Who is covered on a skippered charter?

Short answer

Skippered charter is the least regulated use in the entire market. No wording states plainly who is covered, or whose conduct the supplied skipper counts as.

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On a skippered charter the owner supplies the person at the helm. For the guest that is the comfortable option; in insurance terms it is the murkiest. Three roles are in play that normally coincide: the owner, the hirer and the person steering. Who answers for a loss depends on which of those roles the skipper occupies.

We reviewed thirteen sets of conditions on this point. The term appears only in the exclusions, as an example of an unwanted use. Not one wording says who is covered on a skippered charter, whose conduct the supplied skipper is attributed to, or whether he is an insured person, the owner’s agent or a third party. One comes closest by at least fixing the moment: cover ends on handover to the hirer, whether or not a crew comes with the boat.

In practice: if you charter your boat out with a skipper, get it confirmed in writing that this use is documented in your policy, otherwise the exclusion for undeclared uses applies. If you are the guest on a skippered charter, do not rely on your own policy, it is not built for that. And in both cases the decisive question is whether the skipper counts as the owner’s representative, because then his conduct is attributed to the owner.

Is the skipper I pay covered?

It turns on whether he is your representative. A hired skipper can be, and then his conduct is attributed to you. Have the role settled in writing before the trip.

I am chartering with a skipper. What should I check?

Ask the charter company about their hull cover and whether skippered use is documented in their policy. For your own liability as a guest, skipper’s liability cover is the right building block.

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