Boat falls off the trailer at the slipway: which insurance pays?

Launching and recovery is where most trailer mishaps happen. The bow strap comes off too early, the winch strap snaps, the hull slides sideways on wet rollers, or the trailer sits too shallow and the keel lands on the concrete. When a boat falls off the trailer at the slipway, up to three policies come into play, and each only answers for its own part. The motor insurance of the towing vehicle does not normally pay for damage to the boat, because it covers the vehicle rather than its load.

Hull, engine and rudder are a matter for the boat's own hull cover. What counts is whether the policy is written on an accident basis or only for named perils such as storm, fire and theft; named perils cover often leaves a slipway drop outside. Damage caused by inadequate securing during transport is a common exclusion as well. If the boat hits another boat or the pontoon, it depends on what happened: while the trailer is still hitched, the car's motor policy usually responds; if the boat drifts into others once afloat, the boat's third party cover may apply. If the car itself rolls into the water, that is for its own motor policy.

Leave the bow strap on until the stern floats, check the winch strap for chafe before every trip and let hot wheel bearings cool before they go under. Apply the handbrake and leave the car in gear or in park. If it does go wrong, secure the boat, photograph the slipway, the trailer and the damage, note any witnesses and report the claim before anything is repaired. Read your schedule now for the words accident and transport, so you know where you stand before the next launch.

Worth remembering

At the slipway only the boat's own policy looks after the boat.