Home / For international owners / Getting started
A boat with several owners: who becomes the policyholder?
Short answer
When several people own a boat,
one usually becomes the policyholder and the others are named on the policy.
A written owners' agreement matters,
because liability claims between people insured under the same policy are often excluded.
Sharing a boat is popular: two or three families buy together, split the berth, the yard bill and the running costs and take turns aboard. On the Part 1 register ownership of a British ship is divided into 64 shares, so joint ownership can be recorded formally, while smaller boats on the Small Ships Register are often shared by private agreement. For the insurance the question is who holds the policy. Usually one owner becomes the policyholder, pays the premium and deals with the insurer, while the other owners are named on the policy and may skipper the boat.
One gap is easily missed. Liability claims between people insured under the same policy are often excluded from the third party section. With us, Premium covers claims between co-insured persons, except damage to the boat itself and property damage under 200 euros; claims between several policyholders are not covered. In our accident cover, co-owners from outside the family are insured only in Premium. If one co-owner injures another while coming alongside, or damages their belongings aboard, the shared liability cover will often not respond. Damage to the boat itself is a hull question, whichever owner was at the helm. Who bears the excess after a claim is not settled in any policy at all; it belongs in the owners' agreement.
So set down in writing who sails when, who pays the excess after a claim, who reports damage and who may act for the group towards the insurer, the marina and any lender. If the boat is financed, the lender will want its interest noted on the policy, and for that it must be clear who represents the owners. Tell the insurer at once when an owner leaves or a new one joins, so the policy matches the real owners. Personal accident cover for each owner is worth a look, since it does not depend on who caused the accident.
Boat syndicate agreement: what it should cover
A boat syndicate agreement is the contract between the co-owners, and it does the work that no policy does. It should set out each owner's share, how use is divided across the season, how running costs and unexpected repairs are split, who decides on larger work and how, who holds the policy and deals with the insurer, and who pays the excess after a claim. It should also say what happens when an owner wants to leave, cannot pay or dies.
Sample agreements can be found, but a template is a starting point, not a finished contract. Adapt it to the boat, the number of owners and the way you actually plan to sail, and for a valuable boat have a solicitor look over it. The time to agree on the difficult points is before anything has gone wrong, while everyone is still enthusiastic.
Shared boat ownership and yacht shares: how the models differ
Shared ownership comes in several forms. The classic syndicate is a small group of friends or families who buy a boat together and run it themselves. Managed shared ownership schemes sell fractions of a boat, often new, with a management company handling berth, maintenance and booking for a fee. And some buyers take a share in a charter yacht mainly as an investment, using it for a few weeks a year.
Each model shifts the questions. In a private syndicate the owners decide everything themselves and carry the risk of disagreement. In a managed scheme, read who owns the boat on the register, who holds the insurance and what happens to your share if the management company stops trading. In a charter share, the use is commercial and the boat's insurance has to reflect that.
Co-owning a sailing boat or motorboat: who sails when
In practice co-owning a sailing boat or a motorboat stands or falls with the calendar. A shared booking calendar, fair rotation of the popular weeks and clear rules about guests and longer cruises prevent most arguments. Agree which owners may skipper the boat alone, which sailing qualifications or experience the group expects, and whether a co-owner may lend the boat to someone outside the group.
Hand the boat over in a known state. A simple log on board where each owner notes engine hours, fuel, defects and anything broken during their turn saves arguments about who caused what. Damage that is noticed later and cannot be traced to a turn is the typical source of trouble in a syndicate, and the agreement should say who pays in that case.
What is a boat owner, and how is that different from the skipper?
The owner is the person or persons who own the boat, as shown on the register or the bill of sale. The skipper is whoever is in command on a given trip and is responsible for the boat and crew while under way. The policyholder is whoever holds the insurance contract. In a syndicate these three roles are often spread across different people, and it helps to write down who is which.
The difference matters after an incident. Questions about the boat itself are usually addressed to the owners, questions about how the boat was handled to the skipper on that day, and the contact with the insurer runs through the policyholder. If the group has agreed who represents it towards the insurer, the marina and any lender, claims are handled faster and nobody has to guess.
Worth remembering
One policyholder
holds the policy
All owners
are named on the policy
What the policy does not settle belongs in the owners' agreement.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Can two people be joint policyholders for a boat?
That is possible, but one policyholder who holds the policy is usual and simpler. The other owners are named on it and may skipper the boat.
Does liability cover pay if one co-owner injures another?
Often not, because claims between people insured under the same policy are commonly excluded. With us, Premium covers them, apart from damage to the boat and property damage under 200 euros. Read the wording on this, and consider personal accident cover for each owner.
Who pays the excess when a boat has several owners?
No policy settles that; the owners' agreement does. Write down whether the owner at the helm pays or whether everyone pays a share.
Is there a template for a boat syndicate agreement?
Sample agreements can be found, but treat them as a starting point. Adapt the template to your boat and your group, and for a valuable boat have a solicitor review it.
What happens if a co-owner wants to sell their share?
That should be in the agreement: whether the other owners have a right of pre-emption, how the share is valued and what notice is needed. Without such a clause, selling a share can block the whole group.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “A boat with several owners: who becomes the policyholder?” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
Was this useful?
