Sea-Doo RXT-XRS 300 insurance check: insured value, accessories and the trailer

Part one of this series covered the details a policy should contain about the Sea-Doo RXT-XRS 300. This second part of the insurance check deals with the insured value, together with accessories, the jet ski dock and the trailer. The rule of the whole series still applies: nobody here has ridden the craft, we do not rate it, and we quote no market price and no sum. What follows is how hull wordings commonly treat the value of a jet ski, and where the owner decides, through the figures in the proposal, how much arrives after a loss.

Narrower hull covers insure the actual value: the amount needed on the day of the loss to replace the craft with one of the same kind and quality, less a deduction for age, wear and use. The sum insured is then only the upper limit. Many such wordings add a depreciation table by age, with no deduction in the first years and rising percentages after three, five and ten years. For a jet ski that has already seen several seasons, that table applies however well it has been looked after. If your policy works this way, find the table and see where your craft stands today.

Broader covers often work with an agreed value: the sum written into the schedule counts as the insured value by mutual agreement, so the figure is settled when the policy starts and not argued about after a loss. Some wordings also waive the right to claim underinsurance. Keep in mind that the sum you choose also drives what you pay for the cover. If it is set too low, money is missing after a total loss; the bill of sale and invoices are the best starting point for the figure. Read the clause on how partial losses are settled, because this is where policies differ in detail.

What belongs to the value is usually defined at the start of the hull wording: the craft with everything permanently fitted, its mechanical and technical equipment and its accessories. Trailers and water sports equipment are often separate items that are covered only if declared with a sum of their own. A floating jet ski dock at the mooring is such an item. Personal belongings such as towels, sunglasses or phones are excluded in many narrower covers. So the craft, the trailer and the dock can be three lines in the proposal, each with its own figure.

With the trailer, keep liability and hull apart. Some liability wordings include an unregistered boat trailer once it is named in the proposal, others do not. In hull cover the trailer usually needs its own sum and its own price, and the insured events may be limited, for example to accident, storm, lightning, fire, explosion and theft. Some wordings waive the deductible for trailer claims. For the jet ski itself the opposite is common: jet ski clauses often deduct the deductible from every claim, including total loss and theft, and cancel any no claims reduction. Part four explains how the trailer has to be secured against theft.

Then modifications and the way value develops. Anything added to the craft changes its total value, and many wordings expect the sum insured to follow it, with an increase possible at any time on presentation of invoices or a survey. Some cover a value increase only once it has been reported and proven. Performance modifications may also count as an increase of risk. A loss of value after a repair is rarely paid, because most hull wordings exclude indirect losses such as reduced market value. Part three of this series looks at the kinds of damage that are typical for jet skis.