Sailing Travel Insurance

Why do you need Sailing Travel Insurance?

When heading out to sea, it’s important to know you are covered. However, without adequate sailing insurance in place you could be boarding your vessel unprotected.

With our Sports Travel Insurance in place, you are covered for standard travel insurance as well as your activities at sea with the below benefits;

• Cover for your sailing equipment or that which is hired to you during your trip in case of damage, delayed, lost or stolen up to £5,600.

• If you are injured and require medical treatment, the bill will be picked up by your insurance policy. Should you need to be repatriated back home, or if search and rescue teams are called to find you when lost at sea, the costs will be handled by your policy.

• Discounts for couples, families and group policies.

• Activity & race entry fee cover for proportionate loss of pre-paid costs of passes and/or permits, registration/entry fees, and/or tuition and/or equipment hire associated with sailing following accident or injury.

• As with standard travel insurance you are also covered if you have to cancel or cut short a holiday abroad, or if your flight’s delayed or your baggage fails to arrive at your destination, your policy could repay the costs.

Competitive sailing covered

Unless otherwise stated, all of our sports include cover for competitions and organised events. So as long as you are not a professional (defined on our FAQs page), you could be protected if taking part in regattas, competing in Cadet class races, or a wide range of other competitions under this policy.

Should you enter a race but are unable to compete due to injury, the Activity & Race Entry Fees benefit on the schedule could redeem some of the costs associated with your initial entry.

Sailing close to shore or further afield?

At SportsCover Direct, we split our Sailing Insurance offering into two groups; one for people sailing within 12 miles of the nearest coastline, and one for those going further out to sea.

This means those who are not venturing as far out to sea do not have to pay the same level of premium of those going further. Not only is the risk of a claim greater for those sailing further away from civilisation, but also the potential costs of rescuing a stricken sailing will be higher.

Please note that if you are sailing more than 12 miles from shore, we have a restriction on the areas we can provide protection. When choosing ‘Sailing (beyond 12 mil limit), cover is restricted to the following areas:

• North Sea
• Irish Sea
• English Channel
• Bay of Biscay
• Straits of Gibraltar
• Mediterranean Sea
• Between Caribbean Islands (except in hurricane season)
• From the west coast of Morocco or south coast of Portugal to the Canary Islands
• Baltic Sea
• Between the islands off the coast of Norway (excluding the Svalbard Islands)

On all sailing insurance policies liability cover is also excluded whenever a motor is in use.

Does travel insurance cover water sports?

Most standard travel insurance policies cover reasonably low-risk  water-related activities such as swimming, snorkelling or rowing. However, if you decide to try something a bit riskier, like black water rafting or shark cage diving, it is very likely those activities to be excluded from an average policy and you will need a specific sports insurance cover. Please check our full list of sports activities here.

Can I take out sailing travel insurance if I have a medical condition?

Yes, medical conditions do not effect the premium. You will need to declare any medical conditions, injuries or treatment within the last two years and this is then referred to the underwriters who will assess any special terms.

Is there a maximum age restriction with your sailing travel insurance?

You can purchase our sailing insurance online up until 74 years old, above this age you would need to call us on 01494 484800 and we will be able to refer your quote to our underwriters. Please note, our quotes are based on your age at the start date of your cover.