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Does your racing licence include insurance?
Short answer
Some national federations sell cover with the licence, others expect you to bring your own. From 2027 one of the larger ones stops, and the rule catches racers out every season.
Powerboat racing under UIM rules requires liability and accident cover, and for years the way you obtained it depended entirely on which federation issued your licence. Several national bodies bundled the insurance into the licence fee, so racers never saw it as a separate decision. Others left it to the individual, which is why a racer moving between countries can be perfectly insured one season and uncovered the next without anything appearing to change on the entry form.
That arrangement is now shifting. The German federation, which had been obliged by the UIM to issue the cover with its licence, obtained a change for the 2027 season: the licence fee drops to the administrative cost and each racer arranges cover independently. The requirement to be insured has not changed at all, only who buys it. The same is true of the other conditions, a valid medical certificate and a passed safety course, usually known among racers as the turtle test.
The practical lesson applies wherever you race. Check what your licence actually includes rather than assuming, and check it again after any change of federation or class. Ask whether the cover you hold responds during training and testing as well as on race day, and whether it follows the boat on the trailer and in the paddock, because that is where a surprising share of damage happens. And arrange it before you apply for the licence, not after entries have opened, since a licence that is waiting on a certificate is a licence you do not have.
Worth remembering
The licence
used to carry the cover in some countries
The racer
increasingly carries it instead
The duty to be insured never moved. Only the person buying it did.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is insurance required for UIM racing?
Yes. Liability and accident cover are required for UIM events. What differs between countries is whether the federation supplies it with the licence or leaves it to you.
What changes for 2027?
The German federation stops issuing cover with its licence. The licence itself becomes cheaper and each racer provides proof of their own insurance.
Does race day cover include training?
Not automatically. Ask specifically about testing, training days, transport on the trailer and time in the paddock before you rely on a certificate.
What else does a licence need?
Typically a valid medical certificate and a passed safety course, the turtle test, alongside proof of insurance.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Does your racing licence include insurance?” 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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