Flood advice for inland waterways
4 July 2007
Navigators & General, the UK’s leading pleasurecraft insurer has, in conjunction with leading marine insurance broker, Collidge & Partners, issued the following advice for concerned boat owners relating to pleasure craft insurance cover while rivers or canals are in flood.
Given the recent unprecedented weather conditions and ongoing heavy rain, many rivers are running high or in flood as the excessive rain water comes off the land and sluices are opened to allow it to safely flow out to sea. This can make navigation on rivers hazardous and potentially puts moored vessels at greater risk should water levels rise even more.
British Waterways (BW) monitors the conditions closely and will often advise boat owners against using their boats if they consider conditions to be hazardous and will do their utmost to advise boat owners of any risk.
Navigators & General policy holders can rest assured that their policy covers them against claims caused by flooding provided that the normal policy conditions are complied with and they are “acting with due care and diligence and not in a reckless manner.”
If policy holders want to move their boats while a waterway is in flood in order to prevent damage to any vessel, or to avoid personal injury, they would not be excluded from doing so provided they do so safely and the conditions do not make it dangerous. N&G would also expect owners to keep themselves safe and not put themselves or others at risk in attempting to safeguard their vessel.
If you are worried about the possible effect of flooding, the advice from N& G and Collidge & Partners includes:
Adding extra mooring warps and improving anchoring points
Giving consideration to higher anchoring points and not being restricted by low ones should levels rise
Arranging for local yards or residents to keep then updated
Having the vessel taken ashore
Removing any valuables and electrical equipment prone to water damage
If the unthinkable does happen and you discover your boat in the middle of a field or road, or some other unexpected location following a flood, do not worry, contact N& G’s experienced claims team and they will arrange for the safe recovery of your vessel. If outside office hours we would advise you to “act as though uninsured” and N& G will reimburse any reasonably incurred expenses which minimises further losses
Sadly, boats found in fields can be susceptible to vandalism and theft so we would advise you to remove all personal or loose items from your vessel pending removal, because sodden ground can often mean it is a number of days before a recovery can be made by crane.
Richard Coleman, Head of Navigators & General comments: “Navigators & General is the UK’s longest established specialist pleasure craft insurer and has a great deal of experience in meeting the expectations of our policy holders. Over the years we have dealt with many flood related claims on inland water ways and will be ready to assist without delay should the worst happen. Our risk management notes for avoiding common claims can be downloaded from www.navandgen.co.uk”
Chris Collidge, from Collidge & Partners, said, “This can be a really distressing time for boat owners, but we are all here to offer advice and support to those affected. Taking some simple precautions and following the advice of the BW and the experts will hopefully mean any problems are kept to a minimum and you can carry on boating as normal.”
