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Engine overheated after the cooling failed: who pays for the damage?
Short answer
An engine that overheated because the cooling failed is a mechanical breakdown, which hull cover on its own usually does not pay for. A machinery extension may treat a handling error as covered, provided the engine was serviced to the maker's schedule.
An engine overheats almost always because raw water has stopped flowing. The seacock was left shut, the impeller has shed its vanes, the strainer is full of weed, a hose has split or a plastic bag is stuck over the intake. Nothing comes out of the exhaust, the temperature gauge climbs and the alarm sounds. Keep running and you risk warped cylinder heads, blown gaskets and a seized engine, and the bill soon reaches the price of a replacement unit. The first question after that is who pays.
Hull policies are generally written around events such as collision, grounding, storm and fire. Damage that develops inside the engine through running it is commonly excluded as mechanical breakdown, and so is damage from poor or overdue maintenance. Some policies offer a separate machinery extension. Where one is in place, its wording may include cooling systems and treat damage from a handling error, such as a forgotten seacock, as covered. Such extensions usually require the engine to have been serviced to the manufacturer's schedule by a professional, and they still exclude wear. Our machinery cover is available from Basis Plus, names handling errors and applies to machinery up to ten years old that has been serviced by a specialist firm.
Stop the engine as soon as the temperature rises or the exhaust runs dry, and do not restart until you have found the cause. Write down what happened, photograph the impeller, strainer and hoses and keep any failed parts. Report the damage before the yard strips the engine, so that a surveyor can see the cause. Keep the service invoices from your engineer somewhere safe. And read your own schedule: if no machinery extension is listed there, a pure breakdown will usually stay with you.
Worth remembering
Hull cover alone
breakdown inside the engine usually excluded
Machinery extension
handling error covered from Basis Plus, up to ten years, if serviced
With an overheated engine two papers decide who pays: the policy schedule and the service invoices.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Does hull cover pay if an old impeller makes the engine overheat?
Usually not. A worn impeller is a maintenance matter, and poor maintenance is commonly excluded. Machinery extensions also generally require servicing to the manufacturer's schedule.
I forgot to open the seacock. Is that covered?
With a machinery extension in place, the wording may treat it as a handling error and cover it; ours does, from Basis Plus and for machinery up to ten years old. Without one, it is normally an uninsured mechanical breakdown. Your schedule shows which applies.
What should I do after the engine overheats?
Stop the engine, note what happened, take photos, keep the failed parts and report the damage before the yard strips the engine. Have the service invoices ready.
Related
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Whether it is “Engine overheated after the cooling failed: who pays for the damage?” 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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