution of water is covered within the policy. For clean up ordered under environmental liability law: €3m in Basis, €25m in Basis-Plus, €50m in Premium.
Clause A-9, A-10.5
Tender
From Basis-Plus, also used on its own up to 10 sq m of sail and within ten nautical miles of the mother boat; in Basis-Plus with an engine up to 30 hp.
Clause A-1.3 (Basis-Plus, Premium)
Skippering a chartered boat
In every tariff your liability as the responsible skipper of a boat hired privately, if the agreement is in your name and runs for no more than 30 days. From Basis-Plus in Europe and the whole Mediterranean, up to the size or power of your own boat and €10m; in Premium regardless of size, up to €20m. Damage to the chartered yacht itself is not covered, and the cover is secondary. Without a boat of your own we do not offer skipper liability insurance.
Clause A-1.2
Bail bond abroad
If the boat is detained abroad over an alleged navigation offence, a short term loan for the bail is provided from Basis-Plus: up to €50,000 in Basis-Plus, up to €200,000 in Premium, never more than the boat's value.
Clause A-16 (Basis-Plus, Premium)
Full wording: liability terms in English. Your own boat is never a liability matter, see hull insurance. We can insure owners resident in Germany, Austria or Spain, or boats under one of those flags.
What the popular cruising countries require
Checked at the slipway and in the harbour office, not at the point of sale.
Figures follow each country’s national rule; check the current version before you sail. Where a minimum depends on boat class or zone, we issue the certificate with the sum your marina asks for.
Six things the cover has to carry
Personal injury and property damage
Up to the agreed sum, €50m in Premium, far above the minimums of the Mediterranean states. In Premium personal injury is paid up to €25m in total.
Environmental damage
Spilt fuel and clean-up ordered by an authority. Over protected seagrass the bill climbs quickly.
Whoever is at the helm
Cover attaches to the vessel: any authorised person holding the licence required for those waters, with no crew list.
People being towed
Waterskiing and wakeboarding claims must be included, or the person steering is personally liable. With us towing is covered from Basis-Plus.
Tender and trailer
From Basis-Plus in the liability section at no extra premium: the tender, used on its own within ten nautical miles of the mother boat (up to 30 hp in Basis-Plus), and the trailer while uncoupled ashore, once it is named in the application with its value.
Damage to hired property
A dented pontoon or a damaged finger berth, included from Basis-Plus. A typical claim in a visitors’ harbour.
The line to read twice
A headline sum is not a per-person sum
Many wordings advertise a large overall limit and then cap what any single injured person can receive. In a serious personal-injury claim that sub-limit is what you actually have, not the number on the front page.
Ours names its limits in the wording. The agreed sum is €10m, €25m or €50m depending on the tariff. In Basis-Plus and Premium one liable person can draw up to €15m per claim, and in Premium personal injury is paid up to €25m in total. There is no further cap for each injured person.
Boat liability questions, answered briefly
Is boat liability insurance compulsory?
There is no general legal duty in Germany or Austria. Many harbours, clubs and marinas require it anyway, and abroad it is often mandatory, for example in Italy, Spain, Croatia and Greece. Without proof you will not get into the marina.
Does liability cover damage to my own boat?
No, and that is the most common misunderstanding. Liability pays for what you do to others: their boats, pontoons, people, and environmental damage. For your own hull, engine and equipment you need hull cover, which is a separate module.
How high should the sum insured be?
The statutory minimum sums around the Mediterranean are well below what a serious injury costs. With us liability is available up to 50 million euros. Clean-up of environmental damage ordered under the EU environmental liability rules is included as well: up to 3 million euros in Basis, 25 million in Basis-Plus and 50 million in Premium.
Is liability cover worth it for a small boat I rarely use?
Yes. Your liability does not depend on how many days you are out. One swimmer hurt near the propeller can lead to a claim you would otherwise meet from your own savings. The entry premium is around €39 a year when you apply directly.
Is there an excess on the liability cover?
Our wording sets one in only two cases: claims in the USA or Canada, 20% with a minimum of €2,500, and from Basis-Plus search and rescue costs after an accidental distress alert, 10% with a minimum of €500.
Am I covered while the boat lies in the marina rather than on the trailer?
Yes. The cover is for owning, keeping and using the boat, on the berth as much as at sea (clause A-1.1). Hired pontoons and hardstanding are included from Basis-Plus (A-1.5), the trailer from Basis-Plus once it is named in the application (A-1.4).
Who pays if a guest is injured on board?
If you are liable, it is injury to a third party and a matter for the liability cover. Claims by relatives living in your household are excluded (A-6.2.5). Where nobody is liable, liability cover does not pay; personal accident cover for those on board does.
Is hull cover still worth it for an older boat?
Liability never pays for your own boat. Whether hull cover makes sense depends on whether you could absorb a total loss yourself. Compare what a policy pays on a total loss: the market value with a deduction for age, or an agreed value.
Am I covered when I skipper a chartered yacht?
As the responsible skipper, yes, in every tariff, if the charter agreement is in your name and lasts no more than 30 days (A-1.2). From Basis-Plus this applies in Europe and the Mediterranean up to the size of your own boat, in Premium regardless of size. Damage to the chartered yacht itself is not covered.
Am I covered when I tow a water-skier or a tube behind my motorboat?
For damage you cause to others while towing, yes, from Basis Plus: towing water-skiers, wakeboarders, parasailers, banana boats and tubes is expressly included in the boat liability cover (liability Basis Plus and Premium A-1.5). Basis does not mention it. The personal liability of the skier is not covered, for example if the skier hits a swimmer (A-6). Where water-skiing is allowed is set by the local authority for each stretch of water; stay inside the marked areas.
Certificates
Which sum does your marina ask for?
Tell us the harbour and we issue the certificate with that figure, in the language they want to see.
Before you sign
The three questions you actually have
Not “what does it cost” for your third-party liability; you can work that out yourself in a minute. These are the three nobody asks an insurer out loud. Here they are, with the answers we can back up.
“Will they actually pay?”
As your broker we handle the claim with you, your third-party liability included: one report to us, then we arrange the surveyor and one of more than 2,000 partner yards and follow it through to payment. The yard invoices directly; you pay the deductible and nothing else.
What happens in the first 48 hours →“Who picks up the phone?”
A family firm since 1989, now in its second generation, with three of its own offices: Königs Wusterhausen near Berlin, Salzburg and Palma de Mallorca. No call centre, no franchise. You get a named contact for your third-party liability from the first hour; and after office hours, a number somebody answers.
Out of hours: +49 3375 29 28 95 →“And if I choose wrong?”
Find the same cover for your third-party liability cheaper elsewhere and we make up the difference. Our comparison sets seven providers against the same criteria; including the segments where somebody else comes out ahead of us, and the one where we are the most expensive in the field.
Price guarantee →When we are not the right fit →