Sea-Doo RXT-XRS 300 insurance check: trailer, ramp, mooring, winter storage and travel

Part four closes the insurance check of the Sea-Doo RXT-XRS 300. After the policy, the value and typical damage, it deals with the hours when the jet ski is not being ridden or is on the move: on the trailer, at the ramp, at the mooring, in winter storage and on holiday, and racing as well. We stay with the insurance view; nobody here has ridden the craft. A jet ski is a typical trailer craft and is often loaded more often than a motorboat of similar size. That is exactly why it pays to know what the contract says about the stretch between garage and water, and which duties it places on the owner.

Many hull wordings extend cover beyond the water: ashore, while hauling out and launching, and during transport by suitable means. Launching at a ramp and lifting by crane are then within scope. Which events are insured there depends on the level of cover: an accident at the ramp or on the road is often covered only by broader policies, while narrower ones pay only for storm, fire, explosion or theft. Damage caused by improper loading and securing during transport is a common exclusion in every level. Check straps, bow stop and bunks before every journey.

The trailer itself raises two questions. In liability, some wordings include an unregistered boat trailer when it is named, as long as the towing vehicle's own motor liability does not apply. For theft, many hull wordings set clear conditions: when coupled, an extra chain or steel cable with a lock against uncoupling; when parked on its own, a hitch lock or wheel clamp. For theft of the jet ski while on the trailer, some also require a hitch lock on the trailer and a chain or lock between craft and trailer. Read these clauses before the first long drive, because they apply at every motorway rest stop.

At the mooring, jet ski clauses usually require security against unauthorised use, at night and during longer absences, or only during longer absences in broader covers. Typical examples are a locked building or plot, a jet ski dock with a security cable or protected storage in a marina; winter storage counts as a longer absence. Check the period of cover as well: a seasonal policy that runs from 1 April to 31 October gives no cover at all from 1 November to 31 March, winter storage included. Frost is generally excluded as weather damage unless it results from storm, so winterising the pump remains the owner's job.

Taking the jet ski abroad starts with the cruising area, as described in part one. Some broader covers allow a short extension of the cruising area for a few weeks per year. Liability usually includes claims abroad, with a few exceptions such as punitive damages. In the host country its own rules apply on zones, distances and licences, and riding without the licence required there can void hull cover on holiday too. If the jet ski is left unattended off an open coast, many wordings stop paying after a set number of hours unless someone can move it when danger threatens.

Racing and training are the last point, and the rule is usually clear. Without a separate agreement, damage during motorboat races, jet ski races included, and during the related practice runs is excluded from hull and liability cover. Where racing cover can be added, it is typically secondary to any other insurance, such as the organiser's, requires a valid racing licence for the craft and applies to training only on marked-out areas. Ask about it before the season starts. Together with the policy, the value and typical damage from the first three parts, this completes the check.