Do any of you have liability insurance coverage for windsurfing accidents?
I was having a discussion with several winsurfers last week who were getting off the water because of the increased risk from too many windsurfers in such close proximity at high speeds. We got in a discussion of horror stories from head-on collisions, collisions with other boats and the subject of insurance came up.
One person said you have to have a liability umbrella policy to protect yourself from lawsuits. However, when I called my insurance company they said it fell under a category that would not be covered. Apparently, if you are in an accident and determined to be at fault, you have no insurance protection.
Nobody wants to lose their house over a windsurfing accident. What does everbody do to protect themselves from potential lawsuits? Please exclude the answer "Im a good windsurfer and dont get into accidents" to save time since the potential to have an accident is in all of us.
Patrick
Don't sail when there's Canadian's around
Plop
Danny Johnson
Interesting question, for which I have no answer. It seems to me that boaters probably face a more serious problem in that collisions with another boat, or swimmer could be much more damaging. So do boaters have insurace? If so, then why couldn't windsurfers get it. (We would have to be a lower risk category.) If not, then how big of a need is it?
Years ago, I flew ultralight airplanes. I was quite happy to find that I actually could get insurance for it, but it was not easy finding a company that carried it. So you can get coverage for things that you might not realize are insurable, but finding it is the key.
Finally, USWA used to provide insurance for loss of gear. This kind of thing would probably be a lot more useful, and seems like it would be something good for them to get into. Perhaps you might contact them.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Pkirk,
Maybe look into a boat policy. We have one on our motorboat and it's relatively cheap. What explanation is your insurance company giving you for not covering you? Under GA law, we aren't "boats" although we do have the rights that a sailboat does.
While risk does exist, I'd say it's small. Outside of Kook Central in the Gorge, we just aren't that close and don't have the mass/speed to do major damage. I had a full on collision some years back in a regatta and nothing that some marine tex/epoxy/glass didn't take care of. I worry a lot more about my equipment hurting someone in transit than on the water.
Some folks will obsess over any possible risk. I don't know, I just think there are other things that worry me more and have a much higher rate of occurence - like someone taking me out on the Perimeter. Not to be comic about it but more folks have died from dodging debris in the road in Atlanta than have ever died from windsurfer/windsurfer collisions. (Was that just dumb bad luck for that fellow and his family? My sympathies to them.)
In most scenarios, the windsurfer has the right of way, we don't carry heavy burdens. In the cases we don't, I don't worry about my liability. I don't think a barge company is going to come after my estate for scratches on a tug's propellor. In ATL, we don't have the density that occasionally happens in the Gorge, Maui or some parts of FL. As long as you are careful of swimmers, there just aren't a lot of things that you can hit where you'd be the guilty party.
I agree the risk is very small. But lots of screwy things can happen on the water that are unplanned. Some of the possibilities:1)Turning quickly to avoid a fallen windsurfer in front of you to run head on into a windsurfer in the other direction who was also avoiding the downed windsurfer. 2) Heading to onshore and have a swimmer's head suddenly pop out from underwater and have your board or fin slice them up. Someone told me they had an accident with a sailboat and the subsequent hole at the waterline sunk the boat. Not a comforting thought to then have the sailboat insurance company wanting a list of your assets.
The insurance company says that windsurfing falls in the category like:skydiving,bungee-jumping,surfing, water/snow skiing. It just is not covered under homeowners. Have to get a special insurance for that. I am going to at least look into the cost of it.
The few windsurfers we have on the lake diminish the risk. But if you are into high traffic like a race, you might worry about it. As my insurance agent once told me, "its not whether you can afford insurance, its whether you can afford a lawsuit when you do NOT have insurance".
Patrick
Patrick,
1) You aren't going to be that close to anyone in the first place. In the second, if you are both turning, the speeds are going to be diminished.
2) If you are sailing in a swimming area, yeah, you got a problem. See my earlier post. If the guy is in the middle of the lake, I don't see what you did wrong.
3) An epoxy board holing a yacht? I don't think so. I'd be suing the yacht builder for faulty construction if a 15 lb sandwich epoxy board can hole it.
Personally, I think an insurance agent is getting you riled up about nothing. Insurance is a statistical game. And the statistics would suggest that this ain't a big deal. If you are convinced that it is, call Fox Sports in Hatteras who do a bunch of board repairs and ask them how many are from collisions on the water and what the extent of the damage was.
Also, in a race, the likelihood isn't as great as you'd think as mostly folks are moving parallel. In cases where they aren't, the closing speeds (eg going upwind aren't that great).
Look, say you hole somebody's board. Say, you destroy it. What's that? $1500?
Insurance is going to cost you $50/year, you are going to have some deductible, say $250. Statistically, it makes better sense to self -insure as the probability of this happening is like 0.01%. (which means you spent $300 to insure a damage with the expected value of $.15- now you know how insurance companies make money, plus the money they earned investing the $300)
Go sail, enjoy yourself, look back before you jibe and don't come planing in at high speed to a swimming beach. Just don't talk on your cell phone on the way to the lake, though. Really, you aren't going to sink anybody's boat, nobody swims in the middle of Lake Lanier (and if they are, Darwinism will be at work) and there are only 150 windsurfers in the whole state of GA.
I'd also argue with the insurance company that it doesn't fall into those categories as it is operating a watercraft as recognized by the USCG. And the injury statistics for windsurfing are so insignificant they barely are a blip on the screen. Windsurfing is not skydiving.
Webguy,
You are right. I called US Winsurfing.ORG to inquire about insurance. They said most local agents dont know what they are talking about when quoting policies regarding exclusions of watercraft. They said generally homeowners policy exclude boats > 26' in length. Otherwise it is included in the homeowners policy. So I called the home office of my insurance agent and ask to talk with an underwriter. They confirmed what USWindsurfing.ORG told me. THat liability of windsurfing accident is covered under homeowners liability and the local agent didn't know what he was talking about.
NEVERMIND!
Patrick,
Thanks for letting us know what you found out. No matter how much some of us pretend to know what we are talking about, it's nice to get a real answer.
Happy, relaxed, no worries, sailing to you.
My insurance agents ( plural ) have advised me to avoid windsurfing with a passion due to the extreme liability involved. They have advised me instead to persue dirt biking which is much less risky and in turn less liable. It has something to do with the measurements. Windsurfing uses a lot of cm's and dirt biking uses a lot of cc's. Appearently cc's are better from a liability standpoint. Pluse the lawyers said cc's come under a special catagory that enables us to plead for a Summary Judgement as opposed to that metric junk that just causes more paperwork.
David,
Just don't tell your lawyers or your insurance agents that cc stands for cubic centemeters. If they find out that you're involved in the metric junk they may tell you that your policy is null and void.
Marek