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Runner-up in Marbella, and three questions every race contract has to answer

NAMMERT backs Laureen Thellin Deprez and the Racing Penguins. The season finale in Marbella left three questions that any contract for a racing jet board has to answer.

23 September 20268 min readNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH

The MotoSurf World Championship closed its European season in Marbella from 11 to 13 September 2026. NAMMERT backs Laureen Thellin Deprez and the Racing Penguins team, and the reason is not the photograph. Over three days a race weekend loads, drops, breaks and repairs more equipment than a private owner manages in five seasons, so it is the fastest way to see where a contract written for a moored motor yacht stops working for a jet ski or a racing jet board.

In the Women Masters class Laureen Thellin Deprez took second place, behind Eujin Lee of South Korea and ahead of Tereza Kadlecova of the Czech Republic; Jennifer Beckmann from Hamburg finished fourth. Kai Biskup was starting only the second world championship round of his career and improved visibly across the weekend. His own goal had been modest, namely not to finish last, and he met it. The national coach spoke of promising potential.

The third Racing Penguins rider, Robert Hesselmann, never made the start line: his board was left behind at the airport. That line appears on no result sheet and is the most interesting one of the weekend. A board that does not arrive is not a damaged board. Hull cover responds to physical damage to the thing insured, not to transport that failed to happen, and a rider who loses travel and entry fees that way has a claim against the carrier or against nobody.

So to the first question. Most wordings for a jet ski, a jet board or a trailer boat exclude participation in races and the training that goes with it, quietly, in a single line among the general exclusions. Anyone who reads only the first page will never find it. Before an entry is paid, the exclusion list is the page to read, and if racing is excluded, the insurer has to be asked in writing whether it can be bought back and at what deductible.

The second question is liability. In the paddock, boards, trailers and equipment belonging to other teams stand close together, and the most expensive damage happens while manoeuvring, craning and launching, not out on the course. Sums insured that look generous for private use look thin when a whole paddock is at stake, so the figure in the schedule deserves a second look before the season rather than after a claim.

The third question is the body. In motosurf you fall; that is part of the sport, and the injury costs more later than the board did. Personal accident terms differ widely between markets, and some wordings reward a helmet worn at the time of the accident. It is worth asking, because in this sport the helmet is compulsory anyway and the clause therefore applies almost every time.

That leaves the part the race office wants to see. At a UIM event the insurance requirement is not met by being insured but by proving it, and the proof is due before the entry closes. So every season plan starts with one question: what does the licence itself carry, and what does it leave to the rider? Liability and personal accident cover sit inside some licences and outside others, and the answer changes from year to year. Settling that in January is cheaper than settling it at the ramp.

Two further world championship rounds are scheduled in China for October and November 2026. Whether the team travels is open: school, work and the cost of freight decide that, not form. Wherever the next start line is, the paperwork travels with the board, and that is the part a rider can settle weeks in advance.

Worth checking

Does the wording name racing and training, or only private use? What does the racing licence itself include, and what has the rider to prove separately? Does any buy-back extend to free practice and qualifying, not just the race itself? Is the liability sum insured enough for a full paddock, not just a quiet mooring? Who is liable if the board is left behind by the airline, and what receipts prove it? Does the personal accident section reward a helmet, and are helpers named? Is the cruising range wide enough for the event, including rounds outside Europe? Will the organiser ask for a certificate in the local language, and when is it needed?

Common questions

Is racing normally part of a jet ski policy?

Usually not. Most wordings exclude competition and the training that goes with it. Whether the exclusion can be bought back, and on what terms, is a question for the insurer in writing before the entry fee is paid.

Does the racing licence count as proof of insurance?

Not automatically. Whether liability and personal accident cover sit inside the licence depends on the federation, the class of licence and the year. Ask the federation what is included before the first entry, and bring the rest yourself.

The airline left the board behind. Is that an insurance claim?

Not a hull claim. Hull cover answers for damage to the thing insured, not for carriage that did not take place. The claim runs against the carrier under baggage law, so keep the receipts, the weight and the oversize booking.

Does a contract follow the rider to an event abroad?

Only inside the agreed cruising range. A race in Spain usually sits inside a European range, a round in Asia does not. The range is worth checking before the flights are booked, not after the board is on the plane.

What should be asked about personal accident terms?

Ask what counts as an accident during competition, whether a helmet increases the benefit, and whether helpers in the paddock are named. In this sport the answers differ more between wordings than the price does.

Related

Jet ski insurance To the NAMMERT Ranking The 2027 race calendar
Laureen Thellin Deprez in a hard turn, board and rider almost horizontal in the spray
A hard turn in the race: this is where the damage happens that most wordings exclude.
Laureen Thellin Deprez at the start area, helmet on, gloves in hand, plait over her shoulder
Waiting at the start area. The helmet counts twice here: as a rule of the sport and in the accident section.
Laureen Thellin Deprez on the podium holding her trophy, the screen behind her showing second place
The podium in Marbella: second place in the Women Masters class. Photos: NAMMERT.

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