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What proof of insurance do foreign marinas ask for?
Short answer
Several countries make third party insurance compulsory for pleasure craft, and the office at the gate wants to see it on paper, in a language it reads. One sheet, checked before you leave, saves an argument at the check in desk.
Cruise south and the paperwork changes character. In Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands nobody at the pontoon asks to see an insurance document, although the marina contract quietly requires one. In Italy, Croatia and Spain third party insurance is compulsory for pleasure craft, and the document is asked for in earnest: at the marina office on arrival, by the port authority, sometimes at the slipway before the boat has touched the water. A screenshot of a renewal email is not what anyone has in mind. What is expected is a certificate issued by the insurer that names the vessel, the period of insurance and the limit of indemnity.
Ask the insurer for that certificate before departure and then read it once, slowly. Does it name the boat as she is registered, with the right flag and the right sail or registration number? Does the period run past the last day of the cruise, and not merely past the day the season ends at home? Is the limit the one the destination expects, which differs from country to country and is worth asking about rather than guessing? Is it printed in a language the officials on the spot actually read, or at least in a bilingual form? A tender with an engine of its own, and a jet ski carried on board, may each need a certificate in their own name.
Then treat the sheet like the ship's papers, because that is what it has become. Carry a printed copy in the folder with the registration and the radio licence, keep a photograph on the phone, and put a copy in an email you can reach on a weak signal at the fuel berth. Tell whoever looks after things at home where the file is. If the cruise is extended, or the boat is left for the winter in a country she was not insured to sit in, say so before the date passes rather than after: the cruising area and the period written into the contract are the two things a check ashore compares with the calendar.
Worth remembering
One sheet of paper
is what the marina office asks for
In a language they read
is what makes it useful
Check the dates and the limit before casting off. A certificate that runs out mid cruise is no certificate at all.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is boat insurance compulsory in the Mediterranean?
Not everywhere, but third party insurance is compulsory for pleasure craft in Italy, Croatia and Spain among others. Marinas and port authorities ask for the certificate, and a marina contract can require one even where the law does not.
What should the certificate say?
The vessel and her registration, the flag, the period of insurance and the limit of indemnity, issued by the insurer and printed in a language the officials can read. Ask for it before departure rather than at the gate.
Do the tender and the jet ski need a document of their own?
Often yes, if they have an engine of their own or are registered separately. Ask for a separate certificate for each, and check that names and numbers match the ones on the transom.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “What proof of insurance do foreign marinas ask for?” 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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