There have been numerous questions about the “Regatta Insurance” issue and why we have asked for a copy of the homeowner’s insurance policy in the document package.  Here’s the scoop.

At I-420 Championship level regattas the regatta sponsor requires that the sailors in each boat have liability insurance before they are allowed to compete.  This is liability insurance in the event there is an incident that causes harm to individuals and/or their equipment.  This is different from damage insurance you might have with your boat - a charter boat or one you own.

In the past, with the exception of a couple of venues, we have not been able to purchase insurance to cover this liability requirement, so here are the options to satisfy this requirement, and a brief description to clarify each option.  The requirement is usually for 1 million Euros of coverage.

1. If you own an I-420, and you have it insured by one of the companies that provide small boat insurance, you can call your agent and request a rider that provides liability coverage for your boat or your charter in a foreign country.  They will give you policy confirm pages you need to submit at registration/measurement.  You cannot just buy a liability policy for boats, your own or a charter, used overseas unless you own an insured I-420.
2. If you do not own a boat with insurance (or don’t own a boat), it was recommended a number of years ago that we submit at registration/measurement a copy of your parent’s homeowners insurance policy showing that there is at least $1 million of liability coverage.  As far as we have been able to determine, the homeowners policy would not cover any incident in a foreign country, let alone cover the boat, but it has become an acceptable method for teams without their own boat and insurance coverage.

This is not a Class Association requirement, but at the discretion of the regatta sponsor.  In regattas at the level of the 470, 49er, Star, Laser, and other international classes with national and world championship events, this is the standard requirement…and you do not get to sail unless you have provided the proper documentation.

The I-420 Class has not been that stringent, and we have for years utilized the homeowner’s insurance policy to satisfy the event insurance requirements – but it is a short-cut to facilitate the registration requirement in a situation where we have no other option for sailors that do not have their own boat with insurance.

So, unless you own an I-420 and have insurance that will provide you with a liability rider for your overseas championship events, what you need to do is make sure one of the sailors on each team can provide a copy of the coverage page from their parents homeowner’s policy that clearly shows the liability limit of a minimum of $1 million. 

If you do not have that available, there are liability umbrella coverage riders that your parents can purchase (pretty cheap) on their homeowner’s policy to provide the needed documents – and that rider can be removed when your need is complete.

I want to reiterate that the homeowner’s policy option, while it may be your only option, does not provide real insurance coverage.