Quicksilver Activ 505 Cabin insurance check: typical damage and the wording

The third part of this series is about damage, and one point first: what follows applies to the type of boat, not to the model. We do not say that a Quicksilver Activ 505 Cabin suffers certain damage more often than other boats, and we have not driven it. We describe what can happen to a motor boat with a cuddy cabin and an outboard, about five metres long, used on lakes, rivers and along the coast and launched from a trailer, and what to look for in the wording. The answer differs from policy to policy and from one level of cover to the next, and that is the point of this insurance check.

The classic for this type of boat is grounding. A cuddy cabin boat of this size goes where larger boats cannot, into shallow bays, onto sandbanks and close to beaches, and the outboard carries its most sensitive part at the very bottom. Running aground counts as an accident to the boat in most wordings, but basic hull levels often cover only named perils and leave accidents out. Broader wordings sometimes pay for an inspection after a reported grounding, occasionally without an excess. Read whether grounding is mentioned at all, and report any contact with the bottom even if nothing is visible at first.

At the propeller, accident and wear meet most closely. A bent blade after hitting a stone or driftwood is usually a collision with a fixed or floating object and therefore accident damage, where accidents are covered. Most wordings exclude mechanical breakdown with its consequences, wear in ordinary use on the part itself, poor maintenance, corrosion and cavitation. An engine that gives up after years without a service is not a hull claim, even if it happens on the water. Some insurers offer an optional machinery extension for damage without an external event, often tied to servicing by a specialist and to a maximum age of the engine; ask whether an outboard counts.

Some damage is covered at almost every level. If a storm pushes the boat against the pontoon or tears it loose, that is a natural peril, like hail and lightning. A motor boat carries fuel, a battery and wiring, and fire and explosion appear even in basic hull wordings. What usually does not belong here: rainwater collecting in the cockpit is weather damage and only covered if a storm caused it, and a blocked cockpit drain counts as poor maintenance. Fire definitions vary, so it is worth reading how your wording defines fire and explosion before the first evening with the cabin lamp on.

The second typical case for a boat of this size is the stolen outboard. It can be unbolted in minutes and is often the most valuable single item on board. Basic hull levels frequently cover only theft of the whole boat, not of parts. Broader wordings add burglary, theft of parts attached to the boat and malicious damage by strangers, often with a condition attached: no payment for the outboard if it was not secured with a security bolt or comparable lock or kept in a locked building. Theft and vandalism usually have to be reported to the police straight away, in a harbour also to the harbour office.

For the whole boat ashore there is often a rule of its own. Many wordings refuse theft and vandalism claims if the boat was stored on land on a site that is not fenced and locked, or in a building that was not locked. An open carport or a driveway without a gate rarely meets that standard. If the boat is stolen on its trailer, some policies require a hitch lock on the trailer and a chain or lock between boat and trailer. On gross negligence, wordings differ widely, from proportional reductions to waivers up to a certain share of the sum insured. That paragraph deserves a careful read.

That leaves the damage the boat does to others. A cuddy cabin boat goes where people swim, where canoes and paddleboards are out and other boats lie at anchor, and when berthing in a crowded harbour one moment is enough. Third party liability covers the legal liability arising from owning and using the boat, examines whether there is liability at all, defends unfounded claims and settles justified ones. Claims by relatives living in the same household are excluded in many wordings. For your own family on board, the personal accident section from the first part is the place to look. The fourth part deals with trailer, slipway and winter storage.