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Capsized your dinghy: what damage is usually insured?
Short answer
A capsize is part of dinghy sailing, but it can cost a mast, a sail, the centreboard or the rudder.
Damage to other people's property is a liability matter;
damage to your own boat is only paid under hull cover, so check whether your policy names capsize.
Every dinghy sailor capsizes sooner or later. A gust on the reservoir, a gybe in a breeze, a crowded start line at the club, and the boat is on its side with the sail in the water. Left too long it turns turtle, mast pointing at the bottom. Most of the time the crew rights it and sails on, but not always without damage: a mast driven into the mud in shallow water bends or snaps, sails tear, the centreboard and rudder fittings are overloaded during the recovery, and a dinghy with leaking buoyancy tanks fills and sinks.
Which insurance responds depends on whose property is damaged. If the capsized dinghy drifts into another boat or a pontoon, that is a third party liability claim, and many clubs and venues expect that cover as a minimum. Damage to your own boat is only paid under hull cover, and dinghy policies differ on the detail: whether capsize and sinking are named, whether recovery costs are included, whether mast and sails are covered while racing. With us, capsizing and sinking as a consequence count as accident events from Basis Plus; Basis does not cover them. Every insurer will also draw the line against wear and tear: a sail that was already tired, or a shroud that had been corroding for years, is not sudden damage caused by the capsize, even if it gives way then.
Once upright, crew first, boat second. Ashore, check the mast and mast step, shrouds and fittings, the centreboard case for cracks, the rudder fittings and the sails, and let the boat dry out. Photograph any damage before repairing it and note the place, time and wind. Report it promptly, with photos and a repair quote. Prevention helps: test buoyancy tanks and bailers regularly, watch the mast when righting in shallow water, and reef earlier or stay ashore when the forecast is strong. And read your policy for the word capsize before the season, not after.
Worth remembering
Liability
pays for damage to others
Hull cover
the only route for your own boat
Dinghy sailors capsize. What matters is whether your own boat is covered when it happens.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is a dinghy capsize insured?
Damage to your own boat only under hull cover, and the policy should name capsize and sinking. With us that is the case from Basis Plus. Third party liability pays only for damage the dinghy does to other people or their property.
Will a sail torn in a capsize be paid for?
That depends on the policy. The insurer will look at whether the sail tore because of the capsize or was already worn, because wear and tear is not accidental damage.
What should I do if the mast is stuck in the bottom?
Do not force the boat up or the mast will break. Make the crew safe, call for help and have the boat towed into deeper water before righting it. Photograph the damage before any repair.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Capsized your dinghy: what damage is usually insured?” 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.
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