YACHT INSURANCE The Fascinating History of Marine Insurance.   Around 5000 years ago, Chinese merchants who were typically shareholders in a venture to send ships across the Atlantic with cargo for export ,wanted some sort of security to protect them in the case of loss of ships and cargo by sinking and piracy. They took insurance plans to give them this protection. The earliest recorded examples of marine insurance.

The practice later spread to the Greeks and Romans and eventually throughout the Mediterranean.  Italian 14^th Century insurers developed contracts which were copied further north in Europe and eventually were used in England. By 1601 the practice of marine insurance was well established in England and in 1601 The Chamber of Assurance was established as a separate Court in its’ own right.Then followed the establishment, notably among other marine insurance companies, of Lloyds of London.The sophisticated development of  British Marine Law was propagated world wide with the expansion of the British Empire.In the late 1800’s,  Lloyds and "The Institute of London Underwriters" developed wording and phrases for boilerplate clauses to be used in marine insurance policies, which are still included in policies today. In 1906 all previous standardised practices, common law and judicial precedents were crystallised into the Marine Insurance Act.This act and the so-called  “Institute Clauses” provide current insurers with established practices as guidance. Actual contracts can vary in many individual ways.Types of marine insurance used to include “Overdue Insurance”, most famously underwritten by Lloyds in the case of the “Titanic”, covering ships arriving late(or never) at their destination.Other types of marine insurance still in everyday use include “Cargo”, “New building risks” for damage while vessels are being constructed,  “War Risks “(for vessels who must travel through a war zone)which also sadly has to include piracy , even today.    Finally OF COURSE there is Yacht Insurance. Modern Yacht insurers will insure every kind of leisure craft from insurance for surf boards to Superyacht Insurance. Dinghy sailing insurance is a large marketplace Sailing Yacht Insurance and Motor Cruiser insurance cover a high percentage of users. Even those who do not wish to insure against the loss of their own Yacht or dinghy, may still be required by the port, navigation Authority or Marina to carry Third party insurance to repay any one else who suffers damage or loss by the impact of the insured’s vessel.  Boat Insurance  for private owners of small boats, yachts and pleasure craft  can be arranged these days within minutes.  Modern Marine Insurance companies can quote online or by return email very rapidly and provide a wide range of cover for modern yachting folk. 

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