So, What IS The Best Insurance For Sailing Clubs?

I've been providing insurance programmes to marine-based clubs for over 19 years. If I were to ask that very question to a room full of insurers and insurance brokers who operate in this specialist segment I am quite certain that there would be a deafening clamour as each sought to affirm that their own pet policy or scheme was the very best insurance option for sailing, yachting, cruising and any other marine-based club. An array of whistles, bells and other rinky-dinks would be paraded in great detail, no doubt represented from the point of view of the provider rather than a sailing club. After all, sales people have something to sell and rarely are they able to resist the opportunity to get selling - even when odds as fearsome as this demand selling of heroic proportions - which usually means shouting even louder.
It's pretty much the same scenario when it comes to insurance marketing in this specialist part of the Marine Leisure Industry. There's lots of noise from an increasing number of participants with each trying to gain attention by being noisier than everyone else. Lots of noise but very little in the way of differentiation and everyone offering "bespoke" cover with plenty of "unique" features. How on Earth is a sailing club committee to decide exactly what the best option is for their club and its members?
It is against this backdrop that in April this year the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) announced changes to the insurance requirements for their approved training centres: Public Liability (PL) to be increased to a minimum indemnity limit of £3,000,000 and, of greater interest, Approved Centres would need to carry £500,000 of Professional Indemnity (PI) cover in respect of their training activities.
Prima Facie this appeared to be a sensible move. First and foremost, although a trend of "indemnity creep" has seen PL limits nudge upwards in the last few years, a PL limit of £3,000,000 is currently seen as the sensible minimum to carry. Secondly, professional services, including "advice", are specifically excluded under normal PL Insurance wordings (including marine leisure policies) where it is provided for a fee and, obviously, where training is being delivered for a fee, one would expect some advice to be imparted by an instructor. Training and advice, therefore, is normally insured on a PI policy which is why the new requirement appeared to be a sensible move.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9213497