Flood, storm surge and hail

Short answer

Hail is expressly named and storm counts from force 8 on the Beaufort scale; with flood and storm surge it depends on what actually happened to the boat.

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Our wording names the natural perils one by one: storm and hail, lightning and earthquake. Storm is defined as a weather-driven air movement of at least force 8 on the Beaufort scale, which is 62 kilometres per hour. Hail is defined as solid precipitation in the form of ice pellets. Those definitions are not decoration; the case turns on them.

Force 8 is the threshold. Below it there is no storm within the meaning of the wording, however it felt on the pontoon. That is why every storm claim should carry the wind reading of the nearest station or the official warning, with date and time. Securing it takes five minutes on the day and cannot be done later.

Flood and storm surge are not named as perils of their own. What matters then is what actually happened. If the boat breaks free, drifts, strikes something or sinks, those are accident events: stranding, capsizing, grounding, collision with fixed and floating objects and sinking as a consequence are expressly listed in the wider cover. A named-perils policy is limited to its list. If you are unsure, call before you act rather than after.

What you spend to avert or reduce a loss is reimbursed, even where it fails, provided it was done on our instruction or you were entitled in the circumstances to consider it necessary, and it is reimbursed even where those costs together with the indemnity exceed the sum insured. Lifting the boat out as a precaution before a forecast flood is not automatically part of that, because the insured event has not yet occurred. One phone call settles the question.

Before the weather: leave slack in the lines for rising water, check the fenders, take loose items below, take papers and electronics with you. After it: photographs before you tidy anything, secure the water level reading and the warning, and report the claim before the yard starts work.

Worth remembering

At that speed a boat breaks free at the pontoon. Which is why the nearest station’s reading belongs in every claim.

Is hail damage to a boat covered?

Yes. Hail is expressly named as a natural peril in our wording and is included in every level of hull cover.

From what wind strength does a storm claim count?

From force 8 on the Beaufort scale, that is 62 kilometres per hour. Secure the reading of the nearest station or the official warning with date and time.

Does the policy pay in a flood?

Flood is not a named peril of its own. It depends on what happened: if the boat breaks free, drifts or sinks, those are accident events named in the wider cover. Call before you act.

Will anyone pay to lift the boat out before the flood?

Not automatically, because the insured event has not yet occurred. Discuss larger measures with us first and we will tell you what is covered.

What do you need for the claim?

Photographs before you tidy up, the water level or the weather warning with a time, and a short account of what happened. Report it before the yard begins.

What must I do on an official storm warning? Must I winterise the boat? Who has to prove what in a claim?