(Insurance premium discount announced for QAB holders)
Specialist Marine Trades & Boat Insurance providers IRCM have given the UK Inland Boating Sector a boost by announcing support for the Quality Accredited Boatyard Scheme (QAB). The scheme, which is managed by British Marine under licence from Visit England, assists holders of the accreditation demonstrate their commitment to boatyard excellence. This, in turn, enables their customers to make an informed decision on choosing an operator from whom to hire a day boat or purchase a boating holiday.
The scheme also provides hire fleet operators with benchmarking conventions that they can utilise to develop their businesses. Hire boat businesses that meet the criteria are issued with a certificate and can use a Visit England Quality Accredited Boatyard logo.
The Marine Trades sector remains a tough environment for insurers and hire fleet operators alike. While operators readjust following the end of the staycation uptick, they are also having to manage issues including poor waterways management, overcrowding on the waterways and inflation; included within the latter is a Marine Trade Insurance Market that has largely remained “hard”. Where the market has seen some “softening”, that has been at the cost of insurers reassessing their respective underwriting appetites and parameters, which can mean some operators finding it harder to source alternative cover options or simply benchmark their annual premium spend. Insurers themselves are having to continue to deal with significant claims inflation, which, for operators, means a return to the buyer’s market premium levels of 5 years ago remains unlikely.
There are several factors that drive insurance claims and incidents in the Hire Fleet environment. From a land-based perspective, many fleets operate from working boatyards which can see plant and equipment being used in relatively confined yards; additionally, slip and trip incidents lead to liability claims more often than not and these in turn lead to attritional losses being incurred by insurers.
Meanwhile, on the water, since July 2020 the UK’s inland waterways have seen increased levels of use, from a variety of groups including individual boaters and paddlers, day boat operators ranging from small individual craft hire to larger vessels as well as start-up holiday hire operators and static holiday lets. Additionally, some areas of the waterways have continued to see an expansion of the permanent cruiser/permanently moored community, which brings additional challenges to the hire fleet segment.
The numbers of claims and incidents arising on the water that are being reported by holiday hire businesses are being exacerbated by the busier waterway environment. Insurers are seeing increased claims for underwater damage to day boats with causes that include boat hirers having to take evasive action to avoid paddleboarders or swimmers (and hitting submerged objects as a result). Additionally, the increase in users, not unsurprisingly, has not helped mitigate the regular influx of claims to insurers for damage to third party vessels and property, or liability actions caused by injuries to hirers themselves while on board the hire vessel.
The quality of an operator’s handover procedures can help reduce the level of claims arising from injury or damage to third parties as well as to hirers.
However, some insurance providers are reporting that they are often approached for cover from a start-up operator who has overlooked the need for robust terms and conditions of trade and boat handover procedures. IRCM have taken the position that if they are approached by an operator who holds a valid QAB certificate then the issue of the operator’s handover procedures will have been addressed during the QAB assessment.
Similarly, a QAB assessment will focus on an operator’s health and safety protocols. This is particularly important not just from a perspective of mitigating public and employers liability claims but also because it is helping to address the business’ and/or directors’ statutory obligations.
To assist Hire Fleet Operators, IRCM have continued to adopt a flexible approach in the management of Marine Trades Insurance programmes. One of the benchmarks underwriters can use in assessing and underwriting a holiday hire fleet or day boat operator is the operator’s boat handover procedures and risk management processes. IRCM’s position is that a business that carries Quality Assured Boatyard status is helping to showcase the integrity of its operation. It is for this reason that IRCM have announced that they are offering a dedicated, ring-fenced 10% premium discount on their exclusive Bowline Marine Trades policy to operators who hold the accreditation.
For further information about insurance programmes for holiday boat hire and day boat operators contact IRCM on 01902 796793 or email enquiries@marineinsurance-ircm.co.uk
IRCM are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.