What must be on board?

Short answer

What has to be on board is set by the waters you are on and the law of the country you are in, not by the insurer; missing equipment becomes a question of care after a claim.

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Equipment requirements are not in the insurance contract. They come from the navigation rules of the water you are on and from the law of the country you are in, and they differ considerably: what is enough on an inland lake is not enough at sea, and what is checked in one country is of no interest across the border. What applies in your cruising area is set out on the page for that area, together with the minimum liability limits of the countries where insurance is compulsory.

On the insurance side there is a term for this: duties of the insured. They are the obligations you have to meet for the cover to stay intact, from truthful statements in the proposal through prompt notification of a claim to compliance with agreed security conditions. Missing equipment is rarely on its own a reason to reduce an indemnity. It becomes one where it contributed to the loss or made it worse.

The difference is practical rather than theoretical. A missing fire extinguisher plays no part in a theft claim. In a fire that spread because nobody could put it out at the start, the question of gross negligence is on the table. We waive that defence at the higher levels of cover, up to a quarter of the sum insured and at the top level up to half of it. Intent stays excluded in every contract.

Security conditions for theft cover are a category of their own: a locked space, an enclosed site, a coupling lock on the trailer. We do not require an immobiliser in any tariff. On jet skis there are conditions on where the craft is kept, and a night clause, at the lower levels of cover; at the top level neither applies.

Make it easy on yourself. There is a printable pre-departure check that goes through the equipment once, in spring rather than on the day. Note the expiry dates while you are at it, on flares, the liferaft and the extinguisher. Expired counts the same as absent when it matters.

Worth remembering

It is not the purchase that decides but the date printed on it.

Does the insurer specify the equipment?

No. What has to be on board follows from the rules of the water you are on and the law of the country you are in.

Will you reduce the indemnity if equipment is missing?

Not for that alone. It depends on whether the absence contributed to the loss or made it worse, and then the question of gross negligence arises.

What do you do about gross negligence?

We waive the defence at the higher levels of cover, up to a quarter of the sum insured and at the top level up to half of it. Intent remains excluded.

Do you require an immobiliser?

In no tariff. On jet skis there are storage conditions and a night clause at the lower levels of cover; at the top level neither applies.

How should I check it?

With the printable pre-departure check, once in spring. Note the expiry dates on flares, liferaft and extinguisher, since expired counts as absent.

What paperwork do I need for worldwide cover? Cruising range: where your policy actually covers you Must I winterise the boat?